In this article: Surprisingly enough, our mental health is more linked to physical health. And, predictably, stress can be the root cause of many conditions, including pancreatitis. Homeopathy expert Giovanna shares her experience where Emotional suppression caused pancreatitis symptoms in one of her patients.
Pancreatitis is a condition associated with inflammation of the pancreas. Because the digestive organs are more or less in the same spot, the symptoms of pancreatitis are similar to other conditions such as IBS or colitis. Therefore, it is difficult to tell which organ is at the origin of the problem unless tests and scans are done.
Modern medicine identifies gall stones or alcohol consumption as common causes of pancreatitis. However, some cases occur without a significant cause.
Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda and other ancient forms of natural medicine claim that stress, anger or grief usually cause digestive issues in general.
For example, according to TCM, the liver is the core of emotions. Therefore, suppressed anger or stress can affect liver function. In addition, if the person consumes an unhealthy diet of fatty foods and alcohol, it can overburden the liver, making digestion sluggish and affecting mood and even brain function.
The homeopathic approach
Homeopathy always treats the individual, not the condition. Often patients with digestive issues come to see me after extensive medical tests and scans. However, the medical tests are often inconclusive, which is obviously frustrating for the patient. As I mentioned previously, the pancreas may not be the only affected organ, and the symptoms can be confused with other conditions.
Because homeopathy looks at the symptoms and the sensation, in a way, it makes things simpler.
Symptoms include:
- pain in the upper abdomen
- bloating of the stomach
- diarrhoea
- nausea
Looking for the root cause
One of the basic principles of homeopathy is that dis-ease is never random. And, there is always a reason for symptoms to manifest in a particular way at a particular time.
And creating a timeline to identify important landmarks such as grief, marriage, divorce, new job, losing a job, etc., will help determine the cause.
Interestingly, extreme stress and long-term suppression of emotional issues is one constant theme that all my pancreatitis patients present with. The symptoms always start shortly after a traumatic event, like a divorce or after starting a very stressful job.
The following case study of homeopathy best explains that treating emotional issues can greatly help treat pancreatitis.
Case study
A woman in her early forties came to see me complaining of chronic pain in her upper abdomen, nausea and bloatedness.
She was of healthy weight and was very careful with her diet. Yet she felt nauseated with whatever food she tried to eat. She gradually lost her appetite. Her social life also suffered, which made her more depressed.
Her doctors were not sure about what the problem was. However, they mentioned inflammation of the pancreas as a possibility and referred her to a nutritionist. Yet no diet worked.
During her first consultation, she described how her stomach was always delicate, even as a child. However, she never had any significant issues until her marriage started to crumble.
Despite trying to keep the marriage together, things did not improve, and divorce was the only option.
Having had to co-parent her children with her divorced husband was not easy, and she had to suppress her feelings of anger and resentment.
Even recounting the events that led to her divorce and her present predicament was hard for her, and she broke down in tears during the consultation.
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The homeopathic solution
Here, the physical symptoms mimicking pancreatitis were indicative of a poorly functioning digestive system and, the stress due to suppressed emotional turmoil she had been living with was possibly the root cause of that.
I prescribed the remedy Ignatia Amara, a very well-known homeopathic remedy that helps with grief and physical symptoms manifesting after a traumatic incident.
Ignatia Amara has an affinity with the digestive system as well. The typical picture of Ignatia presented to students of homeopathy is that of a teenager who suffers a great disappointment in love. The depression/anger can either manifest as a loss of appetite or the opposite, excessive comfort eating.
Result
The remedy improved her mood at first. At the follow-up session, she looked much brighter, and there were no tears this time.
Two months into the homeopathy treatment, the pancreatitis symptoms reduced, her appetite improved, and she could finally enjoy eating again.
Now that her digestion issues were under control, I advised her to stop taking the remedy. Homeopathy advises you to stop taking the remedy when the symptoms are completely gone. It is what I call “quit while you are winning”.
And that was the last time I saw her!
Disclaimer: The homeopathic remedy mentioned here is for informational purposes only. Please visit an expert homeopath to diagnose your symptoms and follow their medical advice.
Edited by love4wellness | Images: canva.com
