Why Be a Homeopath?

"It's said that if you do what you love, the money will follow. Well, it may or may not, but at least you'll be doing what you love and, quite likely, loving what you do. In my experience, that beats getting well paid for doing something that robs you of the joy of life."(Ian Watson, author and co-founder of the Lakeland College of Homeopathy)

Do you remember the old joke on the T-shirt - it said something like "Do you want to travel to exotic countries, meet interesting new people, and kill them?" It was a spoof on the recruitment advertisements for the British army at the time which cut through the gloss of the marketing campaign and brought home the reality of being a soldier.

Since entry into homeopathy as a second career is very common, it seems it's especially suitable for those who have become disillusioned with their original chosen field. Many homeopaths have past lives in medicine as nurses or midwives, for example, but there are former secretaries and accountants, social workers and biochemists too.

It's also a popular choice for people coming back into work after a career break, making the most of their opportunity to re-train and do something they really want to do.

For many people, though, it's an encounter with a homeopath that opens them up to the possibilities for healing and helping others with this marvellous system of medicine. Successful homeopathic treatment for themselves, a family member or even a pet will have opened their eyes to its limitless possibilities, and awakened a burning desire to know more about this genuine alternative to the conventional health system.

I'm not sure exactly what made me study homeopathy in the first place, but I discovered later it's in my blood! It turns out that my great-grandmother Louisa studied and practised homeopathy in India in the late 19th century, when she and her husband lived there as part of the British Raj.

Later, my mother (a former model turned nurse turned teacher) also turned homeopath. So 16 years ago it seemed not only natural but desirable for me to treat my first-born with homeopathy when she developed asthma at 12 months old. The GP had prescribed Ventolin in a syrup, which I gave her once. It didn't help her and in fact she got the "shakes".

My Mum was visiting and noticed that my daughter's desire for ice was so strong that she would demand ice-lollies on the coldest of winter walks and lick the shelves of the freezer whenever we'd open the door to fetch something from the icebox! Taking into account her fear of sleeping in the dark and absolute terror on the occasion of a thunderstorm, it was an easy case for a newly-qualified homeopath. Phos 30c was given and the cure was complete. The Ventolin syrup went in the dustbin and my daughter has never suffered a chest complaint since.

Homeopathy is in fact the treatment of choice for millions of the world's citizens.
In the UK alone, an estimated 20 percent of the population turns to complementary and alternative medicine (which has become known as CAM), spending £500 million a year. There are now more CAM practitioners than GPs in the UK, with some treatments delivered on the NHS.

Its popularity is no doubt due in part to the fact that homeopaths listen to their patients, and treat them as whole human beings. Homeopaths also empower people, taking time to educate and explain to them how they can literally change their lives.

Homeopaths make an enormous difference to their own lives and those of others - not just with those little white pills, healing with infinitesimally small doses of substances both common and uncommon, but also by applying every skill they've acquired in life so far along with the new knowledge that training has given them. Becoming a homeopath is without doubt a transformative experience, and the pride and joy at graduation is just the beginning of a completely new direction in life.

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