Treating Like with Like

Homeopathy began in the 1700s when Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician, discovered it by chance. He read a book that claimed Peruvian bark could cure malarial fever due to its astringent and tonic properties. He was skeptical — after all, other substances had these properties but didn’t help fevers. Curious, he took large amounts of the bark to see how it would affect him as a healthy person. Within days, he began getting symptoms of malarial fever. This fascinated him. If a healthy person could take a substance and develop symptoms, then what if you gave that substance to a person who was already sick with those symptoms? This is how Hahnemann formed his first hypothesis: could you “treat like with like”? Could the substance that causes disease symptoms also cure those same symptoms? 

The concept is simple: a healthy person who takes coffee might have a heightened state of mind and sleeplessness. For a person sick with sleeplessness and anxiety, a homeopath might prescribe a homeopathic remedy that mirrors these symptoms.

Over his lifetime, Dr. Hahnemann tested this hypothesis with an array of natural substances on a number of healthy and sick subjects. In doing so, he learned he was correct. He also discovered that healing took place on all levels: physical, emotional and mental. He concluded that these substances could stimulate the body’s own natural healing (life force), which he believed existed within us.

Over his lifetime, Dr. Hahnemann made the science of homeopathy his life’s work. He learned that what can present as a sudden, acute condition (like a cold) can actually be part of a larger, more chronic picture. He also realized that different people can have the same disease, but react differently to it.

Finally, he developed a technique to dilute substances to make them 100% safe to ingest. These methods continue to be used by chemists today to create remedies, and by homeopaths to create the liquid and pellet remedies we use today.