Woke Up To Pitchforks This Morning!

(Written January 2015 but still relevant today)

Full self-disclosure and a small amount of self-pity to follow. You’ve been warned.

It’s tough being a holistic-medicine-minded kind of person in America these days. I’m not sure there was ever a time when it was easy (maybe the early 1900’s when homeopathic medicine ruled the land for a brief stint and sick people were actually healed rather than just drugged) but that’s another story for another day. Perhaps I should rephrase that first sentence. . . It’s tough being a holistic-medicine-minded kind of person these days and participating in social media. There, that sounds better.

Myself, I am a homeopath, one who tends to be of a sensitive and impressionable nature and who gets pretty beat up in climates such as the one we are currently in.

For my comrades who have a harder shell I say Good for you, keep your head down, keep moving forward, keep dodging those arrows, it’s just a flesh wound, buck up, you’re doing great!

But, for all the other softies out there like me, I feel you. I get that same pukey, sinking feeling you get with every article that calls us “negligent,” “uneducated,” even “criminal.”

By now you’ve probably figured it out, I’m referring to the big, bad, never-ending issue of Vaccines which has exploded since the recent increase in Measles cases out of California.

**Disclaimer: this story is in no way intended to label homeopathy or any other form of holistic medicine as “Pro Vaccine” or “Anti Vaccine”. I happen to be a homeopath and happen to fall on a certain side of the vaccine issue. I use homeopathic medicine as a form of disease prevention because that is my personal preference. This is not to say that all homeopaths, naturopaths or any other kinds of “paths” do the same. Seriously, we are at a place where I feel the need to say that??

Let me tell you about my morning. My hubby, who is amazing, let me sleep in until 9:30, got the kids up, got them to school, and left me alone to enjoy a much needed morning to myself.

AT 9:31 I MADE THE MISTAKE OF OPENING MY FB NEWSFEED TO FIND A LOVELY LITTLE ARTICLE, SHARED BY A FRIEND, CALLING FOR THE ARREST OF ALL PARENTS OF UNVACCINATED KIDS.

Morning ruined. Dang, I wish I was born with a harder shell! Now I am sitting here writing this (when I am supposed to be working on my dad’s affairs). Yep, I just played that card.

THIS WAS CERTAINLY NOT THE FIRST ARTICLE OF THIS TONE I HAVE ENCOUNTERED THIS WEEK, IT WAS JUST THE LAST STRAW.

Here’s the kicker of it all, my kids ARE vaccinated (mostly). I didn’t learn about vaccine alternatives and homeopathic medicine until it was too late for them. I did, however, learn about homeopathy in time to address and reverse the damage connected to the vaccines they did receive.

I am not here right now to talk about “to vax or not to vax?” SO PUT YOUR PITCHFORKS AWAY. That is another topic for another day (or 8 days). I want to talk about the sweeping generalizations and one-sided articles being slung around our social media like a junior high food fight.

Friends, there are real people behind these issues. It is so easy to fall into that false sense of anonymity when sharing info or making comments through social media. I am very, very guilty of this (there was a little incident a while back) and I certainly learned my lesson after making some fired-up comments. I am still feeling the repercussions of that in certain relationships and whole-heartedly regret ever pushing that enter button.

I’ve been there friends and I know you mean absolutely no harm when sharing a strongly worded article which supports your stance on an issue. But, I am here to say that there are real people on the other side of that issue, with concerns just as valid as your concerns, who have just as much education and knowledge on the subject as you do, but for their own very good, fact-based reasons, find themselves on the other side of the fence.

You don’t need to throw us in jail. How about an open-minded conversation free of insult and sweeping judgment? That would be a good start.

I can hear you right now, seriously, I know you are thinking, “Quit being such a baby, why are you taking these articles so personally, just ignore them.” Right? Yeah I know. But, SENSITIVE AND IMPRESSIONABLE. I’m not proud of it.

Moving on.

In my practice I offer a little something called Homeoprophylaxis (don’t even try to say it, just go with it, call it HP), which is a form of Homeopathy for Disease Prevention. Basically, an option for families who CANNOT or will not vaccinate their children. It offers protection against disease by educating the immune system to recognize disease and know how to naturally process it when encountered. Same idea as vaccines, very different method.

Let me tell you, the families we encounter through HP are real people too. They are real people who have come to the “no vax” decision for reasons like; a family history of vaccine injury, child with an autoimmune disorder, neurological disorder, religious reasons, vaccine allergy, adjuvant sensitivity, it can go on and on.

Then there are the families who say something like, “I have a very different perspective than the mainstream medical establishment and I understand that the disease process plays a critical role in the development of my child and his immune system and I have made an educated decision not to vaccinate my child. Oh, and it is still my right in this country to decide what is best for my child’s health, wellbeing and development.” Something like that.

True stories. Real people.

Folks, I hate to tell you this, but I think the scale is shifting on the vaccine paradigm. More and more people are making the informed decision to not vaccinate and its pissing a lot of folks off. Understandably. Our society has been taught to fear disease and to believe the only way to prevent it is through vaccine. The fear is real. Some diseases are terrifying. I won’t argue that. However, I DON’T BELIEVE EXCESSIVE VACCINES ARE THE ANSWER, and I am not alone.

Mamas, you don’t want to assault your child’s perfectly healthy immune system with 49 doses of vaccine before she is even 6? I don’t really blame you.

There are other options, alternative schedules, spreading them out, one dose at a time, homeoprophylaxis. It doesn’t have to be so excessive and we don’t have to be so scared.

I thank God every day that I have homeopathy. I have a doctor who can treat my kids for all those diseases with a kind of medicine that has proven successful time and again. I have the understanding that disease plays an important role in immune system development and that we can move through the disease process without being afraid of death or disfigurement. That’s what homeopathy gives us.

The problem here is that I may have homeopathy and don’t have to fear disease, many of my friends can say the same, but most people can’t.

MOST PEOPLE DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO HOMEOPATHY, don’t understand it, don’t believe in it, flat out hate it because it doesn’t make any sense.

I hear you folks, it is really hard to wrap your head around the way homeopathic medicine works, it goes against everything we have been taught about microbiology, physics, disease, medicine. I could take another 8 days here trying to help you understand how and why homeopathic medicine works. But I won’t because I see that this is moving in a direction that I did not originally intend it to be, which was a pity party.

So, back to that.

You guys, seriously, quit flinging all that crap around on my FB feed. If you’re gonna fling crap, at least attach some Ricky Gervais or James Franco for a good laugh.

For now, while I’m dodging the arrows and pitchforks in the midst of this Measles hysteria, I will sit here with my gelato, tell myself to buck up, it’s just a flesh wound, and look forward to our trip to Disneyland next month.

If you are a “no vax” parent and are concerned about Measles, give this a peak or give me a call. You have options.

Homeopathy For Measles

If you want to know a more about Homeoprophylaxis, give these a gander.

Can My HP Child Play With Your Vaccinated Child?

Free and Healthy Children International

Homeoprophylaxis: The Vaccine Alternative