We have a gorgeous dog called Joey. He is a beautiful Kelpie cross Bull Arab. Super-loving and super-friendly. Also a real softy, really intelligent and likes to please :-)
When he was younger, he had a small operation and when he came back from the vet something in him had changed. He was irritable, his skin was itching like mad and he developed small, bleeding sores where he scratched. More than anything, he followed me every step I took. He just did not want to be alone.
So I took him to a homoeopath who works specifically with animals. She couldn't get over how friendly and loving a dog he is and how he just wants to be with people the whole time. Hates being alone. A perfect case of phosphorus, she said!
Homeopathic phosphorus for bleeding
Phosphorus 30CH is a wonderful remedy to use after surgery, especially if someone reacts badly to the anaesthetic (as Joey had). It is also a remedy for 'bleeders' - people (or animals) who continue to bleed after surgery or childbirth; women with prolonged or profuse periods or who bleed in between periods; people who suffer with small skin wounds that keep bleeding; and those who regularly experience blood noses.
Homeopathic phosphorus for respiratory problems
What I found so interesting with Joey needing phosphorous is that it is actually also my eldest daughter's constitutional remedy - and her and Joey have a very special friendship. She, like him, loves to be around people and life to her is all about connection, friends and community.
A few years ago we moved away from home and went to live in Taipei. She found it hard being away from friends and family and was very, very homesick. For the first time in her life she became asthmatic. Every time she came from being outdoors into an air-conditioned room she would start with a dry, 'tickling' little cough and would say she felt as if something heavy was on her chest. After a few months she developed pneumonia. To add to that, my poor little girl's hair starting falling out, she became anxious and afraid of everything! Night time was the worst - she was scared of the dark and of being alone and really did not want to go to sleep. How she had changed in only a few months! Thankfully, Phosphorus M came to the rescue.
Phosphorus is often used homoeopathically to help people struggling with respiratory issues when there is difficulty breathing, a sense of pressure on the chest, a chronic dry cough and often, hoarseness.
Homeopathic phosphorus for digestive disorders
Another area where phosphorus helps is with gastrointestinal problems such as chronic diarrhoea that 'burns'; nausea in pregnancy; and 'burning' dyspepsia or reflux. Often, a person needing phosphorus will have a dreadful feeling of 'emptiness' - a weak, empty, gone sensation in their abdomen. They will be exhausted and just want to lie down.
A 'burning' sensation accompanies many symptoms that indicate phosphorus. A good way to remember this is by thinking of lighting a match. Matches either contain white phosphorus in the head or you strike them against a red phosphorus-based surface in order to ignite them. So if you see 'burning' then think of phosphorus.
If you're struggling with digestive problems then please have a look at my page Heal Your Gut. I'm always sharing tips on how to improve digestive health.
Homeopathic phosphorus for depression
One of my most rewarding cases was also a phosphorus case. I had a 60 year old woman come to see me. Her daughter was a patient of mine and booked her mum in to come and see me hoping I could help with her mother's fits of anger. Gulp! I was a bit nervous to meet her after hearing about her fits of uncontrollable anger followed by remorse. However, the woman I met was lovely. Very tall, slim, fair-haired and friendly. But, as she spoke, I realised what a dark, lonely world she was living in.
She spoke of how her children had moved away from home and were too busy with their own lives to spend time with her. She spoke about how 'empty' and 'lonely' her marriage was and how she had no-one to share her life with. She kept mentioning how alone she was. Alone, tired and burned out. She could find no joy in life - she saw her job as a 'chore' and herself as a 'dark cloud'. She also felt very trapped by life - trapped by her job, her marriage and her own unhappiness. Physically, she had few ailments, but did feel that when anxious she couldn't breathe.
I gave her phosphorous 200CH. I saw her three months later for a follow-up which really made me smile. She walked in to my office and gave me the biggest, warmest smile and asked what was in my 'funny little white powders'. I laughed! She said that the huge, dark cloud that had been hanging over her for so long had simply lifted and gone away. She said she felt herself again :-) She was still very tired and 'snappy' but she said she could now cope with things and no longer felt her life was pointless.
Homeopathic phosphorus for chronic fatigue, exhaustion and burnout
Homeopathic phosphorous has many uses and I have only mentioned a few here. It is a wonderful remedy for chronic fatigue, burnout or exhaustion, especially when seen in children or teenagers who seem to grow too quickly or struggle from anaemia.
It is also helpful for people who develop chronic fatigue once they have moved away from their family or home or if a friendship has broken up.
If you're struggling with fatigue and burnout and not sure how or where to start when it comes to rebuilding your health, then have a look at my 3-step guide, Where To Start. You'll get it for free if you subscribe to my newsletter below.
How does homoeopathic phosphorus work?
The age old question! If you read through the cases I have given above, you will notice an ongoing theme - a deep need for company, for love, for connection. Joey is a naturally friendly, loving family dog. The surgery, perhaps the anaesthetic, upset his natural balance and when feeling 'out of sorts' he craved attention more than ever and did not want to be alone. My daughter is also a naturally friendly, loving girl who was very close to her friends and grandparents. When we moved away from home and she lost this connection she became ill. My client was also a friendly, open woman who became depressed because she felt very alone, her children were too busy for her and she had lost all connection with her husband.
Phosphorus does not treat a specific disease but instead helps restore and balance a person's natural, inner energies.
One of the best things to remember about people needing phosphorus is that they need to be around friends and family, around the people they love. They are warm, loving and friendly people who light up the room when they walk in - they are the bringers of light.
