The presented paper is devoted to Ignatia amara, a homeopathic remedy that was found with the help of abchomeopathy.com. The medication is described from the point of view of historical and personal experience and scientific research.
Abchomeopathy.com
Ignatia amara is a remedy for anxiety and related issues that is made from Strychnos ignatii seeds (Marzotto, Conforti, Magnani, Zanolin, & Bellavite, 2012). I found it with the help of the abchomeopathy.com search that provides the option of choosing a number of symptoms and receiving the advice on the most suitable remedies that can aid in resolving the issue. The resulting grid with the symptoms and remedies and the key to it are presented in Appendix A.
As can be seen from the grid, abchomeopathy.com is the only suggested remedy that is indicated for all the symptoms; also, it is strongly indicated for two of them, including anxious dreams and emotion-related headaches. Since Ignatia amara appeared to be the most suitable remedy, I chose it to research.
Ignatia Amara: Abchomeopathy.com
According to the website, Ignatia amara is especially fit for dealing with emotional issues and helping to alleviate anxiety, insecurity, fear, and other unpleasant conditions. From the website it also follows that the remedy helps with sleeping issues, especially if they are connected to the emotionally troubled state. Apart from that, Ignatia amara is expected to have a positive impact on other numerous conditions. In total, the website suggests over 300 symptoms that can be alleviated with the help of Ignatia amara, although some of them are rather repetitive (for example, “head, pain, headache, from emotions, from grief” and “head, pain, headache, from emotions, nervous”) (Ignatia amara, n.d.).
Personal Experience
I am not opposed to the idea of homeopathy, but I cannot say that I was not dubious at all. As a result, I believe that the placebo effect is out of the question in my case. In fact, I would not be surprised to experience the nocebo effect. I must say that the recent years have been stressful, which is why I experience the problem of emotion-related headaches more often that I would like to. I took Ignatia amara to help myself with the issue. My headache was going away slower than I expected, but I did experience a reduction in anxiety.
Research
Ignatia amara is a well-established stress remedy in homeopathy with headaches, sleep disturbances, and other issues being resolved due to the stabilization of the emotional state (Castro, 2015, pp. 298-300). There also exists scientific evidence to its effectiveness. In particular, a recent study by Marzotto et al. (2012) showed that the remedy is capable of modifying “emotion-related symptoms in laboratory mice without affecting locomotion” (p. 57).
Similarly, in a study by Danno, Colas, Masson, and Bordet (2013), Ignatia amara was used as a preventive remedy for migraines, and it was shown to be effective in reducing the frequency, severity, and duration of attacks. Marzotto et al. (2012) insist that Ignatia amara remains underresearched, but it can be said that its effectiveness is proven by historical and scientific evidence, the bulk of which proceeds to grow.
Conclusion
The website abchomeopathy.com repeatedly reminds to consider homeopathy as a complementary measure rather than the only possible treatment or a panacea. However, it can be concluded that Ignatia amara may be a suitable remedy option for anxiety, headaches, and a number of other conditions. In order to decide whether to use it on a regular basis, it might be advisable to get a consultation from a specialist and, possibly, consider other options that the website has suggested.
References
Castro, M. (2015). The homeopathic guide to stress. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Griffin.
Danno, K., Colas, A., Masson, J., & Bordet, M. (2013). Homeopathic treatment of migraine in children: Results of a prospective, multicenter, observational study. The Journal of Alternative And Complementary Medicine, 19(2), 119-123. Web.
Ignatia amara. (n.d.). Web.
Marzotto, M., Conforti, A., Magnani, P., Zanolin, M., & Bellavite, P. (2012). Effects of Ignatia amara in mouse behavioural models. Homeopathy, 101(1), 57-67. Web.