It’s Children’s Mental Health Week 2023 and the theme this year is ‘Connections’. 

Homeopath Rebecca Dove shares her insights into supporting mental health in children in the next in our series of blogs this week

"From a homeopathic perspective feeling connected and part of your family, and community, with strong friendship groups is very much a vital piece of feeling happy and well on all levels.

So in homeopathy we’re going to look at the opposite of that, DISCONNECTION. How can we help build better bonds with others and feel more confident generally in social situations? So I thought I try to give you a little bit more insight into how we work with this in homeopathy.

The first thing to remember in homeopathy is EVERYONE IS AN INDIVIDUAL.

When I meet children in my clinic I want to get to know them as much as possible and how they interact with me is always a huge clue in understanding that. Are they hiding behind mum, do they peep out at me or avoid my eyes? Are they telling me everything about their lives from the moment they step into the office, or are they off, putting together stickle bricks into some fantastic design and vaguely acknowledging me or their parents? Do they sit staring at me, watching everything I do or do they get upset if I offer them a toy or ask a gentle question? Or do they throw it back at me?

What often happens when they’ve had their first remedy, and they come in for a follow-up is a change in the way they relate to me. Okay – they’ve been before and know what it's like more, but parents and children will often talk about how life has changed and they’ve made new friends, or are communicating better with others or for some making eye contact and acknowledging others for the first time.
 

It’s a great way to measure the changes children are making with the remedies’ support. The more natural and easy they find themselves connecting with others, the better they are feeling on the inside.

So here are a few remedies for helping children to make better connections if prescribed properly:

Calc carb – in a healthy state is quite self-contained and goes at their own pace, but can have many fears and be quite anxious and worried about what others think of them especially if they’re struggling with learning something new. Can find social situations daunting and lots of anxiety felt in the tummy region. When they find people they gel with they are loyal and steadfast friends, and generally quite easygoing.

Sulphur – most of the time sulphur types have a lot of confidence, or perhaps they just don’t really care what others think. They are fascinated by the world, and are curious and driven by things they get excited about. They can however isolate themselves in this world of ideas and perhaps come across as a little bit awkward as they are clumsy in social situations. The remedy can help them to build better connections with others who share their interests and be jovial and a pleasure to be around.

Natrum Mur – this is a very sensitive constitutional type, they can be deeply hurt by the carelessness of others, but they hide this by building up a wall and as children can be quite bookish and prefer to spend most of their time on their own or with only one or two trusted people. The remedy can help to strengthen their sensitivity and help them open up more. This can be a remedy that comes up after children have experienced grief and loss of any kind.

Silica – These are some of the shyest children I see. They find it especially hard to speak up, even though they are often very smart.
These children also can have constant ongoing illnesses, allergies and lots of anxieties. The remedy helps them to build resilience in body and mind, helping them to find their inner grit.

Lycopodium – again this can be a very shy and potentially insecure remedy type. Inside they feel inadequate, and in that will shy away from situations they are unsure of. They can also be extremely competitive and will boast about being the best, or they gain confidence by meanness to others and puffing themselves up, it is certainly one to think about if children are bullying others, especially younger and weaker children, they can also be very domineering to parents, even to the point of tyrannical in the family home. The remedy helps to build that sense of being safe in their skin and build more healthy relationships with others including those more vulnerable than themselves.
 

These are just some of the remedies that can support children to grow lasting self-esteem, create healthy connections and explore the world more confidently. If you’d like to chat with me about how homeopathy might work to support your child’s mental health feel free to book through the centre for a free 30 min curiosity chat. I look forward to hearing from you."

You can contact Rebecca through her profile here on the website