Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Cure in Your Mind

We used to think that the cure to Rheumatoid Arthritis was either non-existent or totally relied on the use of heavy pharmaceuticals. Today the approach to removing symptoms of this arthritic disease or even sending it completely into 'remission' is very different.

Whilst many still rely on pharmaceuticals to treat certain symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis, such as inflammation, pain, swelling and stiffness, some are resorting more and more to the use of natural cures and this is bearing increasing success. The details of which natural supplements work best are on this further down this article.

Meanwhile, I want to explore what was suggested to me years ago, namely that the mind-boggling onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis (nobody in my family, immediate or distant, ever suffered from this disease) was in my case a psychological reaction to certain events taking place in my early teens (a nasty parents' divorce and an even nastier 'aftermath' in which my whole family ruptured and became highly dysfunctional). Don't get me wrong; it wasn't 'all in the mind': the symptoms were all there and the damage was real; I had X-Rays and other tests done at the early age of fourteen and they all showed I was suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis.

At the time it was only in my hands, but I was already beginning to have difficulty playing the piano or even writing. When I left home and went to University (and therefore left the dysfunctional family situation I was living in), my symptoms (which had not been treated at all) suddenly disappeared. Doctors believed that I had been suffering from Juvenile Arthritis and that it was perfectly normal for the symptoms to recede years later. I therefore went on with my life thinking the disease was gone.

But, years later, when I started visiting members of my family for prolonged periods, I began to suffer from severe knee pain which, months later, almost prevented me from walking normally. The knee was swollen, inflamed, extremely painful day and night and no amount of painkillers worked at all. Then my right elbow started to feel very stiff and painful; I became desperate and was ready to try anything and everything. I went to a reputable homeopath, who was convinced that my Rheumatoid Arthritis was triggered by certain familial events which were affecting my mind; with homeopathic remedies aimed at treating repressed anger, psychological pain and resentment (as well as disappointment and abandonment), 3 months later my knee and elbow pain was gone and I was able to resume my very active lifestyle (I am an outdoors person, I love to hike, swim and cycle) in full. Not once did I take any painkiller or pharmaceutical. This means that, in my case at least, my homeopath was correct in diagnosing my Rheumatoid Arthritis as mind-based.