Susceptibility is a fundamental attribute of all living organisms. It is the inherent capacity of a living being to react to internal and external stimuli, which distinguishes the living from the non-living. In homeopathy, understanding susceptibility is essential for diagnosing, prescribing, and restoring health.
Stuart Close defines it as:
“By susceptibility we mean the general quality or capacity of the living organism to receive impressions and the power to react to stimuli.”
H.A. Roberts adds:
“We may define susceptibility primarily as the reaction of the organism to external and internal influences.”
Importance of Susceptibility
All vital processes—digestion, assimilation, nutrition, metabolism, repair, secretion, excretion, and disease response—depend on the organism’s ability to react to stimuli.
Example: Seeing your favorite food stimulates salivation. Without this response, digestion would be impossible. Thus, a balanced susceptibility is essential for normal physiological functions and day-to-day survival.
Susceptibility is also key for adapting to environmental conditions. For instance, one person may thrive in a marshy area while another becomes ill. Such differences are determined by individual susceptibility. The physician’s role is to maintain or restore normal susceptibility, not to impair it.
Susceptibility and Constitution
An individual inherits part of their susceptibility from ancestors and develops another part through life experiences. This makes constitution directly related to susceptibility.
- Susceptibility controls the organism’s reaction to stimuli, resistance to infections, and overall health.
- The nature and intensity of symptoms during disease depend on the patient’s susceptibility.
- Constitutional type, including emotional, intellectual, and physical traits, reflects susceptibility. Understanding a patient’s constitution helps determine their level of susceptibility.
Susceptibility and Diathesis
Diathesis refers to deviations in susceptibility, making certain individuals prone to specific diseases. While useful in preventive medicine, predicting disease based on diathesis alone is not fully reliable.
Homeopathy, however, benefits from studying psycho-somatic diathesis and miasmatic states, which aids in individualized treatment.
Susceptibility and Disease
Normal susceptibility allows the organism to adjust to environmental challenges. Altered susceptibility—either increased or decreased—leads to disease:
- Increased susceptibility: Exaggerated responses to normal stimuli, leading to conditions like allergies or atopy. The similimum remedy restores balance and satisfies the morbid susceptibility.
- Decreased susceptibility: Reduced responsiveness, often caused by overuse of steroids or sedatives. This lowers the organism’s defense, making it harder to identify suitable remedies. In chronic diseases, intercurrent remedies may be needed to restore responsiveness.
Susceptibility and Cure
Cure in homeopathy occurs when the morbid susceptibility is satisfied by a correctly chosen remedy.
- Kent explains:
“When susceptibility is satisfied, there is cessation of cause, and when cause ceases, the disease itself ceases.”
- H.A. Roberts adds:
“The similar remedy satisfies susceptibility and establishes immunity.”
The disappearance of symptoms after administering the similimum indicates that the patient’s vital force has responded and restored balance.
Susceptibility and Drugs/Remedies
Drugs affect health based on:
- The susceptibility of the individual
- The specific action of the drug
During proving, remedies are tested on individuals of various constitutions, ages, and sexes to understand the full range of reactions. Expert homeopaths identify the remedy that matches a patient’s susceptibility for effective cure.
Susceptibility and Posology
The dose and potency of a remedy are determined by the patient’s susceptibility:
“Higher susceptibility requires higher potency.”
Susceptibility and Suppression
Susceptibility cannot be destroyed but may be altered by drugs or noxious agents. Suppression occurs when one channel of vital force is blocked, leading to disease manifestations in another area.
Example: Suppression of eczema may later result in asthma, neuralgic headaches, or arthritis. Treatments that fail to satisfy the patient’s susceptibility are considered suppressive.
Susceptibility is the foundation of life and the key to understanding health, disease, and cure in homeopathy. Preserving or restoring the normal level of susceptibility ensures the harmonious functioning of the organism. The role of the physician is to carefully identify and satisfy the morbid susceptibility of the patient through individualized homeopathic remedies, ensuring true healing.