Is being an herbalist boring?

[IdahoHerbalist]

This is an excerpt from a longer article titled, “A Holistic View of Asperger’s Syndrome, Autism, & ADHD”

I was just skimming through it when I came upon this statement below.

Lots of times people will call or write asking for my “protocol for Asperger’s” or my “treatment plan for Asperger’s”. I don’t have one! No one who can be grouped in the spectrum of Asperger’s is the same – each is an individual, and each feels the advantages and discomforts of their personal situation differently. This is true for anyone – take two people who were raised poor. One perhaps grew up with a chip on the shoulder, and strove to earn lots of money and buy fancy things. Another maybe didn’t mind much and goes around with the attitude “we make our own fun”. In my family both of these are represented, and the nature of each one is drastically different, despite that the initial situation was the same. In the same way, two people with Asperger’s or two people with ADD will have different priorities. One may feel great discomfort in a situation where another does not, and it is those discomforts that must drive the way I work with each person. It’s not up to me to say, “oh, we better fix this about you, so that everyone will think you’re normal”. Instead, I simply ask about what would make a person feel more comfortable in their world.

I go about this the same way that I would for any other client – we use the same “compass” that we do for any imbalance. What can we do in a person’s diet, sleep habits, and lifestyle to create more comfort, and what herbs can we use to support those changes? And at this point, we’re back to being “boring herbalists”, as Paul Bergner teaches. There’s nothing new here. Once we realize that everything is just a matter of getting closer to constitutional balance, we realize that all the answers are the same – north is still north. How each client gets there will be different, and how we can be creative in our encouragement and motivation of each client will be different, but moving towards balance itself will continue to be the same old “boring” work (yes, please!).

I believe this has MUCH value in how we should approach many things in life, but in particular when we are trying to help others. We need to be careful that we do not project our OWN concept of healthy, normal or healed on others. THEIR needs must be first and foremost in our approach.

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

Every client is a completely new combination of constitution, emotion, mind, energy, spirit and health. Part of the fun of herbalism is getting to know our clients and tailoring a program that addresses their unique situation. 🙂

Patrick

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

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