In homeopathy, the process of curing begins by removing the immediate symptoms, then progressing to the "older," underlying symptoms. Many of these "layers" are left-overs of fevers, trauma, or chronic disease that were unsuccessfully treated or suppressed by conventional medicine. As the stages of homeopathic curing progress, the patient may get worse before getting better. This is often referred to as the "healing crisis."

  In the mid-nineteenth century, Dr. Constantine Hering, the father of American homeopathy, stated that curing progresses from the deepest part of the body to the extremities; from the emotional and mental aspects to the physical; and from the upper part of the body (head, neck, ears, throat) to the lower parts of the body (fingers, abdomen, legs, feet). Hering's Laws of Cure also state that curing progresses in reverse chronological order, from the most recent maladies to the oldest. By Hering's laws, homeopaths are able to track the progress of their treatment and restore a patient's health, layer by layer.

   One woman was suffering from lupus, a disease where the body's immune system attacks its own tissue. After years of unsuccessful conventional treatment, she was told that she could only expect a life of continued pain and drug dependency. In despair, she turned to a homeopathic physician.

  First she was treated for drug dependency and the condition it was to relieve, pericarditis, an intensely painful inflammation of the outer lining of the heart. She was prescribed the remedy Cactus grandiflorus, a substance that, in healthy people, produces heart palpitations and depression. The homeopathic dose of Cactus grandiflorus reduced the inflammation, and a new set of symptoms emerged-anger, bitterness, and stress-powerful emotions she'd experienced before the emergence of her pericarditis.

  Nux vomica (poison nut) was then administered. A substance that produces hyperirritability and nervous cramping in healthy individuals helped her to overcome her emotional problems and progress to the next layer of curing. A recurrence of an old back pain and her phobia of cars emerged, the result of a serious accident and injury. As these conditions were treated, the woman was able to return fully to her life, healthy and free of pain.