Screaming, shouting, slapping: a case of Actea spicata

The patient is a fifty-three-year- old woman, a housewife, with alopecia areata, migraines, cough and exhaustion.

Passive case witnessing process

Patient (P): “I like to keep calm, I cannot argue, I cannot justify myself but I get so angry at times that I could hurt someone.

“I try to keep myself busy, I am very hard working. I am very talkative, I either talk a lot or I don't talk at all. Sometimes, I can't sleep through the night, sometimes I am very relaxed as if I don't have any problems at all. I am very strong, if I take on some work I will keep trying until I finish it.

“My son has renal hypertension. I tend to think constantly about him. His creatinine level is not coming down only, but I will keep trying, I won't give up easily.

“I am addicted to tea, I drink a cup 4-5 times a day.

“I am oversensitive, I cry a lot. Yesterday my son talked back to me, I did not say a word to him and I went in my room. If I see some person in pain on Facebook, it hurts me for days at a time.” (She cries all through the consultation). “Now I like to be alone, it has become a habit.

“I love dogs, I love plants. I love to plant trees which remain green in all seasons. I sit close to nature. If I am disturbed, I go and sit there the whole day.

“If someone hurts me I will keep inside, I will never hurt them. Earlier, it wasn't the case. I used to speak out now I can't express myself, may be because I feel disturbed due to my son’s issues.”

Zinkal Tilva (ZT): What was it like earlier?

 P: “I used to be very jolly and socially involved in many things. Now, I am always disturbed, with thoughts like: ‘What if something happens to my son or what if something happens to me, who will look after me?’

“If someone neglects me, I feel hurt. Nowadays things hurt me a lot. If I have any conflicts with my sister I keep on dwelling on them inside, I cannot speak them out. My biggest problem is that I cannot express myself anymore. For instance, if everyone is asked if they want water but they do not ask me, I feel hurt and I suppress things inside.

In my childhood, if someone said something it did not bother me, but now if my brother or sister says a little thing, it touches me and hurts inside.”

ZT: Tell me more about your childhood?

P: “I used to be very confident about whatever I did, whatever I cooked but now I don't have any confidence. I cry a lot for no reason. I want to cry out whatever is there inside.

I dwell on every small matter. There is negativity everywhere, and when I don't express myself I have a lot of fear inside. Since the last 6-7 years, this depression makes me want to finish myself.  I think: ‘What if something terrible would happen tomorrow and I will be all alone, who will look after me?” Many things go on inside me, which I don't show to anyone, I cannot express and it eats me up from inside. Then, I need to divert myself with work or I sit in a corner and cry.

This is the problem: even if I decide to speak out, I cannot. I go to the temple or I distract myself with work.”

Focus: a repeated issue is: “Very sensitive and emotional, feels hurts and angry easily about very small things. Earlier, she used to speak it out but now she suppresses things and cries or distracts herself in work or in household activities.

Level of Experience: higher level of experience as she is talking about common emotions like feeling ‘hurt and angered easily about trifles’, to which she reacts by either suppressing it or weeping or distracting herself in various situations of life, with her son, brother, sister and in general. For this, we would select the 1M potency due to the level of experience. She is talking about all general areas, not just restricted to one area.

Active Case Witnessing Process with focus

ZT: Tell me about the small things that really hurt you but you cannot express?

P: “When someone hurts me, I feel uneasy from within. I can’t get to sleep and my mind remains disturbed. I cry or try to distract myself; I will get up at night and check my plants and water them. Yesterday, when my son talked back to me, I couldn't speak and I couldn't sleep through the night. At the same time, I am angry and I feel like hitting him or screaming out loud, but I do not utter a word and I keep crying.”

Active active case witnessing process

ZT: What is the worst thing you feel with all these emotions inside?

P: “I feel like slapping my son when he is insulting me, but then I go in kitchen and distract myself with work. When he was young, I used to immediately slap him or scold him or scream at him. I used to hit my younger sister as a child; I used to react immediately and not just bear it. But now, I sometimes express myself and I sometimes suppress things. “Whenever I’m angry, I feel like committing suicide or I feel like screaming at my husband.

“I feel I am a failure in life, I couldn't handle my career. Now, I keep myself busy and avoid all kinds of things which hurt me.”

ZT: What dreams do you have? Anything from childhood right up until now?

P: “A dream from childhood: my grandpa was helping me to plant trees. I was hiding him from the others, as he was dead. We both were enjoying planting rose shrubs with many flowers.

 “I saw the death of my grandpa and I was very disturbed but couldn't tell it to anyone. Whenever I think about grandpa, I get very disturbed.

“There was a well filled with water, it was overflowing.  I struggled to save myself and run away. I was struggling to save my life.

“A recurrent dream is of someone who is suffocating my mother with a pillow and I am screaming to save her. I actually end up screaming in my sleep. The important part of the dream was that my mother was not able to breathe or speak out and I was struggling to save her by screaming at that person, and scolding him out loud. I was frightened in the dream.”

ZT: Craving and aversions?

P: “I like spicy food and green chilies. I don’t drink much water. I like cold weather.”

Analysis

She is very sensitive to any kind of emotions where she feels really angry. She either screams, shouts, slaps or she suppresses her anger and won't speak out. She gets hurt very easily; any small thing touches her and affects her.

She weeps constantly while narrating the case; with anger or without any reason. Desire to cry out loudly, to empty whatever is loaded inside her.

In order not to react in anger and not to dwell on it constantly, she distracts her mind to household work or other activities.

Keywords

Anger about trifles.

Suppressed emotions

Anger, annoyance , irritability, vexation, chagrin with weeping

Desire for distraction

The above expressions, her experience and reactions points towards the Ranunculaceae family of the Plant kingdom.

Raw nerves excite very easily, morbidly sensitive to trifles, irritability, excessive anger with grief, guilt, annoyed, distressed, vexed. Many emotions excited together, one on top of the other. (From “Insights into Plants” volume 3 by Rajan Sankaran)

Intensity of reaction (Miasm)

There was marked fluctuation:

-      Immediate action of anger versus suppression of anger with crying and distracting herself

-      Very talkative versus not talking at all

-      Constant struggle and trying versus acceptance and avoidance and giving up, with fear of failure

Above pointers indicate the Ringworm Miasm (Acute +Sycosis)

• Fluctuation between struggle and resignation
• Keeps on trying
• Hopefulness alternating with hopelessness
• Immediate reaction with accepting, avoiding and distracting

In the Ranunculaceae family, the Ringworm Miasm remedy is Actea spicata:

There is vexation, which they try to accept or combat with anger and sulking; “Trying not to be vexed.”

Fear of failure

Desperate about trifles

Sad, lamenting and sighing

Melancholy; dejection with inclination to weep

Hopelessness; constant apprehension ; anxious solicitude when quiet

Confirmation

Rheumatic remedy with special affinity to small joints. Affected joints are swollen and tender.

Extreme weakness as if paralyzed.

Prescription: Actea spicata 1M, one dose

Acute follow up ten days later

She called up with a severe bursting headache, since taking the dose. Her nose is blocked, breathlessness. “I feel suffocation, and feverish from inside. A severe continuous cough, which I have had for a long time has aggravated. I am too exhausted to stand up during my domestic affairs. I am very scared, wondering why these all complaints have aggravated?”

Prescription: frequent doses of placebo, considering that the aggravation is a good sign that the body is reacting.

Follow up after one month

Physically: her cough has reduced considerably but is still slightly there.

“I feel continually exhausted, I have no energy to move. My addiction to tea has completely stopped. The joint pains are much better.”

No change in alopecia patch.

Mentally: “I’m feeling peaceful and calm, the anger has reduced a lot. Small things doesn't hurt me, I don't feel like crying so much.”

Prescription: Actea spicata 30C, three doses

The initial aggravation immediately after the first dose was a homeopathic aggravation, which was followed by improvement on the mental and physical front. Mentally, things were fine but physically, a few things still persisted.

Follow up after three months

Physically: cough has diminished. No exhaustion: “I can work continuously for 3-4 hours.”

Feverish feeling has gone. No joint pains at all. Sometimes breathless in the middle of night.

The headache is not so severe anymore but still present from time to time. The alopecia patches have started filling in with new hair.

Mentally: “I am agitated since the last couple of days due to my son’s health. His creatinine level is increasing. I can’t do anything about it but sit in a corner and cry for hours.  

I am not so hurt about small things anymore but I still feel hurt when someone insults me, scolds or talks back to me.”

Prescription:  Actea spicata 1M, one dose

Follow up after five months

Physically: there is a new complaint of itching all over without eruptions, and a severe vaginal itch has returned. Overall 60-70% better in all complaints.

Cough is almost completely over; if it comes, it settles within 2-3 hours.

Alopecia patch is filling in quickly.

Mentally: “My reactivity to the things around me has reduced to a great extent. These days things don’t bother me as much, and if they do, I speak out instead of just crying. Things don't linger anymore. The fear of what will happen to me and my son has reduced, and I sleep peacefully.”

The fact that the complaints are now mainly at the skin level, while the other physical and mental complaints are reduced, suggests that the cure is moving in the right direction, from centre to periphery.  

Prescription: Actea spicata 30C

Follow up after six months

Physically: itching has reduced but is still slightly present. Joint pains very rare, only after exertion. Headache only on rare occasions. Alopecia patch has recovered completely.

Mentally: “There is a dramatic change on the mental front. Earlier I used to always feel low and depressed. I would bottle things up and hurt myself. Now, I feel my lighter and confident.”

Encounter your emotions

Rather than bottling them up inside tight.

Let them tickle your raw nerves

Until it ceases to be a tickle anymore.

Feeling the emotions is a gift

not all would be granted.

Befriend it and

you may find strength in it…