Snoopy,

I would like to send you several cycles of remedies and a few more details so you can see the logic to this as what you are saying is very true about patietns being stuck in a pattern/cycle. That is were the opposite of the cheif complaint and the nightmare segement I talked about come into play as they bring you back to the segment of what brings on or agg the cheif complaint to keep it going. Send me your personal e-mail address. I have cycles for over 75 remedies and will get more soon as I continue on the 2 yr class. I will send you some to review. What I like the most is you really fel you understand the remedy by knowing the grand characteristics.

In questioning you alwasy ask: first what is the worse thing about this for you? Then sometimes why is that so bad? (if need to make sure found deeper issue or not understand what they mean)Then what does it feel like - quality of it and/or how does it make you feel? Then, what do you do to deal with this?,will lead to the next segment of amel. All these quesitons make them go deeper into the quality and feeling and are responses to stress and these questions always lead to the next set of grand characteristics. Then you get to the opposite and the nightmare segments that leads to what brings it on or aggravates the CC segment. There are also 1-4 other segments possible that are more common in larger remedies. But in application, usually if get 4-5 main ones you have the whole case, but often you will find another main idea of symptoms of the patient that will fit in to the cycle and will further distinguish remedies. In the end, you have to use the symptoms the patient is expressing and not try and creat a cycle by making assumptions.
Do not presume a timid patient has angry outbursts, let the line of questioning lead to it. Maybe outbursts are they become loqautious and say soemthing embarassing or from being timid they hold feelings in and have physical pressures build up as well or constrictions that comes out in vomiting or diarrea or violent sneezing as they try ot hold it in as sneezing embarasses them. Point is keep asking what is worse thing and then how does it make them feel and whats on mind and what do next and it will flow together but not simple to explain all here.

In your example when they are lieing there ask, How do you feel liyng there? I don't know? whats on your mind? Just things that bother me? Like what? Just worries about many things? That may be all you get but often something will come out...Like what..death, kids, others, trifles..something will come up and how does it make you feel to worry about these things ? It makes me feel worthless or they may cry at this point or they may get irritable or defensive,etc. -also if they don't respond it means either it may not be important so ask how often do you do this and if find out they only go off alone to rest 1 per week it may not be part of the case as many people do this but doing it often would be a concern)What do you do to deal with that feeling? It makes me get up and start working again. How do you feel working then? I feel good doing somthing about worries. Point is you have to find out the worse thing or the best thing about each symptom and how they feel about each and what it leads them to do. You often must find multiple examples or something intense or frequent. Also the sympotms that the person uses the most energy for and the ones that are most debilitating for the patient must alwasy be considered and questioned. Follow the energy!

Also unitl you see and understand many grand characteristics of remedies it is hard to apply the method. When I took a case over the phone and found my first cycle for Merc. I was hooked and went back and studied the first 13 herscu letters and made a form for case taking that is real helpful but does not have alot of questions but just the main segments and what you are looking for in each in very general terms.

It keeps me focused on case taking so I don't get lost in the 100 symptom scenario.

I also ask all the other standard questions on stool, thirst, etc as they usually fit in to the cycle or I may find I missed something or misunderstood something, but usually it is pretty clear what needs fixed - which symptoms matter.

regarding which symptoms matter - those that are peculiar, intense, frequent - use alot of the persons energy and are debilitating for the patient - ie discharges leading to weakness,and those that have multiple examples. better after crying, after urination, stool, yelling - Gen. discharges amel and combine with specific rubrics noted to form grand characteristic. Then the segment of symptoms that logically leads to the next segment, so similar symptoms that form a main idea that lead to another symptom in a logical manner are the one consdiered to be most important. Your ? of sympotms that repeat on more than one level I am guessing you mean combining similar ideas regardless if mental, emotional, physical? If so, yes. Any symptom that is clearly similar to other symptoms and there are numerous examples, must be part of the case.

If a person reads the first 13 Herscu letters several times, and then continues the Herscu letter you can learn to use it but it took me 6 months of applying it to get confident with it and then until I could read more cycles and Pauls modern day explanation of the remedy, which I will send you some it was still difficult for cases when different remedies I did not have cycles for or a clear understanding of the remedy showed up for consideration.

I think you will like what I send you but it is not for distribution, but only since you have studied it, I am willing to send it to you. Let me know if you feel you better understand the remedies once you have read it. I really like Pauls down to earth explanation of the picture of remedies expressing the totality of the disease. The other thing I do is if take case with cycles and find 3 segments that say 4 remedies have in them and then they have differnt segements you can ask general questions to find out whats next if by chance you get lost in taking the case.

Send me your e-mail

Hope this was helpful.

John O.