Acutally, I think the head banging is probably very important - well spotted!!! Ars is the only remedy, but it is also a well know feature of Tub. I was wondering if it might point to the miasm here. It is hard to see the signature of either of these remedies here though. I would probably wait and see if it clears on a remedy suited to the mentals, and if not use it later.

__________________
David Kempson.<br />Dip.Homoeopathic Medicine.<br />Lecturer Australian College of Natural Therapies (Brisbane Campus)<br />Member AHA, AROH, HMA<br />Member Australian Homoeopathic Association. Member#0442.

I took one-half capfull, 2x- (so it was a total of one capfull)
Silicea 200c, on May 9th, a few weeks back.
I am wondering if stress might interfier with the remedy? Also I got chilled while sleeping and got a cold soon after taking the Silicea, which lasted a week or two. Might something like this cause a remedy to be inifective? (well, I mean in general, lets say I actually take the right remedy, would being stressed or sick cause it not to work?)
When I had my consultation with my homeopath I dont think we focused so much on my anxiety, I think at the time I wasnt experienceing much at all because I had no job and so I didnt think it(anxiety) was important. (I remember thinking that homeopathy cant cure my anxiety, that will be done with therapy. I was there to cure my physical symptoms)
Now I'm alittle confused, since you all seem to feel that the anxiety is one of the main focus's.
I am very greatfull to you all for your help and I hope you continue with the questions and suggestions.
Sorry I haven't mentioned before, but I am a male, 21 years old. (You'd think I would have sayed that considering all the other things I told you! :razz
To comment on something LisaAnnan sayed, I think I have both poor social skills and am also afriad because of my vulnerability.. Its funny though, when I first start jobs (like this one, and the 2 I had last summer) I would be like, the friendliest guy. alittle shy but I managed to find enough confidence to act as though I am normal and not socialy inept...but then after a couple weeks (this seems to be a recuring theme with all my jobs) it starts going downhill. I become down and moody, people wonder whats wrong, some ask me if there is anything wrong. and of course I cant tell them whats really bothering me because they wouldnt understand or they'de get freaked out that Im such a loner. another thing is my appearance... I feel unatractive. its very strange somtimes,, one minute I think a girl thinks Im cute from far away. but when im upclose i just know im ugly. wich makes me much less confident and friendly. ,,,,its as though I always expect manipulation from other people.. hard to trust anyone...come to think of it, i dont trust my own mother.
well, sorry for ranting. I will take whatever you suggest into consideration. (wow that sounded funny after saying i dont trust anyone,,,,hehe)

PS: I took Rescue Remedy for the first time yesterday before work and it helped,,,although today I took less than the recomened dose and Im not sure if it did anything,, tommarrow its back to 4 drops!)

Dear HI

This is just a quick reply this time 'cause I want to make sure you understand that you can repeat the rescue remedy as often as you want and take as many drops or sips as you want, as the case may be. I'm glad to hear something helps!

Talk to you later,

Snoopy

HI,

Let me ask you something. You say you start off a new job being as sociable as you possibly can and then after a few weeks people start asking what's wrong with you, 'cause you're just not your "old" cheerful self. Could it be that the STRAIN of ACTING for weeks on end finally takes its toll? Actually, I think your behavior is quite understandable in light of your traumatic childhood--it's hard to imagine that you could be any other way. Maybe you should think of yourself as normal for what you've been through, and don't be so hard on yourself.

About Silica, I think we have to face the fact that it was not the right remedy. You ask if your cold antidoted the remedy, this is why I don't like high potencies. You never know how to evaluate what happened if the remedy didn't work. Was it the cold? Was it stress? Should we repeat the remedy?
If you're on daily doses of a low potency and you get wet and catch a cold, you can stop your remedy, take a dose of Rhus tox or Dulcamara 30C, or whatever, to treat the cold, and then go back on your daily dose of the chronic remedy, and you never have to wonder, "Did that cold interfere with my remedy?"

But I really don't believe that Silica was the right remedy, as I said before. Maybe David's right; maybe it's Nat-carb. I think I'll wait and hear what he has to say about this latest information you've given us.

Sincerely,

Snoopy

This is the problem with getting bits and pieces of a case. Something new is said and you start to think "Hang on, that doesn't fit" . Normally all this stuff would be said at once.

I guess the issue about being rejected because of your appearance, the feeling of ugliness, could also be Sulphur characteristics. This would mean Nat-sulph might be a contender too. I would probably stick with the Nat-carb, though. It is the Carbon aspect that has to do with the desire to appear normal. Carbon is about values, being a good or a bad person. If you want to try it , I would suggest taking Nat-c 30c, once a day for 3 days.

Snoopy, I noticed you suggested 6c previously. What potencies do you tend to use usually?

What I would really like to know is why you don't trust your own mother? Can you explain that before we go any further.

__________________
David Kempson.<br />Dip.Homoeopathic Medicine.<br />Lecturer Australian College of Natural Therapies (Brisbane Campus)<br />Member AHA, AROH, HMA<br />Member Australian Homoeopathic Association. Member#0442.

David,

Did I actually say I didn't trust my mother? I don't recall saying that, or is this an expression you Aussies use? I really don't know how to respond.

Regarding the 6C potency I mentioned earlier, you were suggesting nat-c. as HI's remedy and it didn't look to me like nat-c. would cover the acute anxiety attacks he's having. (Hahnemann, in the Organon, #221 & 222, and other places as well, talks about the use of the acute remedy and how the chronic remedy will often not be adaquate to combat the acute flare-ups in a case.)
The rubrics I've been looking at suggest that Arsenicum might be needed in the acute anxiety state (for instance, Throat: nausea in; Head: strike, desire to from pain; Escape, attempts to); even Aconite (Anxiety: company in) might be worth considering. So, I'm thinking, he may need a 30C of Aconite or Arsenicum for the acute attacks, while on a daily dose of the chronic remedy in a 6C or LM potency. This is how Murphy and Luc De Schepper prescribe, and they claim to be 6th Organon prescribers--as opposed to Kentian--the one-dose-high-and-wait people. Doing it the latter way means not being able to treat acutes, which in this case is a real draw-back because the acute he's experiencing is draining him of his energy and can't be ignored. So, that was my reasoning.

The other thing is, and I haven't mentioned this before, but the etiology here speaks more to Staphysagria, Carc., Lyc. and the other abuse remedies; this etiology isn't listed for nat-c.

My feeling is this: If HI could get through the day without an anxiety attack, a headache and nausea, he'd be a new man! I would feel obligated to aim my 1st prescription at this area.

Snoopy

Dear Snoopy,

I'm sorry, that question about his mother was for HI, not for you. I should know better than to mix up the order of my questions. I sort of added that question on at the end.

I see what you meant by using the 6c, low in daily doses. I always start at 30 or 200c, and only use a few doses, but any potency of the right remedy will have an effect.

I know that Nat-c will not show up traditionally for this patient, that is because I used Scholten's method. I was attempting to aim a remedy at the cause rather than the symptoms. My experience of Nat-carb patients is they have often been abused by their fathers, emtionally or physically. I have seen 4 other Nat-c patients with this sort of history.

The thing with abuse in a person's past is that many many people will present with it in clinic, maybe 30-40%, but they will need a broader range of remedies than those listed in the rubric. It is what that abuse has done to the person that is more important. My idea was that in HI's case it has disrupted his social skills, caused him to feel different from everyone else, stopped him from enjoying normal relationships. It has made him withdrawn, made him a loner, prevents him from talking to people about what is going on inside. These are all Natrum characteristics, not Arsenicum, Staph or Lyc. Anxiety on its own could fit any remedy, it won't narrow the choice.

To illustrate the efectiveness of this method, I saw a return client today who had come for sciatica, pms, frequent colds and flus, fatigue state since Ross River Fever. Mentally she was bright , vivacious, talkative. Her main fears were the dark, being alone, vampires, anything supernatural. She was clairvoyant, felt she could predict which cards she would draw from a pack. She hated being alone at night and wanted her husband there so she could sleep. Her anxiety was always better in company.She craved chocolate, tomatoes, chillis, rice, lots of cold water. She gets headaches unless she eats regularly, and always has food with her, always nibbling.

This looks like Phosphorous. But right at the end of the consultation, when I asked her what her main fear was she said "Failure - I have started studying law twice and has quit twice. I get top marks but I am so scared of not passing exams I quit before the first exam, so I cannot possibly fail.I throw in the towel when it becomes too difficult. I have never done an exam since leaving school, because I always quit."

This stands out, there was nothing in her past to explain it. The fear of failure, of exams , is a Ferrum series characteristic. The desire to quit just before the exam is typical of Stage 9 remedies, they are all quitters. Stage 9 Ferrum remedy is Cobolt. So I gave her one dose of Cobolt 200.

4 weeks later, today when she comes to see me, she reported that she aggravated for 4 days, all her physicals became worse and she felt like crying for a day. Then everything got much better. She said "I have this energy inside me, I feel bulletproof. I feel excited all the time as if something good is happening. I feel more relaxed, I am not pushing myself so hard. I can make decisions in my life without worrying about whether I will fail or not. I feel more confident. I feel like I have stepped outside my old body and into a new one."

Her sciatica is gone, her PMS is gone completely, her period pain never eventuated, she has seen her entire office fall victim to the flu and she has been unaffected (the first time in many years), and best of all , her fears have VANISHED. She cannot remember why she was so frightened. And she had had these fears since she was about 10 yrs old. Despite the fact that Cobolt is not recorded as producing those fears, it has taken them away.

I believe the fears were a sort of smokescreen, meant to distract from the real issue, which the Cobolt addressed.

__________________
David Kempson.<br />Dip.Homoeopathic Medicine.<br />Lecturer Australian College of Natural Therapies (Brisbane Campus)<br />Member AHA, AROH, HMA<br />Member Australian Homoeopathic Association. Member#0442.

Wow! I'm afraid I would have given Phosphorus. What a great case!

So, you really think Nat-c. will stop these anxiety attacks? Well, now I'm really anxious to see! The worst thing that can happen is that nothing will happen, in which case we can just try something else. The important thing in a dire situation like this is to get started. Take something! When the acute is extreme, the right remedy works fast.

Snoopy

Snoopy- when I start a new job its like a new begining, im HOPEFULL that this time things will be different, that I'll be like the other workers I see there, all happy and joking and talking. After a few weeks I feel left out, I see others talk with ease and I just dont feel accepted. I realize this is because I dont say much and Im not very happy after a couple weeks, and since others dont know me, I just seem unfriendly or strange to them. So they stop being as friendly to me..
Sometimes I get irritated or defensive around others also, because deep down Im afraid of them hurting me, its like irrationaly-knowing or predicting that they will hurt me.
I hear them talking about what they did over the weekend or whats going on at home.. I dont have that information to share.. all I do is ask questions about work. So its like- what is keeping me from getting a life, is not having one (unless they invite me out of pitty or somthing)...I woulnd be much fun anyways. ouch, writing all this is depressing,,, but I guess its good for the long run, eh?
-But I dont think I get drained from acting,, its more like my bubble is bursted.

DavidJK- I dont trust my mother because,,,I think its because I suspect she might have alot to do with my problems today...even though she didnt purposly harm me and try to screw up my life,,,if and when i tell her somthing in confidence, and specificaly tell her not to tell anyone,,, she still goes ahead and tells her aunts sisters or friend, despite my telling her not to talk about the personal info I had to tell her.. I have confronted her on this a number of times and I still dont trust her, i mean she might not change just like that.. its just how she thinks(that its ok to disregurad my requests of not telling anyone else about my personal problems,,, wich I had no choice but to do, due to circumstances,,, one example is when I had depression and was suisidal last year and had to drop out of college- and after specificaly telling her not to tell ANYONE about it she told her aunt and a friend -who spreads the word ever further to HER family.)and God know who else. anyways thats the jist of it.
My mother has problems of her own, she is suffering from what I think is the remains of an anxiety disorder. She has very few friends whom she hardly ever sees. and shes in a marrage that is, sick. alot of yelling. I think shes had one of the hardest lives of anyone I know.

Dear HI,

Thanks for sharing more information with us.

When you were in college and had to leave because of suicidal tendencies, did you actually try to commit suicide? What method did you use? If not, how exactly did you envision ending your life, and how did you feel about it? In our repertory, under "suicidal depression", there are many sub-rubrics, such as: by drowning, by hanging, etc.; other sub-rubrics
are: but with fear of death, or, mind constantly turns toward suicide, or, but lacks courage, or, better from crying...and so forth. So, I'm not trying to be morbid by asking you this, but anything you can tell us about the suicidal depression would help us a great deal; and also, is it something you have now, or is it dependent on something specific?

Again, in the Delusions section of the repertory, there is: Delusion, injury, receive, is about to. So, this refers to a feeling a person may have that at any time he may be injured, which is basically what you were trying to tell us--you don't get too close to people because you may be injured by them emotionally. Again we see Arsenicum! Lyc. is also there, so is nux vomica, a remedy famous for irritability, something you have mentioned more than once! Nux Vomica is also famous for: "wants to but can't". I thought of this when you said you wanted to cry, but couldn't. It's a big constipation remedy--have you had a history of that?

Anyway, I've thrown enough questions at you for one letter, so, I'll let you get to work on them.

Bye for now,

Snoopy