Yes it could be Bar-c, esp if you focus on that symptom, also several other remedies.It is a possibility. What I tried to do is go underneath it, see what the person generally is like. Thus I thought the feeling of vunerability, of being hurt, was more appropriate than of feeling foolish.

Bar-c has a strong feeling of being unable to carry out their responsibilities, that when they attempt to be an adult, they will make a fool of themselves and everyone will laugh at them. This is because they feel like a little child surrounded by grown-ups, all who can do things they cannot. Baryta is a Gold series remedy, one theme of which is responsibility. They cannot learn properly, and must be taken care of by their parents or partners. Some part of them never develops fully. There always remains something child-like about Baryta people, you can hear it in their voice, see it in their face. Mind you, I don't have that luxury in this instance.

However, my experience with these people, is that they may instead compensate for this by becoming very self-sufficent. They may even deliberately do something very brave like travelling the world on their own or emigrating alone to a new country. It is hard to see the Baryta in these people without probing deeply into their childhood, when they will reluctantly reveal how they used to hide behind their mother or run away whenever strangers came to the house, or how they felt very out-of-place at school because they were so slow to learn, and all the other kids would laugh and make fun of them. Baryta people are also slow to catch on to sarcasm and humour too, which is one reason why they suspect people must be laughing at them. They don't get the clever twists of some jokes, so begin to feel others must be having a go at them. Baryta primarily feels STUPID, RIDICULOUS, POWERLESS, SMALL, DEFENCELESS.

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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 forgot to mention the rubric, Mind: Anxiety, company, in-Acon.(2) Ambr.(2)
bar-c.(1) bell.(1) cad-s.(1) lyc.(2)
petr(2) plat(1) stram(1).

This, after all, is his chief complaint--anxiety in company.

Snoopy

David,

Here's how I see the components of HI's case:
1.Ailments from violence.
2.Ailments from public humiliation.
3.Living in terror.
4.Wanting to run away but afraid of being caught and punished.
5.Teased and called "gay" because of refusal to engage in rule-breaking behavior
(fear of being caught, again).
6. Friendless (he finally made friends when, in high school, began making wise-cracks and acting "smart", but his balloon burst when the kids saw he couldn't stand up for himself; from class clown to class nerd!)
7. Only feels safe alone.
8. Delusion-is laughed at when in company.

Now, if one looks at Scholten's description of baryta, here's what one finds:

1. Powerless to be dignified.
2. Ridiculed.
3. Merest glance from an observer is enough to make them feel criticized and they turn away to avoid further looks.
4. As defenseless as a little child.
5. Feels that strong people in this world are always laughing at them.
6. They tend to hide themselves to avoid being observed by others.
7. Yielding to power--defensless.

To me, what's at the heart of this case is defenslessness and powerlessness and needing to hide to feel safe. Yielding is the only choice he believes he has. There's the delusion that he is laughed at--bar-c.

So, I would tend to go with baryta carb.

Snoopy