[Anxious Student]
HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICINE By Praful Barvalia
Praful Barvalia DHMS MICR
[*Asst Prof, CMP Homoeopathic Medical
College, Irla Vile Parle (W), Mumbai]
20 years old Kum.M. belonging to a
Gujarati Jain family consulted me on 26 / 2 / 87 with the following
complaints.
CHIEF COMPLAINTS:
“I get very much tense during the
exams; in fact I keep worrying much before the exam; even if I am prepared
well I feel as if I dont know anything for the exams. So I either makes
silly mistakes or forget my study which affects my final performance. My
attempts of remaining cool, even for a monthly test, have failed and have
a feeling that it should finish quickly. It is since school days and
pronounced after S.S.C. I get Acidity ++, Nausea++ and bilious vomiting;
if I am doing anything that I am doing alone then I am very tense till I
finish doing the work. During tension if I am given consolation it amounts
to quite a great amount of relief.” She has taken Gelsemium, Kali
Phos. on and off since last 2 years.
ASSOCIATED COMPLAINTS:
1. Sore throat after cold drinks and
better by warm.
2. Headache on and off in sun and is
better by short sleep and tight bandage.
3. Cracks on lips which bleeds occ.
cracks on soles.
PATIENT AS A PERSON:
PERSPIRATION: Face, Nose, Forehead.
CRAVING: PICKLES, sour and salt,
sweets, cold drinks.
MENSES: Offensive. Pimples < before menses BACKACHE, pain in legs and abdomen < during menses. DREAMS: Anxiety++ (XII examination) frightful++ ghost once in X std traveling in plane and it crashed. MOTION SICKNESS: Vomiting < Bus THERMAL STATE: Hot Sun < headache likes winter wind and breeze. LIFE SPACE: Stays with Mo. 47 years. Fa. 51 B.E. (civil) Br. 24, Sis 21 years. Her father has done B.E. Initially her fathers work involved construction projects for roads and national highways and so frequent transfer for initial 10 years during which the patient was born and brought up. It was a difficult period PARENTAL CLASHES. Her father, was quite irritable by nature (now has cooled down considerably). Her mother is from as wealthier family and is also very irritable by nature. Her mother feels that he is not shrewd in family dealings and resents that She feels that their deeds are not reciprocated. All these result into frequent clashes. ATTACHMENT AND OVERPROTECTION: Miss M is quite uncomfortable on remaining away from her mother infact from any family member in that case. Patient is like personal assistant to father. She looks after his clerical work like share documents, bank matters etc. SENSITIVE SOUL IN SEARCH OF SUPPORT: While describing her nature she reports:” I am a very sensitive girl and very emotional. If someone hurts me even slightly. I break down in tears! I have very strong inferiority complex about my self. Even if I know a particular thing properly, yet I am not sure whether I know it properly and have the feeling that whatever I do is wrong and that others are right. I cannot take decisions on my own. I require help of somebody else in selection or in small matters. If I am doing any thing that I am doing alone then I am very tensed till I finish doing the task.” “Even the slightest disturbances in the environment upsets me resulting in a mood off and then I am not able to function normally and might result in a headache.” THE INTELLECT: Poor Comprehension Poor abstraction–> Confusion.
“Especially during exams, I mess
up things and something or the other is always missing even if I try not
to allow such things to repeat I cannot mix with people very quickly and I
keep thinking as to how to begin the conversation and finally remain
without speaking anything at all. But if I remain with the concerned
people for a long time then I can speak freely with them. If I have a
controversy with others regarding any topic, I do adjust myself to the
surrounding though unwillingly. I like to learn new things but most of the
time half way through it, I get bored about it. I get angry quickly and
often misunderstand people.”
She is basically impatient and does
everything in great haste; in the process she gets confused and produces
lots of confusion around. She is dependent and timid since childhood.
While describing her fears she mentions.” “I am afraid of
darkness. If I am alone at home during night time I cant sleep in the dark
howsoever I am tired.”
She developed intense anticipatory
anxiety after S.S.C. exams. She has been good at studies. She took up
micro-biology after H.S.C. She had lot of difficulties in secondary,
higher secondary classes further. She can tax her memory and manage to
score. She was good at history but had lot of difficulties in physics. She
was okay at arithmetic but had problems with geometry. Subjects which
involved abstract reasoning and conceptualization posed lot of
difficulties.
Following Repertorial Totality will
represent the case Repertorial Totality:
1. AF Anticipation
2. Fear: Alone
3. Fear: Dark
4. Impatient
5. Sensitive: Reprimand
6. Consolation
7.
8. Menses: offensive
9. Cr: PICKLES
10. Cr: Salt
11. Cr: Sour
Repertorial Syndrome:
Following drugs come up for
differentiation:
1. Medorrhinum
2. Lycopodium
3. Argentum nit
4. Nat mur
DISCUSSION:
Anticipatory anxiety and Fears bring
Lycopodium in to picture. As soon as we examine other coordinates Lyco
disappears. Lyco is basically on independent, dominating person. Lyco
lacks confidence but it has basic potential, hence anxiety recedes as
operation commences and action is delivered. Although memory for specific
object is defective, Lyco is excellent at abstraction General intelligence
for concept formulations is quite powerful in Lycopodium. While our
patient faced lot of difficulties in conceptual learning ARG.NIT is
similar with respect to Anxiety and fears but doesnt cover qualified
sensitivity to reprimand and relief from weeping and consolation.
Characteristics pertaining to intellect is also not covered.
NAT-MUR covers cravings but fails to
cover core features like dependence and fears Independent NAT-MUR is worse
by consolation.
On critical study of her formative
years, we find strong dominating mother who does not get along with her
husband. Patient has shown strong DEPENDENT ATTACHMENT towards mother.
Although she sided her mother she has no negativity towards father. She
grew as quite timid, dependent and anxious person.
Her characteristic ANTICIPATORY ANXIETY
SYNDROME AND FRAGILE SENSITIVITY demonstrated by; aggravation from
reprimand (Refer: Piere Schmidt) clinches diagnosis of Medorrhinum.
Another interesting aspect is in the
evolution of intellect in this case. We find this girl having a lot of
difficulties in higher studies. This is the time when capacity of
abstracting and reasoning is tested. This is deficient in this girl
Medorrhinum covers this as HERING mentions “Difficulty in
concentrating his thoughts of mind on abstract subjects” (Pg. 293
vol. VII)
Rx–MEDORRHINUM 1M single dose.
Follow up Report:
a. Her acidity and physical complaints
were relieved within 2 weeks.
b. Another dose was repeated after 3
weeks because of menstrual concomitants persisting.
c. Subsequent exams she gave
peacefully.
d. After 1 1 / 2 years, she came down
with another anxiety reaction. At that time the University had abruptly
announced preponement of exam. One dose of Medorrhinum 10M gave
substantial relief within 24 hours.
e. There is significant improvement in
her behaviour and the performance is much better.
Bombay, India