Introduction
Homeopathy is a science based on the idiom ‘Similia Similibus Curenter’ which means ‘Like Cures Like’1, 2 (Hahnemann, 6th edition). In homeopathy, symptoms of the patient as a whole are matched with the symptoms of the drug to be prescribed in toto.3 To understand the patient as a whole, understanding at level of disease symptoms, personality, mind, belief system, likes, dislikes, subconscious thoughts – all need to be understood well to reach to the perfectly similar remedy4 (B.K.Sarkar, 18th edition). Hence, case-taking has to be very detailed and artful.
In Psychiatric cases, it becomes difficult to understand the real personality of the patient. Because of overcrowding of mental symptoms, it becomes difficult to differentiate between disease symptoms and personality symptoms and many a times homoeopathic physicians end up prescribing wrong remedies with no any cures, finally rendering the pathy at fault.
This case provides us with insights about how artfully, with the help of art, we can elicit the personality symptoms of a child suffering from Generalised Anxiety Disorder with a plethora of disease symptoms and find the perfect similar remedy to find gentle, rapid cure.
Case Presentation
Fear since 2 years
Fear of dark, being alone, teachers, school etc.
Due to his fear, parents have changed his school for 3 times in the last 2 years.
He always wants his mother or father to be with him for 24 hours.
Weeping with fear and very low confidence.
Details of his fear
Fear in school – he has fear someone will hurt him, beat him, teacher will punish him, teacher will shout at him etc.
Fear of being alone – when alone he will get lost and kidnapped, they will beat him, asks parents for money in exchange.
Fear that if he is hurt then he will be admitted in hospital and doctor will suggest surgery and then he will have to face pain. His parents will have to spend a lot of money in the hospital.
Physical changes with fear – trembling of body with desire to stands at one place, body pain as if some is pressing his body, all his nerves became tight, followed by headache.
Past history
Tracheoesophageal fistula at birth operated when patient was 2 hours of age.
Preterm baby, delivered in 8th month
Mothers history during pregnancy
Antenatal bleeding at 3rd and 7th month of pregnancy, admitted twice.
Physical generals
Appetite – good
Thirst – thirsty
Stool – 2-3 times with pain in abdomen around umbilical region
Urine – clear
Sleep – sound, at times wake up with fear.
Dreams – ghosts, something is happening to him, monster is eating him, he is in pain – wakes up with fear with dryness in throat and fearful face.
Perspiration – scanty, only on exertion.
Thermals – Chilly
Mentals
Approaching + Physical restlessness + Destructive
Angry by nature – does not like anyone taking his things without his permission. Desire to throw things in anger.
Anger over his mistakes. If someone tells him that he cannot do something, feels angry and criticizes them.
Emotionally blackmails his parents – tells them that they are not doing anything for him, doesn’t trust his parents.
Discontented
Patient was asked to try and express his fear on paper as he liked to draw and paint.
When asked to explain the picture, he said he knows he is standing on top of a building but for him it is like standing on top of a very big mountain. Though is aware that it’s a building, he can’t help his thoughts and feels afraid as if it is a mountain. When asked about the other part of picture, he said the small child is him and the big person is his teacher. He feels that his teacher will punish him or beat him. He says he understands that there is no need to be fearful in certain situations but he can’t help himself.
Final remedy
Nux Vomica 2006 single dose followed by Sac Lac for15 days Follow-up: 08/07/2023.
Patient was appearing calm and happy. Parents said patient willingly started going to school on 3rd day of medicines. Fewer episodes of fear outbursts in last 15 days with no definite physical changes with fear. No any fearful dreams. He started going in school in autorikshaw alone. (Previously his father or mother had to pick and drop him from school as he was not ready to go to school in autorikshaw alone.)
Confidence level increased. No fear of teacher.
Sac Lac was prescribed for next 15 days.
Patient did not come for follow-up after that though we got to know that he is doing much better now.
Discussion
For a 9-year-old child, the level of clarity of thought and understanding exhibited was profound. Also in psychiatric cases, it is difficult to assess the core picture of the patient because of predominant mind symptoms as disease symptoms. Hence, it becomes difficult to find the similimum. In this case, with the help of art, understanding the picture of the patient as a person was simplified and paved the way for finding the correct similimum. In this particular case, we could also see that the pace of achieving cure after administration of homeopathic remedy was magical.
Conclusion
The main crux of real homoeopathic cure lies in finding the perfect similimum for any given case.7 To accomplish this task, homeopaths need to get creative with their history-taking skills along with acquiring the knowledges needed to understand the disease in the individual and the individual in the disease. Hence Homeopathy is said to be the Science and the Art.8
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