Case Quizes

Tidbits Part 17 — A Mixed Bag

Written by Elaine Lewis

More homeopathic helpful hints

Try Looking Under The “Un’s”

Did you know that if you can’t find the rubric you’re looking for in the Repertory, it might be under the Un’s? For example, if you’re looking for Sulphur’s famous messiness and can’t find it? It’s under “Mind: untidy”! Or if you’re looking for Sulphur’s famous aversion for blankets, go to “Generals: uncovering, kicks the covers off, in coldest weather”. What if you’re looking for Sulphur’s famous “sticks his feet out” (of the covers)? It’s under “Feet, uncover feet, inclination to”.

What if you’re looking for “coma”? It’s under “Mind: unconsciousness, coma”.

What if you know that Lycopodium has the trait of avoiding any new situation or trying anything new because of his poor self-confidence, where do you find that? “Mind: undertaking, nothing, lest he fail”.

Here’s a good Nat-mur rubric for you: “Mind: unpleasant things, inclined to dwell on”.

If your patient is “undependable”, you’ll find him under “unreliable”!

Here’s a good one for people in extreme pain–“Mind: unbearable, pains”.

For people who lack compassion and seem to only care about themselves? “Mind: unsympathetic”.

Here’s a good Ignatia rubric for you–“Mind: unreasonable”.

 

Who Throws Tantrums?

We talked about “Difficult Children” in a previous Tidbits article, but, people wanted more!

Calc-carb.What? Aren’t they supposed to be such placcid and independent little things, playing nicely by themselves wherever you put them? Yes, they are. But every remedy generally has a polarity, unfortunately. Picture Calc-carb–self-willed, uncontrollable, screaming about everything and anything, you remove the cause and he proceeds to scream about something else! When you try to give him the thing he wants, he throws it away! Sounds like Chamomilla but the Chamomilla state is usually the result of illness or teething, often it’s pain. Calc-carb is just stubborn and this is how it can look. He interrupts, begs, prevents the parents from talking…. “Can I have a cookie? Can I have a cookie? Can I have a cookie?” Obstinate and unrelenting! Digs in his heels! No consideration for others! Hard to believe, but there it is! You can look for the usual calc-carb confirmatories: desires eggs, big round sweaty head, frequent colds in the winter, nose always running even when he’s well, sour smell, sweats with the slightest exertion, constipation (but it doesn’t bother him), very large stools, loves dairy but may not like milk; but, yes to ice cream and whipped cream, yes to cheese, yes to butter especially bread and butter, loves potatoes and pasta. Milestones come late. Fear of the dark, fear of going to bed, night terrors, wakes up screaming, very impressionable–a scary story, etc., may frighten him for a long time. Well, we must move on now to our next badly behaved child….

Sulphur — With Sulphur, it’s not “anything and everything”, there’s always a reason. There’s a sudden explosion of temper, the child becomes red and hot, yelling, stamping his feet; but if you give him what he wants, he stops. It’s over as quickly as it started. Sulphurs don’t sit and stew, they pick up and move on.

Hepar sulph — Malicious! Bullies! Heartless! Shoving his playmate, pushing him off his seat, maybe even down the stairs! Ugh! The worst!

Tuberculinum — Also violent like Hepar but needs provocation, and then, watch out for a barrage of curse words and truly offensive language!

Belladonna –It’s more a matter of insanity. He’s wild, biting, spitting, hitting and kicking, tearing his clothes, maybe even finishing with a convulsion.

Nux vomica — Also wild, kicking his parents in the shins, etc. but not insane. A constant irritable and disagreeable manner that can easily erupt in a tantrum.

Lachesis — You know how a snake suddenly strikes, taking you completely by surprise? This is how the Lachesis temper tantrum begins. All is quiet, the child is fine, and then, suddenly, Wham! And there it is! The child becomes venomous, hateful, clawing at himself, attacking others with his characteristic “sharp tongue” or attacking physically.

Lycopodium — Angry, bossy, rude and bullying–especially to the parents if they’re too easy-going or permissive, and to younger siblings too, but at school, the child gets good behavior awards! That’s because he’s afraid of the teacher, and anyone in authority.

Nat-mur. — Rage with intense sobbing which may lead to hysterics. They’ve been “good” for so long, but something is finally the last straw! It takes a long time for them to recover, there’s nothing you can do to console them. As Misha Norland says, “You try to pick them up and console them, and they’re all spikes and thorns!” You can’t do anything with them but leave them alone to slowly pull themselves together.

Phosphorus — Phosphorus is only tantruming for the dramatic effect and attention-getting value he’s hoping to achieve! All the while he’s glancing at the grown-ups to see how to play the next act! If he’s not getting the results he was hoping for, he’ll stop.

Who Arrived Late at the Party?

Calc-carb. — Calc-carb can’t get anywhere on time! He, indeed, has an under-developed sense of time, is always late, and getting started to do anything, like getting ready to go out, is a major undertaking and takes forever, as everything is so difficult for the sluggish and plodding Calc-carb!

Lycopodium — Lycopodium is late because he didn’t want to go in the first place! He knows he’ll have a miserable time, he’ll have to put on an act the way he always does so no one will suspect he’s really a “nobody”! It’s so draining having to constantly pretend to be “cool” and witty and fun-loving, light and breezy…. He can’t wait to go home and be himself.

Sulphur — Sulphur was much too busy with his many interests and projects to stop what he was doing for this stupid party; but, thinking there might be food there, and remembering he hadn’t eaten, he threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and straggled in at the last minute.

Phosphorus — Phosphorus is late only for effect! She could have very easily gotten there on time, but wants to make an entrance! She’ll be the center of attention, everyone will make a big fuss over her, plus she doesn’t want to give the impression that she was over-anxious to get there, as if she had nothing better to do with her time!

 

Who Left Early?

Nux vomica — Nux vomica is very impatient, requires constant stimulation which is why he’s always better at work than he is at home, and if the party is bland with a lot pointless chatter, Nux vomica will become easily irritated and will have to leave.

Sulphur — Once Sulphur gets up, he has to keep going. Sulphur is made of fire and can hardly be still.

Argent-nit. — Argent-nit. had an unexpected anxiety attack, was convinced there’d be a stampede if she waited until the party was over, or maybe she’d get boxed in at the parking lot if everyone left at the same time! No, it was best to play it safe and leave early!

Ignatia — There were people at the party smoking! So that was it for Ignatia!

Arsenicum — Arsenicum was sure she had been poisoned by the punch, so she made her husband take her home.

Thuja — Thuja feels out of place wherever he goes. He doesn’t fit in anywhere. He tries really hard to act like everyone else. He dresses appropriately, says the right things, he tries to blend in, but he feels like a stranger in a strange land, the “black sheep” at all times. After logging in an acceptable number of minutes, he left.

Causticum — The party was too bourgeois for Causticum. No one would have a serious discussion with him about politics, global warming or GMO’s. Very disappointing!

Silica — Silica quickly became exhausted and had to leave.

Nat-mur. — Nat-mur. felt very self-conscious. She came by herself, sat alone and spoke to no one. She wanted to leave but afraid the host would be insulted and she would feel terribly guilty. Luckily, she brought a book to read. Maybe she’ll be able to quietly sneak out if there’s enough of a commotion elsewhere. She’ll wait and watch.

 

Who Left Without Saying Goodbye?

Argent-nit. — Argent-nit. was afraid her explanation for leaving would make absolutely no sense, plus she does things impulsively; so, since she was stationed by the door anyway, as you might expect, she simply ran out when the next person came in.

Sulphur — Sulphur is always in a hurry and really has no regard for anyone or customs or courtesy, thinking only about himself, and so, with a simple, “Gotta get going,” to the person he was standing next to, he walked out.

Nat-mur. — Nat-mur. is socially awkward, embarrassed, full of guilt, and would not know how to say goodbye without conveying the message that she wasn’t having a good time and really didn’t want to be there. So much easier to sneak out when no one is looking.

 

Who’s Anorexic?

Calc-carb. — From overwork, pressure, feeling of being pushed; mental exhaustion; anxiety from knowing he won’t finish on time, fear that he will fail once again, that he’s got too many responsibilities and assignments and little hope that he will succeed; consequently, he can’t eat, has lost his appetite.

Arsenicum — Competitive anorexia: “I’m thin now, let’s see how much thinner I can get! I am a perfectionist, I do everything perfectly; therefore, I have to keep trying until I am perfectly thin!” Or, there’s the Arsenicum hypochondria: “This food isn’t good for me…. This food is very bad for me…. I probably shouldn’t eat this food, it will probably make me sick…. I need special food.”

Ignatia — Ignatias are romantic and idealistic. They strive for perfection. “I have to be perfect. Being thin is part of being perfect. I must be thin to be perfect.”

Nat-mur. — “I am not worthy. I don’t deserve this food. I don’t deserve to enjoy eating. I am unloved and unlovable so I have no right to enjoy myself. I will punish myself by not eating.” 

Sulphur — Sulphur simply has no time to eat.  He might grab a bite of an apple, but, he’s so busy with his creation, his project, the thing he’s building, his model of the Space Station; or, the research he’s doing for his book, that he has no interest in stopping for a wholesome meal unless his wife is willing to bring it to him, and even then, he may let it sit there until it gets cold.  ___________________________

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.

Elaine takes online cases! Write to her at [email protected]

Visit her website: elaineLewis.hpathy.com

 

 

About the author

Elaine Lewis

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.
Elaine is a passionate homeopath, helping people offline as well as online. Contact her at [email protected]
Elaine is a graduate of Robin Murphy's Hahnemann Academy of North America and author of many articles on homeopathy including her monthly feature in the Hpathy ezine, "The Quiz". Visit her website at:
https://elainelewis.hpathy.com/ and TheSilhouettes.org

14 Comments

  • DEAR DR
    YOUR DESCRIPTION OF REMEDIES ARE VERY GOOD. YOU HAVE GIVEN SIMILARITIES IN REMEDIES. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT IF YOU WOULD HAVE STRESSED THE DIS- SIMILARITIES AMONG THEM ALSO
    THANKS AND REGARDS

  • Great description about children tantrums and if you can elaborate it more in another article will be really thnakful.

  • ..But I really was poisoned by the punch..and I DO need special food.. 😉 My daughter (A Calc Carb) got a kick out of the need for ‘special food’! (Which her mom-the Ars does need! LOL)

  • Elaine, yet another great article for our “UNderstading.” Your looking under the “Un’s” was exceptional. Great hints !!! Your analysis of people’s behavior is awesome. Loved it to the core !! Very informative and spiced with a pinch of humor, a special trait of Elaine.

  • Thank you, Elaine, for sharing your vast knowledge of homeopathy with us. This is such a great article! It’s informative and fun to read. I wish you would write more articles like this one – it really helps give the essence of a remedy.

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