| This female client was 37 years of age when seen
in November 2006.
P: patient; H: homeopath
P: I’m waking up nauseous in the mornings.
Over the past three months, it happens for about a week in the month.
I’ll be nauseous and retching in the beginning of the week,
and then I’ll feel more queasy. In the past I had a five-month
stint of nausea and vomiting every morning.
The nausea is a real unsettled, wavy feeling; I feel repulsed by
food or drink. My insides are all disturbed; it’s not the
normal feeling of settled or feeling hungry. I feel like everything’s
unsettled.
H: What else about the feeling of “unsettled”?
Instead of the feeling of solidness, goodness, wholeness and health
I normally experience, there’s a feeling of weakness and strain.
The body’s trying to cope; there’s an inability stemming
from weakness.
On mild mornings I tend to push through it. I’m much more
emotional when it hits. I’m struggling with depression about
it.
I feel more anxious after the nausea hits; something comes to mind
and I feel the weakness—‘How can I do that? How am I
going to be able to do that?’ I’m put into a helpless
state. The nausea is connected with a feeling of ‘I can’t
do any of this; I’ll have to depend on others’.
There’s a feeling of weakness—‘I can’t
do this and I need help’. I’ll feel angry, confused,
down, depressed, helpless.
H: What’s the opposite feeling?
P: The opposite is that on good mornings, I feel
ready for the day. There’s a lot to accomplish; I’m
happy, industrious. I’m ready to get things accomplished.
I feel peaceful, settled. I feel solid, helpful, whole. It’s
a solid, strong, sound feeling vs. an empty, wavering, unsettled,
unsure feeling. It’s like solid wood through and through.
There’s a quality about it, instead of a veneer.
I want to feel a calmness, a solidness instead of wavering. I want
the peace, solidness, wholeness restored. Instead I feel unsettled,
wavering, like I’m not going to make it. I’m by myself
in a rough, rugged, cold place. I’m feeling on the edge; there’s
no help, it’s not safe. I’m hanging on. There are other
factors, forces—cold, harsh wind; the environment is working
against my safety.
H: Can you describe more about the hanging on?
P: There’s a feeling of determination, that
I will persevere. I can do this, as long as it takes, through whatever.
I desperately want to be safe—I’m going to fall if I
don’t hang on. There’s a sense of being up high and
I’ll fall down.
I’m holding on, but that’s not what’s really
holding me there. I’m held there, and yet I’m clinging.
There’s an underlying, sustaining undergirding. It’s
like a parent holding and carrying the full weight of the child.
There’s a sense of enveloping all around. It’s strong
and unfailing.
But then there are things that are being beat up from the outside.
These circumstances are so hard, painful, aversive; they’re
hard and undesirable and I want to be elsewhere.
It’s like a rooted tree when the winds come. There’s
a picture of strength, like an oak. The strength comes from being
rooted. It’s like a tree in the storm; the tree is rooted
in the earth. The earth is stabilizing and nourishing. The tree
has to be deep, rooted in. The deeper it can be, the stronger it
can be. A tree that’s not real rooted looks like this: (wavering
gesture with hand).
A tree that’s not rooted deeply enough snaps in a storm.
It can get diseased; it’s weaker and more susceptible to things.
A tree that’s rooted has longevity, wholeness. The deeper
the roots, the less are the effects of outer circumstances.
H: What type of tree has these qualities?
P: It’s like a tree that’s neither
alone or in a forest. It’s a strong tree like a big shady
oak.
H: What were things like growing up?
P: Growing up, I had to be strong. I was an only
child. I like very much to be strong. I have to be strong to care
for my children. I want to be strong, dependable, sheltering, nurturing.
During the time I was in high school and college, there were lots
of things going on with my mother. She’s a broken person.
I had to be strong for her, loving her through that time.
H: Do you have any strong dreams or recurrent
dreams?
P: I have a dream where I’m aware of a perceived
risk or danger for my children. I’m the parent; I can protect
them. I’m the responsible, strong one.
ANALYSIS:
The main themes in this history include feelings of unsettled nausea
and weakness, and the relationship of those symptoms with her desire
to feel strong. She becomes anxious and depressed with feelings
of weakness or incapacity, with difficult life circumstances like
the environment working against her, potentially uprooting her or
otherwise weakening her. She compares her experience of strength
with being rooted, and she feels she’ll ultimately persevere
and endure. She further describes this experience as that of the
oak tree which provides shade for others.
PLAN:
The patient was given Quercus robur LM 2, taken daily until symptoms
subsided. The nausea gradually resolved over the ensuing two weeks,
and resolved completely after starting an LM 3 one month after the
initial appointment. She reported improved energy and well-being,
and was more comfortable accepting and receiving help from others.
She's needed no further repetition since that time.
Although nausea is a physical symptom known to be helped by quercus
robur, a more complete mental/emotional picture has been outlined
by Bach.
FROM BOEDLER’S BACH REMEDIES:
DOCTRINE OF SIGNATURES: The sturdy English Oak, which is used for
this remedy, is known for its stately growth and beautiful, durable
wood which has been used extensively for building and paneling.
This wood, as the person in the Oak state, is reliable and strong
but also somewhat rigid and hardened. The tree has the tendency
to grow tall and wide and reach a very advanced age; even when the
first decay appears, leaves will struggle to form and renew the
life cycle, just as the Oak mentality endeavors to never give up.
Oak trees are rich in nourishment and shelter; they sustain many
life forms in their vicinity and, through one of their species,
even give "food" and sustenance to the work-oriented human
mentality. The tree's richness also expresses the human reliability
and loyal tendency to support others, as portrayed in the Oak mentality.
MIND: In the Oak state, the mind is bent on perseverance in life's
duties, even though strength and vitality may be failing. Or there
may be unceasing disappointments or lack of rewards despite efforts
made, and still the Oak person does not give up but resolves to
struggle on with great strength of will and ever renewed hope.
EMOTIONS: In the Oak state, emotions may be held at bay, as one
struggles to uphold one's duties and loyalty. Emotions, if engaged
in, are considered as disturbing to the routine and resolve of willpower,
especially if they are related to self-pity, discouragement, selfishness,
or longing for amusement and rest. This lack of pampering of the
self leads to the typical Oak stoicism, as one rules oneself with
an iron fist. Although there is satisfaction and personal pride
obtained from self-discipline, vital emotional and physical needs
are not met, and despondency and despair may grow from such suppression,
especially if there is additional lack of progress or failure to
achieve satisfying rewards in one's work.
# # #
David A. Johnson CCH, RSHom (NA)
is a certified classical homeopath and professional member of the
North American Society of Homeopaths. He completed his homeopathic
training at the International Foundation for Homeopathy and the
Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy. He taught clinical medicine
at the University of Wisconsin and Augsburg College Physician Assistant
Programs, and is an instructor at the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy
in Minneapolis. E-mail daj@chorus.net.
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