Mom, It’s Time for the Quiz!
Really? You know, sometimes it seems like we do the Quiz every month!
Ha-ha! Very funny, Mom! I’m not going to let you ruin my very important Announcements with your pathetic attempts at “humor”, which I am dedicating to the memory of Conan O’Brien’s Late-Night talk show.
You’re dedicating my pathetic attempts at humor to Conan O’Brien?
No, I’m dedicating my Announcements to … you know what? I’m just going to pretend you’re not here. We can begin with a much-needed moment of silence.
Conan O’Brien
Are you trying to say that Conan’s show got cancelled?
No, Mom! He ended his show on June 24th, thus ending a 27 year career on late-night television.
What choice did he have? The network cut him back to half an hour, they took away his band…. He stayed too long, Shana, like an ex-boyfriend who won’t leave no matter how many times you tell him you can’t stand him! (“When you say ‘it’s over’, does that mean I’m supposed to leave? Do I have to leave right now?”)
It is truly the end of an era.
You know, when Jerry Seinfeld ended his show, he was #1 in the ratings! You know what? When Conan does his last show? No one’s gonna care!
Mom, for your information, Conan has already done his last show!
See what I mean? He wasn’t even on my radar screen! Or anyone else’s radar screen!
Excuse me! He was on the radar screen of the people who loved and watched him for years.
Yes, I know. You and Mrs. O’Brien.
Liza. Her name is Liza. His wife. Even so, I loved Conan, especially his funny bits with band leader, Max Weinberg.
Max Weinberg
I know, Shana, he had a really great show at one time, but he needed to retire while he was on top! Let’s honor the Conan O’Brien Show from when he was King of Late Night.
I thought that was Johnny Carson, but, OK. Here’s one of Conan’s and Max Weinberg’s funny bits where Max invites Conan to go with him for a beer:
I must admit, that was mildly funny.
And I think I also read that “Conan Without Borders” (the hour long specials where Conan travels to other countries and tries to “fit in”), will continue.
That will be good because that was funny too.
Who’s in the Quiz this month?
Remember “Carlos Von Flurgg?”
I believe so. He didn’t want to leave home for college, right?
Right. He was the procrastinator. Well, this is his younger brother, “Fernando”.
What’s wrong with him?
He’s an ITP patient, a teenager, and he had been doing well, but then something happened and his platelets dropped again. His only symptom is increased tiredness; hard to prescribe on that, so I relied on his mentals as related by his mother, “Patsy”.
“You mean Patsy Von Flurgg”?
Yes, “Patsy Von Flurgg”!
***
Hi again, Elaine, it’s “Patsy Von Flurgg”! I wanted to talk to you about “Fernando”, he has been very touchy lately and easily offended. He was getting upset while talking to me, so I tried moving in closer to him and he said, “Don’t touch me!”
Geez.
I just spoke to him again and he opened up a little. He says he’s feeling lost, and that he’s trying to find himself. He equates it to being in a maze and his true self/who he is, is in the middle of the maze and he doesn’t know how to get there. He said he felt this way shortly after his illness and that the feeling is back again. He says he needs to find himself on his own and doesn’t want any help from the rest of us or a professional.
Well that’s just great! Let me ask you. You’re saying his platelets have dropped. Does he have any symptoms, like nosebleeds, bruising, etc.?
No nosebleeds or bruising but he was feeling more tired. But, “Morty Von Flurgg”, my husband, had mentioned that things seemed to get worse with Fernando when we spent a week in the country with Carlos to get him settled. Morty and Fernando went home after that and Carlos and I spent a couple of weeks together so I could “parent” him (lol). Fernando seemed to get all bent out of shape after that.
Ohhhh….. I seeeeeee……………
I explained to Fernando that Carlos is allowed to have some mothering as well since he’s been away from home for 9 months. Later on in the week, Fernando was snippy with me when I called – so hmm…. So we have been giving Carlos more attention lately and I don’t think Fernando was very appreciative.
He also said that he felt like we ignored him, didn’t care about him, when Carlos got home from university.
He’s always been the baby of the family and especially with his ITP, he’s received more attention.
I asked him if his blood test results bothered him and he said, “I don’t care.”
Patsy, give him a dose of ____________30C and let me know what happens.
Hi Elaine!
So, it hasn’t been a full 24 hours since I gave Fernando the remedy but, we’ve noticed a shift in his mood! He’s much less agitated and seems to be back to his gentler self with no snippy comments or side looks! He came and talked to us after his online class and he even hugged me of his own accord! So, I guess you’ve hit it out of the ball park again!!!!
____________________
OK, everybody, that’s it! Scroll down to see who voted for what and why:
———————————-
Votes
Arnica-3
Capsicum
Staphysagria
Lachesis
Nat-mur
Pulsatilla-2
Phosphorus
Alumina
________________________________
Wow! What an unforgettable quiz that was! Stay tuned to the end because I’ve got an amazing video for you to demonstrate the remedy, you won’t want to miss it! Who’s going first today? OK, looks like Aruna is here!
Hi, Elaine, I am thinking its Pulsatilla 30C 🙂
Hi Aruna! The reason it can’t be Pulsatilla is because he is refusing help, affection and sympathy. Pulsatilla desperately wants all those things! And they are better for them. But Fernando is worse consolation! It’s almost like he doesn’t want to give his mother the satisfaction of knowing that she helped him, it’s like he doesn’t want to let her off so easy! If she apologizes convincingly, he might relent and let her back in to his good graces.
If I may re-answer?
Of course!
Here are the points I took under consideration:
Fatigue/tired/low platelet
No, the ITP issue won’t help you here. This was a mental case. The only clear road to the remedy lay with Fernando’s attitude and behavior.
Apathy/Vexation, desire to be alone
No, you’re way off. He doesn’t desire to be alone. He wants his mother but then he pushes her away! Aruna… you have to know when people aren’t being straight with you! Fernando is putting on a little drama for his mother! He’s going to punish her for showing more attention to his brother (Carlos) than him! And he’s doing it through passive-aggressive behavior: snide remarks (“snippy”, his mother said), rudeness, eye-rolling, sulking, brooding, complaining (“Poor me, poor me.”) He’s being obnoxious! But there’s no “obnoxious” rubric in the Repertory. The closest we can come is “childish”.
Anger
Yes, but, it’s more like self-pity.
Sensitive to touch
Not at all. “Don’t touch me,” means, “Get away from me, I don’t want your help! You must be punished for choosing Carlos over me. I’ll decide when you’ve suffered enough!”
Lowness of spirits, confused/lost/dullness of mind
Too general, doesn’t help us; and he’s not really dull or confused, he’s just jealous; and he’s acting (pretending to be) “offended” to punish his mother and draw attention to himself.
Emotional instability/peevish
No, all this is off the mark. He knows exactly what he’s doing, it’s all very deliberate.
I am thinking its PHOSPHORUS after referring to Materia Medica by John Henry Clarke and also Materia Medica by WILLIAM BOERICKE
Not Phosphorus. Phosphorus loves sympathy and consolation, just like Pulsatilla.
I will revisit the quiz for the answers for sure 🙂
Yes, and thanks for voting. I think I see Maryam from Pakistan up ahead!
Hi Elaine!
Hi Maryam!
How are you?
Not bad, I suppose!
I want to answer to the July quiz.
OK, please do!
I think its Arnica:
Aversion to touch,
OK, wait. Arnica has aversion to touch because Arnica is injured! That’s why Arnica doesn’t want people touching him!
Tired,
Forget “tired”. He’s tired because he has a blood disease. He’s anemic. All anemic people are tired. It’s common, and therefore, won’t help us.
Indifferent about his blood report,
He’s pretending to be indifferent! This is the whole point, we have to get this right! What IS his mental state????? Is it “indifference”? I don’t think so! He’s being passive-aggressive, rude, combative, confrontational, punishing, scolding, without actually engaging! (A lot of “side-looks”, his mother says; she means “eye-rolling”.)
Does not want help from anyone.
Actually, he DOES, Maryam! He wants help and LOVE–but he can’t accept it! Why? Because he needs to punish first! And it’s also possible that deep down he doesn’t feel himself worthy of love.
What are the elements of this case? “Dramatic”? “Childish”? “Sulking”? “Brooding”? What about “Whining”? “Complaining”? What about “Ailments From jealousy”? That’s how it all started. His brother Carlos came home after a 9 month absence and everyone made a big fuss over him! What about, “Easily offended, takes everything in bad part”? Patsy said right off the bat that he was being “easily offended”.
I’ll tell you how I came up with the remedy, it was when he answered, “I don’t care” to the question, “Are you concerned about your blood test results?” My thoughts shot back to a previous quiz, “Who’s That Lady”, about Kelly’s teenage daughter. There was a lot of whining, defensiveness and blaming, a lot of eye-rolling. Finally Kelly said, “I had just about had my limit with this whiny behavior and sent her to her room!” I immediately knew it was the same remedy!
Loads of love to you and Shana.
Thank you!!!
Regards,
Maryam from Pakistan
Hi Elaine and Shana!
Oh look, it’s Maria from Greece!
I struggle to decide what to vote for.
I have no idea what rubrics to use.
Here’s what I see:
- Offended easily
- Aversion to be touched
- Indifferent
- Abandoned, feelings of being
- Isolation (maze)? I can’t decide what rubric to use for this.
What was significant about that narration about being lost in a maze was what he said at the end of it, “…and I don’t want anybody’s help!” In other words:
“I won’t give you the satisfaction of knowing that you helped me, because you must be punished, because this is all your fault!”
Jealousy? Is he jealous of his brother stealing attention?
Yes, you could say, “Ailments from jealousy”
Homesick? Is he missing his mother?
He’s jealous that his mother is with Carlos who’s been away from home at college for 9 months.
Never well since illness?
The jealousy has caused him to relapse.
If it was only the desire for attention, I would go for Phosphorus. Is it never well since his illness?
No, it is never well since Carlos returns home for summer vacation and is being greatly fussed over by his mother who has spent 2 weeks alone with him in the country. I’m guessing they have a country house, a vacation house. Fernando is home with his father, but, apparently, that’s not good enough.
My first thought was Arnica. But then the attention thing troubled me. Tough quiz, Elaine.
Apparently it is for everyone! Well, Maria, “Fernando” is being obnoxious: pouty, sullen, sulky, overly dramatic, passive-aggressive, blaming, defensive … and mainly, pushing his mother away when she’s trying to show love and concern and wanting to help! “Don’t touch me!” he says; oh, and, if I may paraphrase:
I don’t want anybody’s help! Poor me, I will just push through this by myself, since nobody loves me and everyone loves Carlos, but nobody cares about me, so, don’t concern yourself with me, I will just somehow take care of myself, since I have no one who cares ….
Do you get the picture? It’s like he’s saying: “Come here; no, go away! Come here; no, go away!” What remedy does that?
It is not very clear to me, but I would consider Lachesis. I think he is somehow taking revenge by acting this way.
He is. He’s being punishing in a passive-aggressive way. (Whereas Lachesis would get right in your face and insult you!)
Even “passive-aggressive” is an interesting word because it’s two opposites in the same word, the unity of 2 opposites. So, we have a remedy here that’s characterized by conflicting forces. There’s actually a rubric for this in the Repertory:
“Mind: contradictory, actions, intentions, are contradictory to”
Meaning: what he wants, his actions are contradictory to! He’s sabotaging his own needs and desires with his actions! Come here–no, go away; come here–go away. So he wants his mother’s love and attention, but then he says, “Don’t touch me!” and “I don’t want your help!”
Now, here’s what Philip Bailey (Homeopathic Psychology) says about the remedy I gave:
[These] children are particularly susceptible to feelings of abandonment. … [He] expresses his insecurity as moodiness. [He] may be cheerful most of the time, but, some small incident that would go unnoticed by a less sensitive heart will trigger that sense of being unloved that lies at the root of this remedy’s instability. It may be simply that [his] parents make a big fuss over his sister on her birthday, or that they do not give him the praise he expected for some achievement at school. At such times, the child is liable to sulk, withdrawing from those around him in a rather dramatic fashion that is designed to punish as well as attract attention.
OH MY GOD!!!! He nailed it! It’s as if Philip Bailey read our case!!!!! Sulking? Withdrawing but in a dramatic fashion designed to punish as well as attract attention? OMG! It’s perfect!!!!!
What remedy do you think it is now?
Οh my, Ignatia?
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Very good, Maria!!!
I can’t believe I ruled it out. You know it is one of the first I thought of but for wrong reasons. I perceived his moodiness as a feeling of missing his mother, not out of jealousy.
He was “snippy” every time she called! I mean, if you just miss somebody, you don’t have to be rude! Isn’t that true? You can say, “Mom, I miss you! When are you coming home? Can’t you come home now?” I guess that would be what Pulsatilla would do; that’s what Shana would do! But, what makes this case Ignatia is the pretending not to care, wanting to cause guilt, eye-rolling, sulking, brooding, attracting attention, setting up a drama….
As I saw it, it felt like disappointed love from mother. But I thought the rubric fits mostly for love affairs, not parenting love etc. I also remembered that he is in puberty and Murphy says puberty is a trauma and one of the remedies he suggested is Ignatia.
I guess teenagers are prone to Ignatia states. You know, we had another Quiz with an Ignatia teenager, “Who’s That Lady”. Maybe people should read it and compare; also, I am now remembering, we had an Ignatia case that was a virus but the case was decided on the mentals, it was called “Creeping Sore Throat”:
Wow, just wow! You are a genius!
Did you hear that, Shana? Your mother is a genius, Maria said so!!!
We have a new-comer here with us today….
Hello Elaine,
Hello Isuret, welcome to the Hpathy Quiz!
I regarded these symptoms as important:
“Don’t touch me!” (typical Asterales plant family)
Check the Repertory. Mind: touch, aversion to being
talking to aggravates
I’m not sure where you got that from. Maybe you mean, “Mind: consolation agg.”?
increased tiredness
This is not part of the case. He’s an ITP patient. It means he’s got a low platelet count. Tiredness comes with the disease. He was actually doing well but this incident with his brother stealing his parents’ attention has caused him to relapse.
he’s feeling lost, and he’s trying to find himself
He’s just being a “Drama Queen”, trying to make his mother feel guilty for making a fuss over Carlos coming home from his Freshman year at college. The important part of this statement was what came at the end: “…And I don’t want your help!”
homesick? (worse in country)
No, he was not homesick at all. They apparently have a country house. For some reason, Dad and Fernando left for home after a short stay but Mom and Carlos stayed behind for 2 weeks. Fernando took this personally, as a snub.
All sounds like Arnica and the absence of bruising or nose bleeding normally is not a contradiction in that young age, but could manifest later. But then I have no picture of him. Another Asterales could be the right remedy. What is worse, his laziness(*), his carelessness or his tiredness??? Or is it just the perfect combination of all of these aspects?
What Fernando is, is jealous of all the attention Carlos is getting because Carlos has been away from home for 9 months. Fernando is thinking:
“Hey! What about me??? Hello!!!! Does anybody remember me? I guess not! Well, don’t worry, I will just go on alone, all by myself, with no one to love or care about me!”
We call this behavior “sulky”, “sullen”, “passive-aggressive”, “dramatic”, “complain-y”, “obnoxious”…. It’s attention-seeking and yet, pushing people away when they finally pay attention to you.
What would Burnett have said? (I’m a Clarke fan, and he was a great fan of Burnett.) The homesickness made everything worse, right? This was the one symptom you need to really care about. So I say Capsicum is the remedy, because tiredness and homesickness comes here together and form a whole picture again. One materia medica says about Capsicum: ” Excessive peevishness, peppery, easily offended; grudge; contrary; capricious; stubborn, obstinate children”.
You know, all this is true, but, it goes for another remedy you haven’t considered! You’d have to add: abandoned feelings, jealousy (ailments from)…and then, yes: easily offended, contrary, capricious, dramatic, sulky….
Love your posts!
Thank you!
Best regards
Isuret Polos
*actually, sorry, you did not mention “laziness”.
Wayne is here from Australia!
Hi Elaine,
I think the answer to July’s Quiz is Staphysagria.
It has grief, jealousy, indignation, indifference and anxiety.
Best wishes,
Wayne
There’s no indifference. He is pretending to be indifferent. And there’s no anxiety. He’s actually being quite the Drama Queen:
Oh, nobody cares about me! Everybody’s making a big fuss over Carlos! What has he ever done that’s so great? What about me???? I could die and no one would care! No, I don’t want your help! Go away! And don’t touch me! So my disease is relapsing, so what? Why should I care, no one else does!
Oh, puh-leeze! There’s a rubric, “Desires Drama”. Staphysagria’s not in it. Here’s what’s in it: Calc-phos, Lil-t., Med., Carc., Ign., Plat., Tub. So, which one of these “drama queen” remedies has Ailments From Jealousy, or Refuses Help?
Back again, I found the rubric Mind: Drama: desires (must be relatively new) and the two remedies in the two rubrics are Ignatia and Platina, Platina being in Italics in that particular rubric. Platina is also in Italics in the Mind: Jealousy rubric whereas, Ignatia isn’t.
Ignatia is there as a 1 but it’s a 2 under “Ailments From Jealousy”. And in fact, Patsy says this is how it all got started:
“Morty and Fernando went home after that and Carlos and I spent a couple of weeks together so I could ‘parent’ him (lol). Fernando seemed to get all bent out of shape after that.”
Wouldn’t you call that “ailments from jealousy”?
On this basis of what I said above, Platina should be the preferred remedy.
But Platina isn’t in “Refuses Help”, which is a very important rubric in this case. Fernando clearly said, “I don’t want your help!” and “Don’t touch me!” So, clearly, he’s pushing his mother away, even though we KNOW it’s she who he wants!!!! In fact, there is a very important rubric:
Mind: contradictory, actions, intentions are contradictory, to
A very convoluted way of saying that his actions contradict his intentions; meaning, he wants something, but sabotages his efforts; and Ignatia is the highest-rated remedy in that rubric! You know, Ignatia is a remedy of opposites, of contradictions: The stomach ache is better for eating, the headache is better for stooping; in other words, what you’d expect to find, you don’t; you find the opposite.
Interestingly in Phatak’s repertory, under jealousy, Platina is not mentioned.
It’s a 3 in Murphy’s! I would suggest that Phatak’s Repertory might be out-of-date. Why would you drive an old car when you could just as easily drive a new one with all the advanced safety features and upgrades?
Platina has a superior attitude, contempt for others; whereas, Ignatia has a changeable mood, silently brooding….
Exactly, “brooding”, that’s just what our patient is doing! Ignatia’s a 4 for that!
There is a good case for Ignatia. I would try Ignatia first.
Yes, it IS Ignatia!
Gabi is here from Canada!
Hi, Elaine; I’m going to say Lachesis.
Gabi
Thanks Gabi; I know why you picked Lachesis—jealousy, right? But, this child is passive-aggressive. Lachesis would get right in your face and tell you how bad you are as a parent! This kid is Ignatia: He wants his mother but he pushes her away. “I don’t want your help!” and “Don’t touch me!” He’s being a real drama queen! Brooding, sulking, rude, eye-rolling (“side-looks”, the mother says). Attention-seeking behavior (“Be sure and notice how hurt I am so you can feel guilty!”) You know how Ignatia is a remedy of “opposites”, of “paradoxes”, right? Come here–go away? That’s what he’s doing.
Thanks, Elaine, good to have this information.
Oh look, it’s the gang from Slovakia!
Hello Elaine and Shana,
Hello Miroslav and Jitka!
It seems that the time has come to send our answers to the July quiz. This is how we solved and reasoned about it this time:
Miroslav – Natrum muriaticum
I think the cause of Fernando’s health problems is an emotional injury (mother paid more attention to his brother and it hurt him …).
I agree, that seems to be the cause of it.
It is possible to perceive his withdrawal into himself as a closure that protects against any further emotional injuries, it creates a kind of protective wall (leave me alone, don’t touch me, I have to solve it for myself …)
Rubrics:
Mind, rejection, ailment, from
Mind, jealousy, children, between
Mind, touch, aversion, to
Mind, help, refuse
Mind, consolation, aggr.
Mind, offended, easily
Natrum muriaticum
Good rubrics, Miroslav. The remedy I chose is the acute of Nat-mur.
Jitka – Arnica
It wasn’t an easy quiz.
I know! And I was pretty sure no one would get the right answer.
At first I didn’t know what the diagnosis of ITP meant, but fortunately I quickly discovered that it was Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP).
Yes.
In the chapter “Diseases”, the rubric: Purpura, Hemorrhagica, Idiopathica, there are 7 remedies in level 2: arn, ars, crot, ham, lach, phosp, sul-ac. I noticed in the quiz the boy’s reaction to his mother: “Don’t touch me”, for which is known Arnica.
True. I did get a number of votes for Arnica.
Arnica is also a remedy for physical and emotional traumas, whether small or big and the boy seems to have suffered an emotional trauma because before everyone cared only about him and suddenly he found himself on the other track. I vote therefore in favor of this remedy.
OK, I totally get why Miroslav voted for Nat-mur and why you voted for Arnica. But what do we notice about this boy’s behavior? He is really being obnoxious, did you notice that? He’s being self-pitying, overly dramatic, rude, guilt-tripping his mother… Oh poor me, nobody cares, nobody loves me; everybody loves Carlos but nobody cares about me…. And when his mother calls him on the phone, he’s rude! And when she tries to move in close to comfort him, he says, “Don’t touch me!” Geez! So, the very thing he wants (his mother), he pushes away when he finally gets her! Does this kind of psycho-drama sound like Nat-mur? The stoic Nat-mur? Stiff upper-lip and all that rot, as they say in England? This kid seems to want a lot of attention! But when it’s offered to him, he refuses it!
What remedy does this? And by the way, why does Arnica not want to be touched? Because Arnica has been injured! Let me know what you think now.
Good morning, Elaine…
after your revision of our answers, we are correcting our solutions as follows:
Miroslav:
It’s apparently Chamomilla: The mind rejects what he asked for.
I know that in children, Chamomilla is capricious: he asks for something and then throws it to the ground …
It could fit, it is an interesting moment … Well, we’ll see what comes out of it in the end.
Jitka:
Based on your new indication “the very thing he wants (his mother), he pushes away when he finally gets her”,
I too have to correct my solution to Chamomilla .
I was afraid you and Miroslav would go for Chamomilla, because it’s so commonly understood for its capriciousness—asking for something and then throwing it down as soon as it’s given. But what is Chamomilla doing all this time? Crying and screaming! They’re in pain; it could be an earache or teething pain; but, pain is generally the reason for their infuriating behavior! Our patient is not in pain. He’s being passive-aggressive. He perceives his brother is getting more attention than he is and he’s going to punish his mother for it by sulking, brooding, making her feel guilty.
Miroslav decided to wait for the right solution
I (Jitka) wanted to give up looking for the right answer too, but then I got an idea about a remedy I could consider: Staphysagria.
In my notes I found this idea – Staphysagrias will feel that they are victims, they will use words like: I was betrayed, I am not really loved, they just used me.
Well, it’s just my last attempt in this case…:)
Jitka, I agree that Staphysagria feels like a victim and is easily offended. But, you know, you can feel like a victim and punch someone in the nose (Nux vomica), or you can feel like a victim and just resign yourself to it and say that’s just the way people are (Carcinosin), or you can feel like a victim and hide yourself away from people so they can’t hurt you again (Nat-mur), or you can feel like a victim and cry and seek consolation (Pulsatilla). What does Staphysagria do?
This is from Allen’s Keynotes:
[Staphysagria] was insulted; being too dignified to fight, subdued his wrath and went home, sick, trembling and exhausted.
But what is Fernando doing? How is he handling his perceived victimization? Let’s make a list:
Fernando is….
- Being rude to his mother
- Rejecting offers of consolation
- Complaining
- Being easily offended, taking everything in bad part
- Refusing help
- Sulking
- Brooding
- Being overly dramatic
- Self-pitying
- Jealous of the attention his brother is getting
- Feeling abandoned
- Doesn’t want to be touched
What if we repertorized these 12 things, what would we come up with?
Oh my goodness, look! Ignatia runs away with the case!
Hey everybody, Vamsi’s in the house!!!!!
Dear Elaine,
That’s the Quiz Name – I Don’t Care, but I do care for your quizzes!
Well! Thank you!
Quiz – I Don’t care. – Quite an interesting quiz and of interest to all mothers with more than one child.
The sibling jealousy and the maze made me feel like a Tarentula case (a spider in a web, lost) …but I don’t see the violent behavior of Tarentuala. He wants to be alone: “Don’t touch me ” …
Actually, Vamsi, that’s a very good point to raise because, does he really? Does he really want to be alone? He seems to be actually trying to draw attention to himself with his complaining and theorizing and his snippy remarks!
Hey, look at me, over here, you know, the poor kid who’s being ignored? Neglected? In favor of his stupid brother… What’s he ever done? Nothin’ for nobody!
My quiz participants haven’t yet learned to stop taking things down verbatim. I’m always saying, “Think!!!” Isn’t that what I’m always begging people to do? And in that whole long self-pitying, dramatic speech he gave about how “lost” he is and how he can’t find his true self, the only thing of value to us is the way it ended: “You can’t help me and don’t touch me!”
And though this might make you think of Nat-mur, Nat-mur would never be the drama queen! Poor me, my real self is lost in a maze and I can’t find it! Nat-mur simply goes off by herself, not showing her hurt and pain, always dignified. Remember? They’re worse consolation, better alone.
So, what is he doing here? He’s sending out mixed messages! You don’t know how you’re supposed to react with him, are you supposed to comfort him? But if you try, he pushes you away! What remedy would send out contradictory signals like that?
But, Elaine, there is a fear of insecurity which is seen in his statements. So I feel the fear of abandonment and if this is the primary rubric – Fear Of Abandonment, forsaken — then it’s a sure case of Pulsatilla.
Here’s the main reason it can’t be Pulsatilla. Because for this child, “consolation aggravates” (“Don’t touch me!”). Pulsatilla, on the other hand, loves consolation and loves sympathy! Pulsatilla is easily reassured. This boy isn’t easily reassured at all! His mother is trying to reassure him, trying to help him, and he pushes her away and says, “I don’t want your help, you can’t help me!” There’s a rubric, “refuses help”. Pulsatilla’s not in it. So, what do you think now?
Wonderful critical analysis, Elaine. Yes, true this is a case of Contradictory messages. Fernando wants his mother to be by his side, but in the next breath he says, “I don’t need your help!” Yes! I got the rubric, and I found Natrum Mur and Sepia in bold. It’s not Natrum mur of course, as Nat-murs are silent grievers. Sepia is indifferent to loved ones. But here he is looking for attention right? How does he fall into Sepia…??
He doesn’t.
Are you hinting at the fact that Sepia people love to be alone??
It’s not Sepia. You found the rubric “refuses help”, right? If so, I believe there are 6 remedies in it. One of them is full of contradictions! Which remedy is it?
Elaine, we are left with Ignatia and Aurum?? Aurum – is depressed and can have suicidal tendencies. Ignatia – The emotional type and impulsive type… I am really not sure, is it Ignatia??
YES!
But I really can’t correlate it to this boy.
Ok, I will help you. One simply must go to Bailey’s Homeopathic Psychology and it’s all there. Think of Fernando as you are reading this. I posted it before but it’s worth repeating because it’s spot-on!
“Ignatia children are particularly susceptible to feelings of abandonment. … A wall begins to form around the injured heart … this defensive wall is expressed as anger and indignation. … The normally affectionate Ignatia can become an Ice Queen at such times. … The outraged Ignatia may resort to acts of vengeance … but more often, the offender [Mom] is simply cut off…. The Ignatia child expresses [his] insecurity as moodiness. … Some small incident that would [normally] go unnoticed will trigger that sense of being unloved that lies at the root of Ignatia’s instability. It may be simply that [the] parents made a fuss [over his] sister on the latter’s birthday … At such times, the Ignatia child is liable to sulk, withdraw from those around her in a dramatic way that is designed to punish as well as attract attention (Kent: Mind: mood, sullen; Mind: childish behavior). Whenever [he] is crossed or contradicted, [he] desires to be alone…. When Natrum children are hurt, they will quietly withdraw into themselves while maintaining a surface appearance that everything is alright. Ignatia, on the other hand, will turn [his] head away, storm off, and perhaps announce, ‘Go away! You don’t love me!'”
I could go on, but, you must get the picture by now. This is word for word what we see in Fernando’s case! Kent’s Repertory says “childish behavior”, I’ve been saying “obnoxious” but I guess they mean the same thing. I knew it was Ignatia when Fernando said, regarding his poor blood test results, “I don’t care.” My mind immediately shot back to our other Ignatia quiz, “Revisiting: Who’s That Lady”, when Kelly said about her Ignatia daughter, “I was at my limit with this whiny behavior and sent her to her room!” Actually, here’s what she said:
“Maria” came home from school recently really crabby and whiny … flippant and bratty too. I thought about giving the remedy again …. At soccer practice she wasn’t very cooperative and said the coach was really “irritating” her. Later the entire team ran to an ice cream store (maybe 2 miles) and Maria was quietly very argumentative, as in, “No, I don’t wannnnnt that, I want thiiis! Why can’t I have thaaaat?” Lots of eye-rolling, etc. I was at my limit with this whiny behavior and told her to go to her room.
This was the vibe I was picking up and remembering when I said, “Give Fernando Ignatia.”
But now, I’ve got something very special for all of you. Very, very special, because I found a video clip of a teenage boy in this very state! An Ignatia state!!!!!! Now you will see what it looks like! And I think once you see it, you’ll remember Ignatia forever! It’s from one of my favorite movies, “Saturday Night Fever”, renowned for the opening scene as “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees is playing while John Travolta as “Tony” is walking down the streets of New York carrying a can of paint to the hardware store where he works, the camera aimed squarely at his fancy, polished shoes as he walks in time with the music.
The Ignatia boy is Bobby. Bobby is totally unloved and feels worthless. His only entree into the “cool kids” circle is the fact that he has a car (probably his parents’ car!) and he dresses very “cool” as well, though he has no real friends, I can assure you!
Below you see Bobby driving his car.
Seated next to him is Tony. In the back seat, from left to right are Double J, Joey and I’m forgetting the other kid’s name right now.
Bobby adores Tony!
In the clip you’re about to see, the five of them are out riding late at night over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge after Tony wins a dance contest at the Disco. They stop at the top of the bridge.
They’re all drunk except for maybe Bobby and Tony. Double J has just had sex with Annette in the back seat (Annette was trying to make Tony jealous, as she really loves him, and it got outta hand fast) and when Double J and Joey get out of the car to do hand-stands and other stupid things on top of the bridge, risking a fall to their death, Tony turns around to Annette and insults her for letting herself be used. Annette runs crying out of the car and Tony runs after her saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it!” This is what triggers Bobby! Why? He’s all alone now! He’s been completely abandoned!!!! By everyone! It’s quite clear that nobody enjoys his company! Tony, who he worships, has run off to be with Annette. The other two are laughing and bonding with each other while yelling at Manhattan across the river. So in true Ignatia fashion, Bobby starts behaving in a dramatic way to attract attention!
He gets out of the car starts climbing up the bridge ropes, laughing and shouting, “Hey Tony, look at me! Look at me, Tony!” Everyone stops what they’re doing to look at Bobby. At first they think it’s funny. “Hey look at the punk!” laughs Joey. Tony says, “Bobby, this isn’t funny, get down from there.” When Bobby finally does climb down, he starts crying—and I have to pause here to ask you to take note of how swiftly Bobby changes his mood from laughing to crying, another Ignatia trait. He’s sobbing to Tony now, “How come you never called me?” OMG! Tony is mortified! Everyone is dumb-struck as Bobby is shamelessly venting his true feelings! Suddenly everyone’s mood turns deadly serious. No more laughter, no more nonsense. Tony reaches out his hand to Bobby for him to take it. Is this starting to sound familiar now? Think about it! I’m sure you’ve already guessed, Bobby won’t take Tony’s hand! He backs away! He might as well have said, “Don’t touch me!”
But standing on a bridge, there is no room to be backing away; he loses his balance and falls into the river to his death!
He couldn’t accept the love being offered! Maybe he was suspicious of it, doubting its sincerity. That’s what Roger Morrison says in his “Desktop Guide” under Ignatia: “Aversion to consolation … Suspicious, doubting…”
Maybe he was thinking, “I’m not worthy!” or, “You don’t really mean it!” That’s what Philip Bailey said, wasn’t it? Ignatia doesn’t feel worthy of love? Or was the message, “You haven’t been punished enough for rejecting me, you haven’t apologized!”
Maybe all of the above. Here’s the video titled, “Saturday Night Fever – Bobby C falls to his death”:
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Elaine Lewis, DHom, CHom
Elaine takes online cases. Write to her at [email protected]
Visit her website: https://ElaineLewis.hpathy.com
