Case Quizes • Clinical Cases

Revisiting: What Remedy Is Marge Simpson?

Marge Simpson
Written by Elaine Lewis

Did you figure out Marge Simpson’s Constitutional Remedy?

Mom, it’s time for the Quiz!!!!

Shana Lewis

Are you trying to say it’s August already?  I can’t believe we waited this long to do Marge!  We did Homer so long ago!

It’s actually been August for quite some time, Mom!  And yes, I am so excited about this month’s quiz! But first, my announcements!  My high school friend, Bijan Welch, came to visit from Alaska!

What can I say?  This was really a month for high school reunions!  My friend from high school, Andrea Cohen, came all the way from California!

A fun time, despite the 100 degree heat!  But I have a rather unfortunate announcement to make.

Oh geez, we have to begin with tragedy?

The actors who played Bob, Gordon, and Luis were apparently fired from “Sesame Street”!

Get out!  No way!

They have been on the show for such a long time that it feels like they’ve always been there even though I don’t remember their debut appearances.

Did I mention that I hurt my knee?

Mom, we’ll get to your announcements later, OK?  I’m too young to remember but I have always liked them.

I sense that no one is listening to me…

And now, if you don’t mind, I think our readers would like to see Gordon, Luis and Bob performing on Sesame Street as soul singers, imitating a singing group called The Floaters who had a hit in the ’70’s with “Float On”; and then later I want to see The Four Tops!

The Four Tops?  What do they have to do with Sesame Street?

They were on Sesame Street–numerous times!  They had that really cool song about looking both ways before you cross the street, I love it!!!!  Now go find it, hurry up!

But Mom….

Hurry up, I’m starting to get bored!!!!

OK, geez!  Is this what you mean?

Yes!  Please be careful baby please be careful, can’t you see I’m on my knees…

Mom?

Please be careful when you cross the street….

Mom!  It’s a kid’s song!

It’s too good for kids!  It’s got “HIT” written all over it!

Here’s the other one you wanted.  It’s Bob, Gordon, and Luis with another character singing about the number 5.

I know, I know, I know; let’s see it!

I can’t believe they’re firing these guys!

I always liked Roscoe the best out of all the Gordons.  He just looks like a Gordon to me.  Anyway, Gordon makes an appearance at the end of this video in which Cookie Monster tries to contact Santa Claus.

Oy vey!  Rick!!!!

You’re going to love it, I promise!

OK, that was pretty funny; now, can we move on?  or “Float On”, as they say?

I would like to close…

Good!

And now for the Quiz!

Watch the following episode of The Simpsons called “Homer Alone” and then write to me at [email protected] and tell me what remedy Marge Simpson is!  I love this episode!   OK, I have to summarize it for those of you who can’t see the video. Marge’s husband, Homer, is selfish and inconsiderate.  They have 3 kids and Homer doesn’t help Marge at all; in fact, you can see here that Marge is the typical American housewife with too many responsibilities, too many demands on her time, too much to do, trying to do it all perfectly, and never says no.  Despite all this, Marge never complains. Not surprisingly, in the middle of the episode, Marge has a nervous breakdown when the baby spills a bottle of milk on her in the middle of traffic.  You gotta love it!  Anyway, I tried to find the full episode but couldn’t.  Here’s an edited version, it will have to do.

Mom, don’t forget: “See You In September” by The Happenings!

OMG!  Is it that time of year again?  I can’t believe it’s time to play “See You In September” again, yeesh, where did the last 12 months go?!

Bye-bye, so long, farewell!

__________________________

Votes

Carcinosin

Folliculinum

Sepia (3)

Staphysagria

Calc-carb.

Ignatia

 

Hi Elaine and Shana!

Oh look, it’s Maria from Greece!  It so happens that Maria is featured in our “Tidbits” column this month for solving a case by making her own remedy!  So, look for her there!

Thanks again, Elaine!  So, for this month’s quiz I will be voting for Nux-v., mostly for the reasons you were describing in your great article, “Nux vomica: The Pre-eminent Remedy For Modern Day Life”.

But if I am wrong I will try again 🙂

Nux v. may have made a good acute remedy for Marge; but, we’re interested in finding her constitutional remedy.

Oh I am sorry! I didn’t notice the line below the title that says constitutional remedy.  So I will get back to you with that soon.

OK, great!  Remember, make a list of the elements of the case; and also remember…if a symptom can be explained by the circumstances, it’s not a symptom.  Like if a person falls on his face and cries, you can’t use, “Mind: crying”.  We all would be crying under the circumstances.

Ok I gave it a lot of thought.  Marge could be Calcarea carbonica (Radar keynotes):

Mind:
Hard working, overworking, capable, conscientious,
over-responsible, takes on too much.
Life is completing your task-list.  Cannot relax.
Practical, down-to-earth.

From your article on Calc-carb

The Life Of Calcarea Carbonica

Uncomplaining
Reliable
Uncomplicated
Down-to-Earth
Trusting
Victimized

But I read an article about Sepia by Mati Fuller called: “Sepia: Stretched Beyond Capacity.”  Great description, like everything she writes!  See excerpt below:

The core of the Sepia personality is simple to explain – I see her as a rubber band.  Everyone in her life takes a hold of the rubber band and pulls on it, and it stretches and stretches until it eventually becomes worn out.

Basically Sepia is an independent type, more independent than Natrum-mur, but her problem is, that she is not quite independent enough.  She is the kind of person who wants to be everything to everybody, but at the same time, she wants time for herself too so she can do what SHE wants.  Perhaps she wants to pursue a career, perhaps she wants to do something artistic, but whatever it is that she wants to do, it is always hard for her to find the time to do it.  Everybody else’s needs always come first.

She wants to be a good wife and mother, she may even try to be super-mom, but in her heart, she wants to do things for herself, too, and somehow, her own needs are always put on the ” back-burner” because the day doesn’t have enough hours in it, or because she is too exhausted by the time everyone else’s needs have been met.  These are the core issues that always go through Sepia’s life.

If she doesn’t find enough time to take care of herself and her own needs and wants, she becomes irritable and starts complaining.  Yes, she wants her family, but actually, her work appeals to her more, even though she won’t admit this to anyone.  She is under the delusion that if she admits this, she will end up without a family, so she hides her feelings and tries to juggle both, and when she starts running out of time and energy, she complains.  However, it is part of her story that nobody listens to her, so she has to keep compromising.

I guess she could just leave the relationship if the burden became too much, but Sepia doesn’t do that because she is afraid to live life on her own.  She wants family, too, only she wishes she had more time for herself and her own interests.  And, you are right, compromise is Sepia’s survival mechanism, and she does pay a price for that.

The first thing that happens is irritability and complaints, which her family members usually ignore or argue against.  So, she keeps compromising, even though she is starting to resent it.  After doing this for some time, she will also start to resent the people who are making her compromise, including her husband and children.  Therefore, we can see in Sepia aversion to her husband, and even aversion to her own children.  This happens, not because she doesn’t care about them, but because they demand too much of her, and she is feeling that her energy is running out without ever getting any of her own needs met.

***

So maybe Marge is a Calc-c that went into a sepia state, or she was sepia all along.  Now that I read Sepia, I don’t think she was in an acute nux-v state anymore.

In the “over-responsible” rubric, Calc is a 4, followed by Carcinosin and Nat-m in 3 degrees.  Sepia is not in there.

Yes, that is a problem for Sepia in this case.

In ailments from too much responsibility, Calc is also a 4, Carcinosin-3, Nat-m-2, Sepia-1.

So which one is it?  I’ll vote based on the patience she has, she is after all married with Homer.  She should have an award for her patience with him!  So in that rubric is Calc-carb.  So my vote is for Calc-c for her constitutional remedy.  Probably she went into a sepia state in the episode.  Or she could be a Sepia all along.  For me the difference is in the patience with the idiotic husband!

Maria, great job!  In my repertorization, Calc-carb came up in 4th place.  Great MM on Sepia, very educational!  You know, that’s the thing with Sepia, the conflict: They do want a family.  Sepia is a 2 under “fear of being alone”, BUT, they DO want a career as well; and as Mati said, perhaps more!  Sepia is in BOLD under “Work, occupation, amel.”  This sets Sepia up for a discordant situation because her family will always be pulling her back, and she will, of course, resent them.  It will make her irritable and snippy.  Marge doesn’t resent her family at all and she doesn’t make snippy or cutting remarks.

You have to ask yourself, what traits in Marge led to that mental breakdown that occurred that fateful day?  Go back, watch the video again and write down every characterizing trait you see in Marge.  I’ll get you started.  What’s the first thing you see her do?  Homer and Bart break a lamp.  Marge says, “I’m not cleaning that up!”  Then she says, “Who am I kidding?”  What’s the rubric?  What trait is that? “Resignation”!  Marge is “Resigned”, as in, “What can I do?  There’s nothing I can do, I can’t change a thing!  I might as well sweep up this broken lamp and get it over with.”  So, that would be #1; so, keep going, write down what you see, and get back to me with your list.

OK, Elaine, here it goes:

– Anger with indignation or irritability after suppressed anger

– Cant say no, too yielding (Staph, Carc)

– Resignation (also staph and carc listed)

– Ailments from INDIGNATION, MORTIFICATION, ROMANTIC DISAPPOINTMENTS.
– Suppression of emotions, anger, grief.
– GENTLE, SWEET and MILD persons. Sensitive to rudeness.  Unable to fight for her own rights.
– Very considerate of others.  Not demanding.
– SELFLESS.  Never egotistical, harsh nor proud.
– Suppressed anger can give outbursts of temper.
– Head pain from suppressed emotions

I didn’t see head pain in the video.

I can’t think of what it was she heard on the radio that gave her the last strike.

Or “last straw”, as we say in this country–“the straw that broke the camel’s back”.  It was what we call here a “practical joke”, that’s a “joke” that victimizes someone and the jokers get a big laugh out of it and it’s almost always cruel.  The rubric would be “Sensitive to cruelties”.  The radio “shock jocks” called a phone number at random and said, “Excuse me sir, but, your wife is dead.”  Marge couldn’t bear listening to such cruelty, it visibly upset her, and then when Maggie spilled the milk bottle on her, that was the icing on the cake!

The above rubrics in bold are from Radar keynotes for Staphysagria.  The plain rubrics are from Murphy’s.  The following rubrics are from Radar’s Carcinosin:

Push themselves, work hard
Conscientious, great sense of duty, responsible
SYMPATHETIC. SENSITIVE to suffering of people, animals, planet
Anxiety for others. Horrible things affect her/him profoundly.
Affectionate.  Wants to please others.
Suppress their emotions, the hurt.  Yielding, bearing all suffering without protest.

Is the underlined rubric perhaps relevant with what she heard in the radio and made her flip?

Yes, also, “Sympathetic, sensitive to suffering of people…”

I could add “Suppression of emotions,agg.”  Both Carc and Staph are listed.  I have no software on laptop, so I am trying to figure it out by books and pencils, so I can’t tell which comes first at ranking.  Thanks so much for your help!

So basically, you’re telling me you’re trying to decide between Staphysagria and Carcinosin.  Make a list of the characteristics the remedy HAS to cover, and then see which of these two remedies covers all of them.  For instance, “head pain after suppressed emotions”–I think you can cross that off.  “Romantic disappointments, mortification, indignation”–I think we can scratch that off the list.  Stick to the essential characteristics of Marge and tell me which remedy covers all of them.  And don’t read any further because I’ve given you the answer below!  Do the exercise first and tell me what remedy you come up with, then continue reading!

OK, I am writing you the rubrics I think fit her the most:

Can’t say no, yielding.

Resignation.

Sensitive to cruelties.

Sympathetic.

Conscientious, great sense of duty, responsible.

Horrible things affect her profoundly.

Affectionate.  Wants to please other people.

Push themselves, work hard.

Suppression of emotions.

So since from rubrics that in my opinion are essential for Marge — “sympathetic”, “sensitive to cruelties”, Staphysagria is absent and Carcinosin is a 3– I will go with Carcinosin.  I will now look at your answer!

You picked all the right rubrics!  Good job!!  Marge has suppressed anger, that’s why she never gets mad and accepts all the demands made upon her with just sighs and groans; but when it all gets too much for her–with the baby spilling the milk on her in the car–she finally blows up!  In fact, and this is very telling, the final word she screams in the video is, “NO!!!!!!!!”   The rubric is “Mind: yielding, too yielding, can’t say no”; also, “Mind: anger, ailments from, suppressed”.  Carcinosin and Staphysagria are both in bold for that.

Carcinosin and Staphysagria are called “sister remedies” because they are so similar!  But Staphysagria doesn’t have the sense of duty that Carcinosin has and doesn’t have the perfectionism.  Duty, or sense of responsibility, is a very big factor in this case.  Marge is clearly “over-responsible”!  Yes, they are both “people-pleasers”–Carcinosin and Staphysagria.  This is a big problem in this case, it might even be the center of the case: “Mind: Yielding, too yielding, can’t say no”. 

Between not being able to say no, and being over-responsible, there you have the core of the situation!!!!!!  Now the thing is, Staphysagria is NOT over-responsible!  So because of that, even though it’s so close, I think we have to eliminate Staphysagria.

What you’ve written about Carcinosin really covers it:

  1. they push themselves too hard
  2. conscientious, great sense of duty
  3. sympathetic, great sense of others’ suffering
  4. anxiety for others (other-directed, not self-directed)
  5. people-pleasers
  6. bearing all suffering without protest

Very good. I would have to agree with all of that.  Here’s what I would add:

  1. Perfectionist/Conscientious about trifles–(she’s got changing Maggie’s diaper down to a science, she prepares the kids’ lunches with surgical precision, etc.)
  2. Gulit feelings–which drives her to never say no, and to do everything perfectly.

So, I think it’s a Carcinosin land-slide!

Wow Elaine! I totally missed “guilt” and “perfectionism”.  I didnt know about Carc and Staph being sister remedies either.  It makes sense now.  Is she with Homer because she victimizes herself?

Well, Homer loves her and he’s very sweet; but he’s an idiot and selfish, which leaves Marge with entirely too much work to do without any help.  When she complains, notice that it’s always with a soft voice; as in, “Please don’t hate me for complaining…” Carcinosin is listed under “Fear of reproaches”, “Sensitive to disharmony and quarrels” and “Sensitive to reprimands”; so, Carcinosin doesn’t want to offend anybody, doesn’t want to be yelled at or blamed for anything, so, she protests very quietly, apologetically; she groans and sighs rather than yelling and making cutting remarks.  Carcinosin is a 2 under “Sighing”.  Marge does a lot of sighing.  She does everything perfectly so she won’t be blamed or scolded–which is why they say Carcinosin had a fright-filled childhood, she must have been blamed or scolded a lot; so, in adulthood, she tries to be perfect and dutiful so no one will yell at her or blame her for anything.  It’s in the “Guilt” rubric in Bold; so, she feels very guilty like she’s neglected her duty, so, she’s over-responsible to forestall feelings of guilt.

Another problem I am facing with cases like this, is that I see a trait but I dont know how to call it.  For instance what you said above about changing diapers, etc.

Oh, that she’s efficient.  I guess you have to use the “Fastidious” rubric for that; or, “Industrious/workaholic”–Carcinosin is in Bold for that.  So, you see, she works too hard; and then there’s “Perfectionist”–so, she works hard and does it perfectly, as you could see in the diaper-changing scene.

Best quiz ever or at least it is in my top-ten!

Wow, thanks!

_______________________

I got an awful lot of votes for Sepia.  One reader insisted that the remedy was Sepia and wouldn’t take no for an answer:

Elaine, is Marge Sepia?  I haven’t finished reading the Quiz, I got side-tracked by Sesame Street.

Hi Claire!  Finish watching the video and get back to me.

At first I was thinking Nux-vomica because as you have written about it before, it is an excellent remedy for today’s modern stressed-out people in general.

Right, Maria mentioned that article too.

However, given the beast Marge *turns into* when she is pressed to her upper limits, the remedy this calls to my wearied mind is Sepia.

I see what you’re saying; but, Sepia can get very snippy with her tone of voice.  You know, it’s under “aversion to her family”, “aversion to her husband”, “aversion to her children”.  Sepia can be very rude and make mean, cutting remarks; but, what is Marge’s problem, what stands out about her?  She doesn’t set boundaries!  She TRIES to, but, just like when she says, “I’m not cleaning this up! (Who am I kidding?)”, no one is scared of her!  No one takes her seriously!  I would think Sepia is probably very scary!  Marge says “yes” to everything, this is why she has a nervous breakdown in the end because she’s taken on too much responsibility, she feels responsible for everything, she has to do everything perfectly–the kids and the husband don’t have to do anything, she’s getting no help and no appreciation for all her perfection, and, this is the story of Carcinosin.  Carcinosin has to be perfect, is over-responsible (rubric: “ailments from too much responsibility”), she doesn’t ask for help and can’t say no.  And as I just said to Maria, it’s instructive that the last word she utters (yells) in the video is, “No!!!”  She finally gets it out, the word she can’t say.  The word which, if she could have said it, would have changed the course of her whole day.  There is actually a rubric, “Yielding, too yielding, can’t say no”.  The whole case hinges on this rubric!  So, there are no boundaries set, just like with the normal cell that allows a cancer cell to just move in and take it over?  No boundaries are set.  And of course, cancer cells respect no boundaries; so, this is the essence of this case, the lack of boundaries, and you might say Homer is like a cancer cell!

I’m not very good at these quizzes, generally, so maybe I’m totally off.

No, I understand completely!  It certainly looks like the story of Sepia, the over-worked, worn out housewife.  BUT, Marge wouldn’t be SO overworked and worn out if she could just say “No” to a few things!  This, then, becomes the essence of the case–Marge’s inability to say No!

However, if I am right, then feel free to add any of the following to my quiz response, if it would be fun to add in your article.

Sepia is from the cuttlefish ink; the ink sac is used by the cuttlefish as a way to escape predators.  Sepia patients will spew out prickly barbs and lash out when they feel restricted by the incessant demands of those whiny little — oh sorry, what was I getting at?

See, this is the thing.  Marge does not spew “prickly barbs”.  When she complains, it’s very weak; and mostly she just sighs and groans but says nothing.

In other words, the cuttlefish (Sepia) does not just spew ink everywhere all the time; it only does so when it must, in order to dodge from or distract a threat.  Similarly, Sepia patients will plod on and on, yet eventually snap and react in a way that gets, in this case, (which is typical of Sepia) their “loved ones” to back up and back off!

In addition to its ink, the cuttlefish also uses camouflage to avoid being “trapped” by those who relentlessly hound it with their complaining and problems and — whoops I did it again — trapped by anything that threatens their equanimity and deep sea peace, and ultimately, survival.  By the way, what is it like in the deep sea?  I’m guessing “quiet”.  Ever notice how you can’t hear anything if you dive down into a pool?

Yes, so true.

Ah, beautiful silence!  But I digress.

In other words, a Sepia person who is lashing out, slaying others with very precise retorts, growling, maybe swearing — just thinking hypothetically here — is a lot like the camouflage behavior of the cuttlefish.  When pressed to the point of breaking down, they mimic the unremitting stress of their surroundings.  It’s a matter of external pressure matching internal pressure; in fact, this is like deep sea diving!

But, you know, if I can interject here, all you say about Sepia is true; but, Sepia can actually hate their children and husband, even if they’re not being stressed by them at the moment; they have, as the Repertory says, an “aversion” to them.  Marge actually loves her family and she’s a very sweet person; but, she just needs to learn to say No and mean it BEFORE everything reaches the breaking point!

Since this is a sea remedy, here is an analogy.  The deeper something is submerged, the greater the pressure.  As something is lifted up out of the depths, pressure decreases.  Look at Marge, she’s in deep!  There is a lot of pressure that she can’t seem to get out from under.  (Did I ever mention that one of my favorite songs to listen to while working out is David Bowie & Queen’s “Under Pressure”?)

Since you mention it, I always resented that song because they stole the hook from Vanilla Ice!  But do go on.

No, Elaine, Queen came out with it first!

No way!

Yes, Way!  I’m surprised Shana didn’t tell you, isn’t she a musical encyclopedia?

Hold on, let me ask her.  Shana, what came first, “Under Pressure” or “Ice Ice Baby”? 

“Under Pressure”.

What???  No way!  Are you sure?

Of course I’m sure, aren’t I “Shanapedia”?

I told you!

Well this is totally insane!  This is like learning that all the songs out on Motown were ghost-written by Perry Como!

Maybe you should take 5 minutes to breathe.

No, no, I’m OK.  I’ll be OK. … Yeesh!

Well, as I was about to say, if someone would just lift some of the pressure off Marge by assuming responsibility — or if she lifted herself out of some of the responsibility (by delegating tasks to others) there would be an immediate reduction in pressure on poor Marge.

But see, that rubric I was telling you about?  “Can’t say no”?  Sepia isn’t there!  And that’s what this whole case is about!  I’ll tell you what’s in that rubric: Carcinosin, Silica, Staphysagria and Pulsatilla–just what you’d expect.  So, because this is the center of the case, if Sepia’s not there, it can’t be Sepia!

Back to camouflage —

Oy vey.

The “lashing out and growling” person that Marge becomes doesn’t look anything like the bedraggled, careworn, chronically-overburdened-but-ceaselessly-attendant person they have all been sucking dry all day — I mean, “leaning on” for everything.  It’s as though she has become someone else entirely!  Notice how bewildered Bart and Lisa are as they are kicked out– I mean dropped off– at school!  It was because that didn’t seem like “Mom” at all!

Right, but, here’s the thing, as I’ve said before in my quizzes: when the “symptom” can be explained by the “illness”, it’s not a symptom!  If EVERYONE would respond the same way, the response isn’t “characteristic” and therefore, not a “symptom”.  So when Marge “growls” at Bart and Lisa, given what led up to it–how they yelled and screamed in the car the whole way to school–anyone would have growled, “Get Out!”  Now, here’s what I picture in a Sepia case–a reasonably tranquil car ride is made to school, and the mother growls, “Get Out!” at the end of it!  That’s Sepia.  There’s no provocation, she just hates her children!  “Mind: children, dislikes her own”–Sepia (it’s in BOLD, for heaven’s sake!  Lycopodium is in italics and there are a few in plain type.)

Notice how the entire family is silenced — but only momentarily — when Marge snaps at them, not once but twice, about their sandwich orders?  Those early Sepia warning signs were missed by family members…

Exactly!  Missed!  Because they are not afraid of Marge, regardless of what she says.  And why are they not afraid of Marge?  Because she is a nurturing Carcinosin, not a rejecting, self-interested, Sepia.

…they don’t get it; they stare blankly at her, not comprehending, before continuing with their demands.  Notice how the bus driver jumps back in fear at Marge’s ferocious roar?  I’m sure it was the last thing he was expecting from “a mom in a station wagon”.

Right; but, again, knowing what led up to the “explosion”, anyone would have exploded after all that Marge had gone through that morning: driving kids to school who had missed their bus by wasting time with their fussy sandwich orders, taking the cat to the vet, going to the supermarket, going to two bowling ball repair shops, neither of which repaired the bowling ball!  But, the crucial part of it is, the only reason Marge went through all this was because she agreed to take on too much responsibility; the rubric is, “Mind: responsibility, over-responsible”.  Carcinosin’s in BOLD, Sepia isn’t there!!!!

Sepia thrives on freedom and in this clip, it seems that the daily strain of handling “everything” for the family members makes her feel trapped; notice how even though she is percolating with anger, she still obliges the unhelpful family members on their “lunch orders”, and on Homer’s bowling ball repair, cleaning up the broken lamp and so much else.

Right, because, again, “Can’t say no”. 

Notice how the Simpsons creator even uses a visual of her at the door, heading out for the day, “weighted down” by myriad tasks and duties.  It always ends up as “Never mind, I’ll do it.”  The wearisome tasks of being chained to family needs starts to get to a Sepia type, whereas other remedy types might either be tolerantly passive and long-suffering… or actually enjoy being a slave to family needs perpetually.  Apparently there are people out there like that!

Marge IS long-suffering, but on this particular day, it was too much even for Marge!

Note the increasingly haggard and unkempt artistic portrayal of Marge as the clip progresses — I have a keen eye for these things, as I am an artist, and somewhat unkempt.  Don’t print that!

Now she tells me!

She looks practically asleep at the two bowling ball repair shops, eyes half-closed and wobbling from exhaustion, and her hair is as frazzled as her nerves in the final car scene. This is where a baseball cap (my go-to accessory for the last 13 years) would come in handy — if she can reach the top of her towering hair.

Speaking of that final scene, even the “fake stress” of a radio-show prank is enough to fray her last nerve, in the mental state she is in, while she is still trying to be functional and get home for all the usual drudgery that awaits her there.  Look how zippy and efficient her grocery-shopping was, darting around on auto-pilot, and yet guess what — as soon as she finishes that to-do list, there will be a bottomless pit of more to-do’s, to do — it never ends!  Like the laundry or the dishes.  So I hear, anyway!

I agree with you that Sepia and Carcinosin have a similar SITUATION; namely, over-work.  They are both overwhelmed and frazzled by family demands.  They call Sepia “The washer-woman remedy”.  And being in the same SITUATION can lead you to look no further than Sepia unless you go beyond the situation and observe the traits the person has, and ask, “Why is so-and-so in this situation anyway?  Is a boss forcing this work on her?  Is she facing a dead-line in her own business that she runs?  Or is she trying to please too many people and not asking for help?”  But you’re not looking past the situation, which is that Marge is over-worked and exhausted and cracks up in the end; it has all the “look” of Sepia but many remedy types can get that “look”.

I am really surprised this clip did not feature Marge just breaking into a Usain Bolt-style sprint homeward with Maggie from the bridge scene, leaving the car, the groceries and Homer’s stupid bowling ball behind!  But then, what do I know?  These are just wild guesses.  In the end, even Marge seems stunned at her own behavior, as she is basically mirroring the level of stress they have all put upon her.

Yes, she is stunned by her own behavior, as Carcinosins are not in touch with their anger!  The rubric is, “Mind: anger, ailments from, suppressed”. So that’s a good point, she really is stunned by her own behavior!

Gosh just watching that clip puts me in the mood for a handful of dark chocolate.

Did you know that Carcinosin craves chocolate?

Hey, if this is all wrong, please truncate my explanation and let me know what the right remedy is — and I’ll promptly take it!

Did I mention it’s Carcinosin?  They say that as a child, the parents of Carcinosin were not “there” for her, so Carcinosin took on the role of an adult at a very young age, taking care of younger siblings, taking care of sick parents, etc.; they were always “taking care”, and now as a grown up, it’s a learned behavior; THEY have to do all the work, all the errands, all the child care, etc. and they never ask for help.  Here are the rubrics:

“Mind: responsibility, early, too young”–Carc. the only remedy.

“Mind: responsibility, burdened with, at too young an age”–Calc., Carc.

“Mind: over-responsible”–Calc, Carc and Nat-mur–the main remedies.

“Mind: ailments from abuse in childhood”–Carc., Thuja, Stram.

“Mind: ailments from punishment”–Carc., Staph.–the main remedies.

“Mind: ailments from violence”–Anac., Arn., Carc., Staph.–the main remedies.

“Mind: fear in children”–Carc., Baryta carb, Calc-carb, Acon., Phos., Ars., Lyc.–the main remedies

“Mind: fear, prolonged fear, ailments after”–Carc. the main remedy.

“Mind: anger, ailments from, suppressed”–Carc., Coloc., Ip., Lyc., Staph.–the main remedies.

“Mind: fear, reproaches, of”–Carc., Staph., Dig., Lyc., Caps.

“Mind: sensitive, over-sensitive, reprimand, to”–Carc., Staph., Nat-mur–the main remedies.

“Mind: yielding, too yielding, can’t say no”–Carc., Puls., Sil, Staph.

“Mind: perfectionist”–Carc., Ign., Nux v.–the main remedies.

 

So….it’s pretty easy to piece together the “story” of Carcinosin.  You can picture that the Carcinosin child was brought up in a chaotic home, the parents may have been abusive, alcoholics, neglectful, drug addicts, etc., making the child look after younger siblings, do the household chores, cook the meals.  You can picture that the child feared that protesting would lead to violence, yelling and being blamed.  You can picture that the child was not permitted to protest or complain.  You can picture that the child believed that if she did everything perfectly, she might be spared.  You can imagine that when such a child grows up, she would continue these patterns out of habit–being over-responsible, not complaining, taking care of others, putting herself last, not expressing her feelings out of fear of reprisal.

You can see that even though Carcinosin and Sepia can look alike, Sepia’s not in any of these rubrics!  What are some of the rubrics that Sepia is in?

“Delusions: alone in a grave yard”

“Delusions: ghosts”

“Delusions: is poor”

“Mind: Abusive, insulting”

“Mind: Aversion to family members–husband, children”

“Mind: Alone agg.”

“Mind: Desire for company”

“Mind: Deceitful”

“Mind: Discontented, displeased, dissatisfied”

“Mind: Domineering, dictatorial”

“Mind: Envy”

“Mind: Fear of being alone”

“Mind: Fear of ghosts”

“Mind: Fear of poverty”

“Mind: Fear of losing his lucrative position”

“Mind: Greed, avarice”

“Mind: Ideas abundant”

“Mind: Passionate”

“Mind: Work amel.”

“Mind: Work, workaholic, mania for work”

 

So, from this, it’s possible to put together Sepia’s story.  Sepia is very much afraid to be alone.  She has delusions of ghosts and being left alone in a grave yard.  She needs to have a family so she can feel safe; but, at the same time, you can see that Sepia is full of ideas and desires for work and a lucrative position as she fears poverty.  But these needs of hers clash!  If she desires to work and to attain riches, how will she be as a homemaker?  But if she gives too much time to her family, her career goals will suffer.  The situation is untenable.  You can predict that her relationship with her children and husband will become strained and embittered because their demands spoil her career; but, she can’t leave them (fear of being alone), so she will just be miserable to be around instead: “insulting, displeased, abusive, domineering”.  A mania for work while simutaneously meeting the needs of children and husband will result in exhaustion and Sepia’s well-known “aversion to sex” as she stretches herself thin trying to do both–which is where we come in with this video!  “Oh, exhaustion from taking care of husband and children–it must be Sepia!”  But there is no evidence that Marge is working towards a career or is trying to complete a project she’s started; so….it can’t be Sepia!

So, let’s congratulate our winner now, shall we?  The one and only, Mati Fuller!

Thank you so much, Elaine!  I knew it had to be Carcinosin with all that self-sacrifice.  It is sad, isn’t it, how sacrifice is such a huge thing for Carcinosin?  People keep asking me, why does Carcinosin take so much crap from everyone?  Why doesn’t she just pack her suitcase and leave?  Because of hope (cancer miasm) that the relationship will get back on its feet (against all odds), and she’s always the one willing to carry all the burdens (sacrifice for impossible causes) until things turn around, which they never do, until it is too late.

Thanks, Mati!  I would encourage everyone to buy Mati’s book, Beyond The Veil Of Delusions –so interesting, you literally can’t put it down!  

And I want to thank everyone who voted–all really good guesses!

Myra Nissen, Anonymous, Lynda, Miroslav, Jitka, Vamsi, Maria and Mati

Let’s go out with “Ice Ice Baby”–even if he did steal the hook from Queen… (No, say it isn’t so!)

__________________________________

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

3 Comments

  • Really best quiz ever. wonderfully explained and evaluated all that constitutional symptoms of sepia, carcinocin, staphysagria. Thanks dr Elaine and all the participants. This type of quiz will help us :learners to recognise and make a clear picture of the constitutional symptopms of a remedy. I have learned a lot.

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