Background: Major depressive disorder is defined according to (DSM-V-TR) criteria. : The normal and expected response to an event involving significant loss e.g, bereavement, financial ruin, natural disaster, including feelings of intense sadness, rumination about the loss, insomnia, poor appetite and weight loss and may resemble a depressive episode. The presence of symptoms such as feelings of worthlessness, suicidal ideas as distinct from wanting to join a deceased loved one, psychomotor retardation, and severe impairment of overall function suggest the presence of a Major Depressive Episode in addition to the normal response to a significant loss. Research has shown that depression is influenced by both biological and environmental factors. Studies show that first degree relatives of the patients have a higher incidence of the illness, whether they are raised with this relative or not, supporting the influence of biological factors.
Case Analysis: Mr. T.T., a divorced student and a guitarist, aged 34 was visited by the author and his wife with chief complaint of severe sadness and suicidal thoughts due to disappointed love, on the 8th of June 2010. The problem had started about 4 months before, in March 2011, after being separated from his beloved wife.
The patient had been visited by a psychiatrist, first, who had come to the diagnosis of major depressive disorder and started treating him with anti-depressive drugs. The patient’s psychiatric symptoms alleviated though he would lock his the door to his room, play sad music, weep, laugh loudly and smoke cigarettes repeatedly. He also complained of painful muscular spasms.
MIND – CONCENTRATION – difficult
MIND – HYSTERIA
MIND – MOOD – changeable
MIND – LOQUACITY
MIND – LAUGHING
MIND – SIGHING
MIND – GRIEF
MIND – SENTIMENTAL
GENERALS – CATALEPSY
MIND – AILMENTS FROM – love; disappointed
MIND – WEEPING – sobbing; weeping with
MIND – BENEVOLENCE
MIND – ANGER – beside oneself; being
MIND – AILMENTS FROM – grief
MIND – AILMENTS FROM – scorned; being
MIND – ANGER – easily
MIND – COMPANY – aversion to
MIND – DELUSIONS – specters, ghosts, spirits – seeing
MIND – LAUGHING – involuntarily
MIND – MANIA
After being visited by the authors, Ignatia amara 30c was prescribed. After 15 minutes he started to feel better and experienced an inner calmness. In the second visit after two weeks the patient said “I haven’t wept at all during the last two weeks. The first days I was disturbed by sleeplessness. I did not annoy anyone, anymore… something like a miracle has occurred.”
To complete his cure according to his constitution and personal characteristics a single dose of Lachesis 30 c was prescribed and his case was reviewed on the third visit. His chief complaint i.e. severe sadness along with other symptoms like muscular spasms while driving improved completely.
Conclusion: Patients with major depressive disorder and suicidal thoughts suffer from severe psychological imbalance and need emergent therapeutic measures. Mr. T.T. experienced highly a effective cure by using homeopathic remedies and without recurrence or relapse. Thus homeopathy can be an effective cure for such patients.