I’m Not Superman: A Case of Krypton

This case took me 10 years to solve. My hope is that by publishing it your Krypton cases will gain relief much more quickly than mine did!

The patient, a 40 y.o. married man and father of three, is jovial with hints of tension underneath, slightly formal, and eager to please me. At every visit he is unusually courteous and asks me if there is anything he can do to help me during my visit to his town. He says he wants to be my “best possible patient”.

Initial Consult Dec. 10, 2001: I have pain in my stomach, it’s been diagnosed as duodenal inflammation by a gastroenterologist. I take Zantac (ranitidine, an H2 histamine receptor antagonist), In the past it responded very well to Arsenicum album 30C once a week.

I had a stable youth. I lived in the same house my entire life. I was the oldest child in the family; had three younger sisters. I did really well in school, through age 12. I graduated 5^th in my house school class of 600 students.

I didn’t go to college because I didn’t have a plan, a major subject. I apprenticed with an uncle here in (town).

But there was not a lot of building. The economy wasn’t growing. I moved around the country, going wherever there was work. [Continues to tell a chronological story about the events of his life, meeting his wife, getting married, etc.]

I’m one of the luckiest guys you’ll ever know. I’m blessed by my family arrangement!

I grew up without a television. I’ve been an avid reader. TV and movies affect me quite a lot. I wouldn’t want to watch a horror flick. I tend towards perfectionism. I was a perfectionist in picking out my wife.

What troubles you? Family troubles of my sister. Untimely deaths. I grew up in a close family. Some family members drifted to a different faith. I ask myself, what can I do to make the situation better?

What has been your most difficult experience? The passing away of my aunt. I was pretty close to her.

What do you think is behind your stomach pain? Little things in life stack up. I’m not smiling enough. I’m not paying enough attention to nutritionally balanced meals. I focus too much on my career and investments instead of my family, more on my career rather than my emotional well-being.

Not smiling enough? It’s a philosophy…or would be, if I were the doctor.

I’m concerned what I can do to help my sister. She’s intimidated by my successful marriage. It’s hindered our relationship.. The hardest part of leaving home was leaving my 8 y.o sister. There was not enough time to establish our relationship. Our family was nice and close. Our grandparents were close by. There was a support system.

I resist change. I get stuck in my routine, my original plan. I’m contrarian. When someone says “I can’t do it”, I decide I will do it. Prove that it can be done (describes wallpapering a ceiling).

I had a dream where I’m in a rocket ship. It’s shaped like a go-cart. My intention is to fly into space, though I’m sitting horizontally. I’m trying to familiarize myself with the controls. But it’s not too important, because I’m the co-pilot, sitting in the 2^nd seat. A crowd around me, some say: ‘You know it will make it to the moon and back. It’s already been to Mars and back’. Then I realized my wife was the pilot, and that she had been to Mars and back. I had been apprehensive because the rocket didn’t look substantial.

Consults btw: 2002 and 2011: (Given many kali salts, Causticum, Cobaltum, Zincum, Helium, Xenon, Syphilinum, Staphysagria, Palladium, Technetium, Cadmium sulphuricum). He says:

I become totally self-absorbed. There is less recognition of others’ strengths, with the power of teamwork. For example, building a house. If I say I can build you a house with no helpers, that gives a foundation for self-confidence. But if it takes 3 years to do it, the worth is not really there. When I hung the wallpaper on the ceiling, I employed techniques the others hadn’t thought of to hold the paper up. Gravity is working against you. It would have been nice to have 8-10 people to hold up the paper while I worked. I stapled the paper with cardboard strips. The downside is that it’s lonely, alienating. You lose your ability to connect with others. Consider Adam without Eve. You lose your sense of purpose. Why would you try to do something of value and worth? Who are you building it for?

I’ve reached the end of my comfort zone, and it’s very turbulent. I’m looking for a breakthrough. I bounce up against a self-imposed ceiling, need to break through an obstacle. I look for direction, guidance from my symptoms. I need a breakthrough to a higher level of health. It’s like an aircraft getting ready to break the sound barrier, the buffeting of the plane. I’m seeing the color green.

Joy from light and sound. It’s a higher spot. A mountaintop. You can see clearly all around. One gets there not by working for it, but rather by receiving it. You open up one’s self to what’s beyond self. You get yourself out of the picture to see the beauty of larger creation. There’s a connection to a higher plane.

I have repetitive task-oriented dreams, wishing I didn’t have to do it again, that I could get something accomplished.

Dream of heading off to work without any clothing. There’s an urgency to get to work, that’s the main feeling. I’m amazed that I have to go to this extreme.

Dream about the building I’m working on, hoping that I didn’t forget any steps, that it doesn’t fall down.

Dream: of unsavory characters, released convicts, rude and crude, on a bus. An escaped convict, putting everybody at risk, wreaking havoc.

Dream of a very volatile, dishonest judge. Of people with evil intentions plotting a way to extort the town’s citizens by threatening to blow up the dam and flood the city.

Dream of a lady whose head was not connected to her body.A talking head.

Dream of being arrested for having a small handgun. The officer was very jovial and nice.

Dream: Of invincibility. I have a magic hammer in my hand. Every project I take on is a total success. It’s a wild west heroic feeling. I’m completely surrounded by bad guys. They can’t touch me. You can take your time and bring them to justice. I’m unwilling to accept change, e.g. my daughter driving, a new career, new roles for myself. I drag my feet through change. I’m not the type of person to be spontaneous. The hardest is moving from one job to another. I was stuck in transition when I was fired from one job. It was a management job at a lumber company. I put 110% of myself into that job. I worked harder and smarter, to do my best. When they said they wanted to let me go I felt misunderstood, mistreated. I was offered my previous job, but I didn’t want to go backwards, so I declined. I had future plans. I was stuck in a transition.

I fear being alone, vulnerable. I fear being unrecognized. Your individual needs are unrecognized, leaving you vulnerable. It’s like being faced with an opposing force that’s much stronger, without seeing a countervailing force. It seems insurmountable.. Recognized means on the level of royalty. I feel more like a prince or a king. Otherwise, I feel like a commoner. Not degraded, but not up where I like to be, on a higher plane. If once a month you had the feeling of being like a king, the other days you could arrange your life so that it was an acceptable routine. But I would want to improve that to twice a month, and so on. On balance, I wouldn’t want to think I was a king all day, when it wasn’t true. It’s deceiving yourself. Rose-colored glasses. A false feeling of I’m a king when I’m not. No one giving me individual attention. But still feeling on top of the world.

Trying to buy up the whole town. I can do 10x more on my own. Didn’t need that job any way. Playing the lone ranger. I can do it all by myself.

I have unreasonable expectations of myself. To be “super”.To have more happy moments. I wear rose-colored glasses. I have no regrets if I did my best. I recognize I’m a regular guy. I’m not Superman.

Super means I can accomplish everything by myself. It means I can go out in front, without risk to myself. I can take the heat for my family and friends. It’s rising above in an unselfish way, lifting people around me. They guy in the black hat can fire as many rounds as he wants. I have the white hat on!

When I wake up I try to persuade myself I’m in the very best place. The very best country, the very best state, the very best town in that state, and the very best house in that town.

If you could look down on the whole world from the space shuttle, it’s that kind of perspective. That’s the magnitude.

I had an argument with a co-worker. I thought I was being jovial, trying to get a point across. He felt threatened, thought I wanted him fired. I was hurt. Had helped him buy his first car, was trying to give him a sense of self-worth. The relationship is damaged. I want to control the negative thoughts. It’s hard for me to bring negative things home. I want a happy family, want to give them stability, foundation. I know that it’s safe at home, different from the cold hard life out in the world. It’s important to keep a wall up, keep home and work separate.

I like to watch western films about bad guys. Bad guys are capable, ruthless, cunning, not easy to knock down. They do that first crime, and then go downhill. They make painful choices to cover up something he could have corrected. The bad guy feels justified, like he could come out on top, ride off into the sunset. In the end they go to jail, or receive swift justice, like capital punishment. Justice delayed is justice denied.

An Email from his wife describing a crisis: Plans for family time didn’t go as the patient planned. He had stopped eating “because it wasn’t a priority”, fainted, vomited. Patient “said he was feeling so low, he was feeling sorry about having children”.

Physical: Involuntary hiccoughs, belching (It’s a gas). Choking to an extreme extent, vomiting. Like a light switch on and off. When the switch is “on”, the food won’t go down. Nutrients pass through too quickly to gain value. Anemia.Epistaxis. Sinus congestion.

Pain in lower back, worse inactivity, >working. My joints are not well oiled. Knees and elbows talking to me.

Weakness. Short of breath climbing stairs. Sore muscles. Violence of symptoms.

December 15, 2011:

Back pain, took aspirin. I forgot how sensitive my stomach was. Now I have stomach pain, worse at night, worse lying down. At one time I conquered it, I overcame it in the battle. But it’s still war.

I feel unworthy. It’s a reflex to deflect praise. I have more success when working on behalf of someone else, then when I work for myself. If an employer gave me a challenging task, I wouldn’t mind if the employer received the benefit.

I avoid conflict. Is there anyone more cheerful than me? A potential weak spot. I internalize negative emotions. I deflect praise.

If I didn’t I would fear a false advancement of self, setting up an environment of repeating success. A celebration of success, of taking praise…I haven’t done that enough.

If I was on stage and the presentation was successful, I think I could let the applause flow into me. But if I walked off the stage, and the audience member said ‘Great performance’, I would say “thank you”, but that would be to deflect it away from myself.

I’ve done lots of physical work, but very little mind work. That’s a new arena for me. Teaching carpentry rather than performing carpentry. Maybe I’ll teach “Life success”.

Rx: Krypton 200C

Following this remedy, I did not hear from the patient for 2 ½ years, a very unusual silence.

April 22, 2014: The last remedy cured me. I was feeling great until last month. Then I hit a bump in the road. It’s the perfect storm. I moved from a less physical job to being in the field. I began my own company. I went to the dentist, and didn’t listen to him. There are ill effects. Stomach pain, worse at night, worse lying down.

I have tightness in my jaw on the left side. It’s a sharp pain that radiates to the ear. It feels like a Charlie horse in the jaw muscles.

I have a bloated tight feeling in my stomach.

For the past two years I didn’t take any sick time. I’m cheerful and positive. I’ve been getting lots of work accomplished. I’ve been active, agile, and have good balance. I can walk a long ways. I’m productive. In control. I’m happier working with my hands.

In November my employment contract ended. It was an opportunity to start my own business as a general contractor. But with the physical work, the heavy lifting, I found myself clenching my jaw, straining.

What was it like for you, starting your own business?

Contrary to what I expected, I never felt like competing. But the timing made sense. It’s a step out beyond my comfort zone.

Other emotional stress?

I’m the executor of my parents’ accounts. A bank account of my mother became obsolete, and the bank closed it. There was some sentiment…there’s nothing else with her name on it. It was a severing (emphasis). It was the bank’s fault (laughs). No, there was no one at fault.

There is some grief left over.

Dreams? Disjointed. Faces I recognize, or don’t recognize. Particular arrangements of chess pieces on the board. Feeling of surprise, unreality, things being out of place.

Chess? It’s about strategy; I’m drawn to different formations. I would like to win without capturing a lot of your pieces. That way it’s a quick win, and I can relax. It’s about control, being able to manage the game.

Rx: Krypton 1M, 20x

August 8, 2014: I called the patient and his wife, to assess progress before writing this article.

Patient’s wife: Relationship with patient is better than ever.

Patient: Everything got a little worse for a few days; then better. My metabolism is quite fast. I do better if I eat, drink regularly. Otherwise I get bloated, have regurgitation, choking, nausea.

I get some fear-based emotions when eating in a social environment, with friends, or family. Maybe it’s a fear of failure, not exactly.

If you had an idea, a really big and grand idea, I could help you carry it out. But if I had my own idea, I’m not as sure I could carry it out successfully.

But my sleep is good; the jaw pain is completely gone. I no longer get Charlie horses. I’m much better.

Krypton: The substance

Krypton, atomic number 36 in the periodic table, is the Noble gas terminating the 4^th Row of the Periodic table. Naturally occurring krypton is found in 6 stable isotopes; about 20 radioactive isotopes, produced by fission of uranium and by other nuclear reactions, are known. Trace amounts can be detected in the atmosphere, as well as in meteorites. The name comes from the Greek, meaning “The Hidden One”. Like other noble gases, it is often used in lighting, fluorescent bulbs, photography, and lasers. Krypton has a narcotic potency seven times greater than air, so breathing a gas containing 50% krypton and 50% air would cause narcosis similar to breathing air at four times atmospheric pressure.

In popular culture, Krypton is the mythical home planet of the comic book hero Superman. Kryptonite refers to a radioactive ore from this planet which is the only thing Superman is vulnerable to. Thus kryptonite has come to refer to a unique vulnerability of an otherwise invincible personality.

Themes of Krypton

• Feels need to be super strong, invincible, the best at accomplishing tasks, doing work, providing safety and security, holding wrong-doers accountable. Feels he should be superman, be able to accomplish anything all by himself.
• Because of impossibly high standards, feels he is a failure at work. Dreams of work, failures at work, unfinished tasks at work, obstacles at work.
• The themes of guilt and criminality of the 4^th Row become crystallized in the evil terrorist who is brought to capital punishment by the lone crusading hero of the wild west.
• Loneliness, isolation, lack of direction. Able to accomplish the nearly impossible by himself, Krypton asks himself for whom and for what is this all for? Not just need for guidance, as in the 5^th Row, but need for someone to provide the project and motivation for which to work.
• Having outperformed all other workers, it is time to become a self-directed manager, but feels he can’t break the barrier to reach this mountain-top or higher plane of being.

Krypton in the Periodic Table

Elements from the fourth row, when potentized, resonate with the capacity to perform tasks vital to establishing and preserving one’s security. Many of these elements are metals which have been used for armaments, tools, and shields. These remedies correspond to the development of the village and town, and to the issues facing the worker who must defend a reputation as an honest and strong employee, soldier, and citizen. The shadow side of these elements contains the archetype of the criminal, who defies the authority figure, neglects his duty, and breaks the codes and laws upon which civil society depends. As a Column 18, noble gas element, krypton feels he has perfectly achieved the capability of performing tasks. The outer shell is complete; he can do it all by himself. But he has not yet broken through the barrier separating the 4^th and 5^th rows; hence he looks elsewhere for a sense of purpose and direction.

Confirming Krypton

Worse lying down

Issues around eating; needing structure, formality, lots of time for proper assimilation.