A DAY DREAMSER’S TALE….

A 27 year old woman visited us on December 2010 for Irregular Menses. Briefly she had a chronic complaint of Amenorrhea caused primarily by PCOS, diagnosed since 7 years. Before visiting us, she had taken allopathic, ayurvedic and also homeopathic treatments from many doctors with minimum relief. She had developed secondary symptoms of PCOS viz weight gain, hair fall & joint pains.

Approach:

Generally we provide a case history form to fill out well in advance to every patient. Invariably every case goes through a short meditative process before interaction with the patient begins, which helps to create a conducive aura between patient and doctor.  This procedure has proven beneficial in all sorts of cases.

Detailed Unwinding of the Case is presented below.

D: Tell me your problems.

P: I am here primarily because I have PCOS and I have had it from past 7 years. That’s the only complaints I have.

D: What way does it bother you?

P: PCOS I don’t know, on one level I have sort of given up on it. Its 7 years but I don’t know why it’s not been treated up till now. I am actually a very optimistic person.  I always believe that things will be better even in the worst situation. But this is one thing that has really brought me down. Also I don’t have the confidence to carry anything to the end even if I take up a diet plan or a new exercise program I can’t finish it to the end. I wish I could have been little more stronger. I don’t have much power on my life. I don’t know why I am telling you all this… (Laughs)

I don’t have a fixed opinion about anything, my personality keeps shifting. I get bored very easily. I just keep day dreaming the entire day. I am happiest when I day dream. In your dreams you can make things seem so nice. If you are in a really bad place you can just shut your eyes and say ah! OK I am on a little fairy land on a boat or I am swimming… I don’t know I just love dreaming movies which are very dreamy and whimsical. when I was young I used to read a lot of Enid Blyton stories I loved those books it’s a faraway place there’s a magical tree, when I was young I used to dream about me picking strawberries. I love strawberries I used to go picking strawberries in a little farm with a little basket with me. And life is just very simple and people pray together and people are happy. Sometimes I imagine myself to be in the Middle East. I love the desert, I just like the hot climate a lot,I hate cold weather even if I sweat even if it is very humid I don’t mind. I always imagine myself either I am in the woods or I am walking on a sunny days somewhere in the middle east and I have a camel with me and the little tents that you put up. I just feel we know too much now. Too much of exposure; too much of information to do with a simple life. Like cooking food on a tiny wooden stove I mean the fire wood and simple aromatic meal and you are sitting on a floor and cooking; not in an Oven or a microwave. It is so much better to think of all these things than to think of the real world.

Whenever I am bored or sad I just shut my eyes and day dream. It’s my little world and I can do whatever I want over there I can make it the way I want and no one will tell me what’s write what’s wrong. I control it that’s why I like it.

I love reading Khalid Husain’s books, there is a male figure in the house he is controlling the house I wished my father could have been like that but he is not. I can’t control my life I wish someone would give more direction and that’s why I wanted to get married to someone who is very strong kind of personality so he controls me like a typical man who is a hunter who goes out to hunt and the wife at home she makes food and takes care of the kids. I don’t mind a simple life somebody whom I can look up to and is powerful, strong and he is still caring and affectionate and so you should not scared of his authority. I want him to shout at me, I want him to discipline me. All my life my father has never shouted at me I guess that’s why I have become like this. I like that kind of a set up like you have distinct roles for both husband and wife; which my family never had. I always dream husband as a hunter he is a strong, he hunts and he protects the family and takes care of the family. He tells me go inside the house don’t go out its dangerous for you. I don’t mind listening to those things. I don’t mind somebody dominating me. My father never gave me control so now I want someone who can actually control me.

[What we see here is that she doesn’t have her own control, her own direction in life which shows that her senses are not adequately developed. That she needs someone else to control her and to direct her. She wants someone to dominate her and to tell her what is right and what is wrong for her, who makes her feel protected. For her, a male figure should be like a strong hunter. So we need to find out what control means to her.]

D: So how does it feel to you not to have control?

P: I feel as though I have two people within me and fighting with each other like I can challenge you, you have no control let me challenge your control.

D: As though you have 2 people within?

P: Yeah! There are always 2 voices within my head. There’s always a conflict I know everyone has their inner voice. I feel that I have 2 people within me and I talk a lot to myself actually and it just sounds that one voice is stronger than the other.

D: Describe this.

P: one is doubtful voice, and other is a strong voice.

[As though there are two people fighting where one is stronger than the other. This is the animal nature, one stronger than the other. With the underlying theme of need to be dominated to be in control.]

D: Tell me about this conflict a little bit more.

P: I don’t choose actually they control me. For sometimes one is more powerful so I follow that sometimes other is more powerful so I follow that.

D: So how does it feel to you to be controlled?

P: I feel weak, helpless. As though I am the animal and they have the reins in my neck. So they can drive me where ever they want…defenseless! I feel unintelligent, dumb. I feel like an animal.

[So it’s a strong force where she can’t stand up to it. She perceives herself like a weak, helpless, defenseless, unintelligent animal.]

D: Defenseless…

P: I can’t fight, it’s a very strong force, I can’t stand up to it. Like maybe you are fighting in a war and you don’t have any weapons and there is someone with a powerful gun, axe or something and they can harm you. You are running away as you are a little animal like a mouse or some sort of rabbit or some sort of a deer. And there is nothing to protect you there is no armor around you, there is no shell around you. Just exposed…as though your weakest point is known to everyone.

D: Describe that experience of exposed.

P: Feel like lost; want to covering, hide. You feel lonely and there’s no direction, no power, no control… feeling exposed and open. It’s like you can’t be hidden, covered or burrowed somewhere. There’s no curtain, you are just exposed anything can attack you and you are visible to the world.

D: Describe that.

P: You are cowering… you are small (H.G.: showing small)

D: Just the Gesture….

P: it’s just like I am trying to cover, hide, conceal myself, want to burrow away, and covered by earth. Hide be in the cave or be in a hole inside the tree. Hide yourself so that no one can see you.

[So being exposed is being attacked and you need to hide, hiding is by burrowing somewhere.]

D: Be in the cave…

P: It’s like a concealed; covered cave, its dark, its black you can’t see anything it is hidden. It’s like wrapping a baby in a blanket. Feel safe, protected and taken care of, nurtured. You are just tightly knit; like a close family.

[Hiding is safe, protected, taken care of, nurtured and you are tightly knit like a close family. This is the indication of Mammal instinct.]

D: What is the opposite of that?

P: Exposed, open, uncovered, defenseless.

D: Open, uncovered, defenseless?

P: It is like you are in the wild and anything can attack you.  There is no tent to cover you. You can’t hide under the ground; or in the cave.

D: Hide under the ground…

P: Under the ground means you can dig a neat hole. You are alone in that no one else is there no one has the guts to enter the cave. No one knows you are there, you don’t harm anyone around you. It’s like a grey colored cave below a tree.

D: Tell me about your dreams in sleep…

P: One dream I remember in which I was wearing a white dress. And there is a beautiful stream with white marble stone and we are all washing our hands and face in that water.

D: What’s the experience in that?

P: I felt very nice and safe.

D: Describe that experience of safe.

P: It was like no one can harm me. No one can attack me, because you are with your family. (H.G.: showing compact fencing of fingers)

D: Just that gesture.

P: As tough people are forming a circle around you and cuddling you. It’s like a kangaroo in the mother’s womb. No one can see you, you can come out if you want to. You are safe in a grayish stone cave. It’s dark inside.

D: You can come out?

P: Person inside can come out, there’s a small opening you can just squeeze out of it. But nobody else can come in. nothing bigger can come in and harm you. You are small whatever I am imagining is small and the opening is also small. Like a mole yeah! If it feels suffocating; it can come out. It’s eyes are shut. It’s like a soft and furry… it’s black. It’s like a mole which is blind and can’t even hear things. Having a bushy tail.

[You are buried inside and no one else comes there. Whatever is inside is small which is soft furry and black. This is the mammal that we are now getting clearer about. Some more quality apart from that mentioned before is, its blind, can’t even hear and has a bushy tail.]

D: Tell me about your fears.

P: I am claustrophobic. I hate if I am in a lift for too long; I feel very suffocated.

D: What’s the experience at that moment?

P: You can’t breathe. Someone is strangling you.You want to know is there any escape route?

[Fears of being claustrophobic. The experience of being claustrophobic is that something is strangling you (someone doing something to you the animal) and in that you want to know that there is an escape route so that you can get out of that situation and find some other place to hide and that no one can attack you. Here we would like know the mode of survival of the animal by knowing the mode of escape.]

D: A little bit more about that escape route.

P: It’s a hole that is been dug at an angle (H.G.: angular posture of hand) so you can come out of that angle no one else can come in from that angle. It’s too tiny for anyone else to enter. If you want sunlight or if you want to search for food you can come out. Because you know there is an escape route so you can just scurry away.

D: Scurry away…

P: Run on your fours like…

D: Run on your fours…

P: You are tiny and soft; you can run to hide behind something like. Or you want to hide somewhere else then you dig and you go in and you can come out if you want to. If someone else comes and attacks on you; you can dig further; you don’t even have to come on the ground. Dig, dig, dig, dig and you can create another hole so even if someone else enters; you have already gone far away dig, dig, dig, dig somewhere further.

[The hole is dug in an angle. To know the escape route, scurry away that is to run on your fours, if someone comes to attack you, then you dig and go further creating another hole. This clears Rodent understanding.]

D: What other fears?

P: I am scared of heights. It’s like you feel frightened and you don’t have control, you are defenseless.

D: What’s the experience?

P: You try to get away from the grip sort of a thing or whatever is holding you. Like A big animal is squeezing you. Like a predator that is holding you and you want to escape. You scream but you are not loud enough. Screech, screech kind of a sound. No one can hear you.

D: Describe that attack.

P: It’s like a big claw crushing you and it can just grab you and eat you up. Once you are in that then you can’t escape. What I can see is its a small back color animal with big eyes and a bushy tail. It’s got a rat like snout. One of those animals which belongs to the squirrels and rats. Its soft; it’s black. It’s got fours and the front hands are small and it uses the front hands and jumps and scurries on its feet and runs very fast. It’s got small fingers or claws which can only grip the ground.

[This is the complete attack and defense mechanism that gives the understanding of the prey and the predator]

D: Tell me about your hobbies…

P: I love cooking, reading, I like being cozy in my room mostly buried in my blanket with the book.

D: Describe that experience…

P: Its black color and dark brown blanket, I always insist to have that. I love that soft fury feeling and I love wrapping that around me. You just get nice sleep and nothing can harm you. It’s just a very soft fury blanket just like a fur kind of a thing.

D: What’s the experience in that cozy soft.

P: Feels safe and protected.

D: What’s the opposite of that?

P: Being uncovered, exposed, being scared the world can see you and anything can harm you.

D: What do you like in food?

P: I love non-veg. I like the feeling of the food in my mouth, its taste and smell. I love smells. I love different kind of fragrances; sweet smelling perfumes; floral kind of smells. Bad smells put me off; I think I have a fairly strong sense of smell. May be it can sense the person or an animal who can attack so that it can hide. It can sniff move its nose up and down. It can move it up and down black snout sniff, sniff, sniff… I don’t know what animal this is? (Laughs) I wish I knew but I can just describe it its black, black snout with black eyes, grey underside, it runs, it scurries away, it has strong sense of smell. It’s like a squirrel; it’s like a mole or a rat. But not a rat actually it’s got a soft bushy tail.

UNDERSTANDING OF THE CASE:

The entire life story of this young girl is that she doesn’t have control and direction in her life and she needs someone else to control her and to direct her. She wants someone to dominate her and to tell her what is right and what is wrong which makes her feel protected. The mode of survival she describes is of fright and flight with a specific escape mechanism of hiding, covering, burrowing, and digging in to the ground. Hiding is safe, protected, taken care of, nurtured and tightly knit like a close family. This is the Rodent subfamily of a Mammalian instinct. Further she describes the Source as small, black, blind, can’t even hear, with a snout and having a soft, furry and bushy tail.

All these qualities with the characteristics day dreaming clearly indicate towards MEPHITIS OR SHUNK.

 

MATERIA MEDICA EVIDENCES:

France Vermulene’s Concordant MateriaMedica…

• Mind:

Excited, Full of fancies. Can neither sleep nor work. Talkative. Disinclination to work, and inclination to stretch. Excitement during heat of head. Somnambulism.

Allen’s Encyclopedia…

• Mind
• Fancies so vivid they unfit for labor.
• Talkative, as if drunk; excited, with heat of head.
• Angry about trifles or imaginary things.
• Disinclination to work, with inclination to stretch.

Rx:  Mephitisputorius (Skunk anal gland secretions) 1 M

About the Source:

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mephitidae
Genus:	Mephitis
Species:	Mephitis mephitis; Mephitis  macroura

Skunks are house-cat size mammals with small, triangular heads, short ears, and short legs. The front legs are slightly shorter than those in the rear.  They have black fur with two white stripes running from the nose, up over the head, and straight down the back to the end of their tail. The two stripes converge at the nose and tip of the tail.  The tail is long and fluffy, shaped much like a squirrel’s.

They are best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance ranges from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored.

Skunks are crepuscular and are solitary animals when not breeding, though in the colder parts of their range they may gather in communal dens for warmth. During the day, they shelter in burrows that they dig with their powerful front claws or in other man-made or natural hollows as the opportunity arises.

Although they have excellent senses of smell and hearing – vital attributes in a crepuscular omnivore – they have poor vision. They cannot see with any clarity all objects more than about 3 meters (10 ft) away, making them vulnerable to death by road traffic. They are short-lived animals.

The mother is very protective of her young and will often spray at any sign of danger. The male plays no part in raising the young and may even kill them.

Follow up 1: April 2011 (after 3 months)

D:  How are you?

P: I am feeling much better.

D: Better in what way…

P: I got my periods on time again, it’s a third time in a row, which is pretty cool, because it hasn’t happened before, so that’s really good. That made me very happy. I guess generally I am a little more sorted.

D: What do you mean by sorted?

P: I am not confused as I would be; my mind can focus better. I have noticed that, like earlier my head would always be in the clouds, and I would be day dreaming, I don’t day dream much now, which is surprising!!

Plan:  Wait and watch

Follow up 2: June 2011 (after 5 Months)

D: Yes tell me how everything is going.

P: Overall better but my day dreaming has slightly increased these days. Periods have postponed by 8-10 days but flow was Okay. At work front as can’t focus properly some issues have happened by which I am disturbed much, that is the main reason I feel causing me stress these days.

D: Any new complaints apart from this…

P: No.

Rx:  Mephitisputorius 1 M 

Follow up 3: August 2011 (after 6 Months)

D: How are you doing now?

P: I am doing great doctor. I am getting my chumps on time, not a single month missed. As you can see my weight has also reduced quite a lot. Day dreaming has even more reduced than before; I am much more rooted now in whatever I do. I don’t get bored easily, rather now I enjoy whatever I do. Also I have done my sonography recently and to my surprise PCOS has vanished!  So shall we take it as cure? What will be our further line of treatment now?

D: We will keep you under observation without any medication for 3 months; with 2 more sonography reports in intervals of 1 and ½ months’ time. If two consecutive  reports are normal with 3 months regular periods without medication then we can call it a cure.

Plan: wait and watch

Follow up 4: December 2011 (after 12 Months)

D: How are doing now?

P:  My day dreaming has considerably reduced to nil. On period’s front, I am getting my chumps on time and as you suggested, I have done my Sonography report and it’s absolutely normal. On work front everything is going well. I am able to focus in my work without any wondering of thoughts. No other new complaints.

Plan:  Stop the treatment 

Case typed and edited by Dr. Priyanka Patole

Before treatment

After treatment