Homeopathy Papers

The Language of Symptoms

Written by Philipp Zippermayr

The author speculates on the unconscious conflicts behind disease and how remedies address those.

Translated by Katja Schütt and Alan Schmukler

Diseases are nothing more than emotional reactions and should be considered as a grievance of the subconscious about an unsolved social conflict.“ – Philipp Zippermayr

  • The difference in world view:

We always view the world according to our perception. In physics, a repeatable, direct perception leads to an explanation based on experience. In biology, however, a recent experience often cannot be repeated. Considering this problem modern rationality rather plays an unlucky role, as it always relies on directly measurable or perceivable details. That world view of considering animate beings as program controlled machines, separated into hardwrae and software, does not explain this phenomena.

From theoretical physics, I assume that materiality is a product of our sense organs and not a material reality. There is no hardware-software separation in the universe, therefore we are not program controlled instruments, but changing programs – mere software. Solid matter is elusive and consists of energy and information. Animated bodies have the possibility to react (and emotionally), that is, to adapt their individual requirements to the given circumstances; they are all software.

Therefore, diseases are not an expression of malfunction, but messages which inform us precisely, by means of symptoms, about the living circumstances which exceed our adaptability.

If the universe is a single program and the separation of hardware and software only exists through a subjective perception, but is not a reality, then there must be better explanatory models, not only for diseases but also for many biological phenomena, especially for evolution.

The material explanation is simple and easy to understand, whereas the software model is complicated and in need of explanation. Disease symptoms want to tell us something. The body, which is one with the subconsciousness,communicates with us by means of these symptoms. To understand disease we have to understand the language of symptoms. Through the history and symptomatology of the patient we learn who the patient is, and which circumstances have caused his unconsciousness (and his body) to give us a certain message.

It must be stated that our unconscious constantly tries to be in balance with the social circumstances. To retain this balance while under negative influences is the real problem. It is crucial how the circumstances are perceived and interpreted: It is always about the subjective, inner truth which mostly does not agree with the perception of external observers. It does not depend from whether negative conditions really exist, but whether they are perceived as negative. This subjective perception is made accessible through the correct interpretation of symptoms.

I want to mention some results of my work before going into the practical application of this view. I thereby hope to make my arguments understandable, as these are based on a different conception of life and personhood. Currently I’m working with the provider of the Radar-software on a module which digitally offers the information described in my books : Menschliche Signaturen und Materia Medica der Motive (Human signatures and Materia Medica of motives). They contain the meaning of symptoms and the grammar of the language of symptoms. Actually, I have already finished the development and the module should already have been on the market, but the current system change-over of the Radar program unfortunately caused technical problems and a subsequent delay.

  • What it is all about “technically“

The subconscious – which determines the appearance and properties of a person, like the hard disk of a computer – is not only the area in which homeopaths have to work, but actually the area in which everybody has to work, who deals with biological questions.

You can travel to a foreign country, but as long as you are on vacation it is not so important whether you can communicate. But if you want to live in this country you have to master their language, regardless of whether this is cumbersome, difficult or unpleasant. Therefore I dare to claim that biology and medicine are only on vacation in this area. Imagine physics without mathematics! Language, which is what it is all about, is the foundation for the future of theoretic biology.That is the upcoming paradigm change in biology. It has to be based on this language.

So, disease is based on a spiritual or information problem. The human body is an information system which consists of components of different meanings. Each organ is a component and each pain caused by certain conditions of this organ, contains a message derived by the conditions and meaning of this organ. For example, lung problems mean that the patient’s sensitivity lies in the communicative area. Breathing in and out connects us with the world; life commits us to constantly interchange with her. In lung patients, this interchange is put into question, as the patient does not feel listened to or understood and therefore does not feel connected by means of communication. When lying aggravates the dyspnea, it means that the person concerned wants to remain present to avoid being totally isolated or reliant only on himself.

  • What symptoms actually are:

For more than ten years I studied the informatiion theory of diseases, for which symbolic Medizin (especially DAHLKE) was most inspiring. Each organ represents a particular social content or emotional sensitivity. An emotional reaction is always induced if this sensitivity is touched by means of external circumstances, which is expressed by symptoms of this organ. Thus symptoms are not the consequence of a malfunction but a message of a social conflict.

The head in it‘s biological form expresses the striving for social recognition. With a headache the person wants to communicate that he does not feel recognized, despite his yearning for social recognition.

Considering these connections – biological form and social meaning – I derived the “motives“ of the remedies based on homeopathic provings. The taking of remedies by provers causes a variety of symptoms which appear not accidental, but express the individual emotionality of the provers.

The motives of the remedies(= essences) are descriptions of the respective information content of homeopathic remedies, their emotionality (see book, Materia Medica der Motive). I analyzed them by means of logical “Addition“ of the meanings of their symptoms. Vice versa, the resulting knowledge of the remedy motives allows me to analyze the meaning of a symptom of a repertory rubric, which consists of those remedies that have caused this symptom in a proving. From the synopsis of motives of characteristic remedies of a rubric, such as pneumonia, I derived the meaning of the symptoms of pneumonia. It is the lowest common denominator of the remedy motives of this rubric (see book, Menschliche Signaturen). That is, the meaning of symptoms is “subducted“ from the remedy motives.

Summary: The meaning of remedies has been derived from symptoms of the homeopathic proving, and the meaning of symptoms of the rubrics of the homeopathic repertory. As both relate to each other, I had to start with the quite imprecise symptom descriptions known from symbolic medicine. But they allowed me to recognize more precise remedy pictures, from which I could derive even more precise symptom meanings. In the course of the years the progress of gaining knowledge intensified and developed in terms of a spiral, whereupon the practical work is finally of primary importance, that is, the meaning of symptoms has to be proven by patients.

  • How symptoms can be couched:

„The human organism is a medium that expresses direct emotionality.“ (Plessner, philosophische Anthropologie)

Diseases are nothing more than emotional reactions and should be considered as a grievance of the subconscious about an unsolved social conflict.

To make this grievance understandable at the conscious level we have to translate the message of the subconscious, which uses symptoms like words.

If disease is a message, then there remains the question of which grammar (logic) this language consists ? How to chose from all the symptoms those which contain the typical meaning ? There is not enough room to discuss all the procedures here, but it is certain that the ailment which leads the patient to the consultaion, is the foundation for analysis of most cases. I call it the main symptomatology.

  1. MAIN SYMPTOMATOLOGY: What is the main ailment, and what ameliorates or aggravates it?

Symptoms are the consequence of the specific sensitivity of the patient.Their content is shown in the localisation and dynamically by means of their modality.

Example: Neck pain, ameliorated by lying.

The symptom consists of a local ailment and its modality:

Content: neck pain, neck rheumatism: The sensation: In spite of making great efforts to adapt oneself to social conditions and get social support, he got the feeling of still beng challenged socially.

Dynamic: Lying ameliorates: Desire to withdraw and to give up the demand for acception and presence.

This message at the body level has to be opposed to the message at the mind level:

  1. MIND LEVEL: What makes the patient upset? How does he react emotionally, and what anxieties and beliefs does he have?

Example: He is sensitive to quarrels and then becomes silent, cannot answer;

B: becomes silent, cannot answer when emotionally hurt: Sensation not to stand up for himself, not to be able to confront something, to be put into question socially, to be excluded;

If now the meaning of neck pain and lying ameliorates are known, (the symptom is given in the book Menschliche Signaturen), both allow us to derive the message of the disease:

A: Neck pain better when lying:Sensation to adapt and to yield despite one’s efforts, to be challenged socially, therefore to withdraw and to give up the demand for acceptance

The temperament of B can now directly be justified with the main symptomatology of A:

Sensation not to stand up for himself, not to be able to confront something, without being challenged socially or to be excluded (B), BECAUSE HE THINKS to adapt or yield despite his efforts, and to be challenged socially, therefore to wihtdraw and to give up his demand for acceptance (A).

That is, one does not feel he is a match for arguments, but does not want to yield nor to confront, does not have another possibility than to withdraw. This behavior is not the consequence of logical thinking, but the result of a defensive attitude which leads to the emotional reaction.

Symptoms are always emotional messages of the subconsciousness. The message of the mind is asserted by the counterpart of the body level.

Only the causality is missing in the above text, that is, the answer to the question when and why the symptom began. This appears in the biography of the patient and is to be recorded after the BECAUSE-reasoning.

For example: The ailments starts with a head injury.

Head injury, head trauma:Problem, to encounter aggressive opposition, or aggressivity, to have to accept something, not to comply with the conditions of acceptance, to have failed.

The subconsiousness interpretes the injury in the context with its social logic as an external attack, and everywhere sees a social connection:

DISEASE MOTIVE: B + BECAUSE: Causality + AND THEREFORE: A:

Sensation not to stand up for himself, and not to confront without being challenged socially or excluded (B), BECAUSE HE has the problem of encountering aggressive opposition, or aggressivity, to have to accept something, not to comply with the conditions of acceptance, to have failed; AND THEREFORE THINKS to adapt or yield despite his efforts, and to be challenged socially, therefore to witdraw and to give up his demand for acceptance (A).

Interpretation: In the patient, the accident caused the feeling of total failure. He feels socially challenged despite his efforts to adapt, and resigns by avoiding making an appearance and standing up for himself.

This is the complete message of the disease. As valuable as this evaluation is there is a time barrier in practice: The meaning of symptoms would have to be looked for in my books, which is problematic because of the meanwhile listed more than 6500 meanings of symptoms listed in „Menschlichen Signaturen“ („Human Signatures“) (*). Therefore the aid of a computer is necessary for practice.

* A new edition of my books will be published once the program modul is released.

In the above compilation there is the combination of a mind symptom (answering difficult) and a symptom on the physical level, that is a body symptom (neck pain ameliorated by lying) in the above compilation.

But how are appropriate symptoms of this kind to be selected from the variety of symptoms of a case history?

  • How symptoms are to be chosen:

Since autumn 2009, a new form of hierarchization has been developed, the method of SYNCHRONIZATION, which was introduced for the first time at theHomeopathy Congress in Köthen, in 2010:

  • SYNCHRONIZATION:

Superficially considered, the record of the disease consists of a variety of dynamic mind and body symptoms, which – like the flow vortex of flowing water – are all more or less under the spell of a “circulating“ dynamic tendency, that is, the central dynamic, of the case. The aim of synchronization is to filter out a symptom pair, a mind and body symptom, which characterizes this dynamic.

  • The collection of the synchronistic symptom pair – two dynamic concordant symptoms of the mind and body level – is based on the knowledge of the meaning of symptoms (see book: Menschliche Signaturen).

  • Support by means of the computer is necessary to make this symptom choice easy and rapid :

For this purpose I compiled a List of General Symptoms which lists the respective concordant, synchronistic Mind symptoms.

The selective process is very easy for the user as he has to record the symptoms in a tableau of the program module.

e.g.: We have a patient with the

Main symptomatology: Abdominal pain better by bending

There appear the following three mind symptoms in his case history:

Mind symptoms: yielding,

conscientious,

dependent

After recording these symptoms in a list, the dynamic concordant (synchronistic) symptom pairs of the mind and body level are shown automatically:

The automatic determination of these synchronistic symptom pairs is based on the following argument:

  • I compare the meaning of symptoms (see book “Menschliche Signaturen“) :

e.g. Bending ameliorates: Disposition to restrain, to avoid confrontation and conflicts, not to confront, but to remain passive;

  • With the meaning of the mind symptoms, as here for example …

  1. yielding: Feeling that I have to contain myself,and that I cannot say no, to not to be challenged socially;

  1. conscientious:Feeling of social insecurity, to be exposed to questionable reliability, and only be able to find security by means of control and conscientiousness

  1. Dependency: Desire for social attention and support due to thinking he cannot cope with the completion of social requirements.

  • We recognize that bending amel. (Disposition to restrain, to avoid confrontation and conflicts) is dynamically concordant with yieldingness (Feeling that I have to contain myself, and that I cannot say no, to not to be put into question socially). Therefore, the mind symptom of yieldingness and the general symptom of bending amel. are SYNCHRONISTIC.

As mentioned above the synchronistic symptoms are assigned to each other by means of the computer program. Often there are several choices for decision making which have to be evaluated and compared.

The elaboration of the disease motive is made by addition, and the meanings are strung together according to a definite scheme:

Symptom Mind levelBECAUSE HE, SHE, IT…Causality…AND THEREFORE OPINESSymptom body level;

Causality is missing in this example. Supposing there were a retarded development: .

Retarded or arrested development: Problem, caused by increasing social demands, to give more and more, to have to become responsible and independent, to be overextended, neither to adapt nor to detract, the only possibility is to refuse;

This causal text can now be taken according to the BECAUSE-reasoning:

B.: Disposition to restrain, to avoid confrontation and conflicts, not to confront, but to remain passive

BECAUSE HE, SHE, IT – Problem, caused by increasing social demands, to give more and more, to have to become responsible and independent, to be overextended, neither to adapt nor to detract, the only possibility is to refuse,

AND THEREFORE OPINES…

A.: … to contain oneself,that one cannot say no, to not to be challenged socially.

Interpretation: The patient tries to avoid theunavoidable fact of having to grow up, withdraws by “taking cover“, and avoids each confrontation and contains himself, to please everybody to avoid social conflicts.

As one can see, no wording efforts are necessary when creating the disease motive.

Once the disease motive is found, the next step is repertorization: we have to chose the appropriate symptoms which help to translate the message of the disease for homeopathy, that is, into a remedy with a similar remedy message. Basically, these are the symptoms which have already been used for creating the disease motive. However, the often missing order in our repertories has to be considered, which complicates the procedure as specially developed tools, developed by myself, have to be used.

In any case the symptoms have to be taken, as in this case…

Totality of symptoms – with consideration of intensity

1 Mind – yieldingness (96)

2 Abdomen – pain – bending – amel. (54)

3 Mind – development, mental – arrested (37)

carc.

cupr.

phos.

aur.

bar-c.

borx.

bov.

calc.

caust.

cic.

3

3

3

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

1

2

1

1

2

1

1

1

1

1

2

1

1

1

2

1

2

3

1

1

2

1

2

1

1

2

Typically, the analysis ensures several remedies for choice whose remedy motives can be compared with the disease motive (the remedy prescriptions of the motives of the materia medica are available with the program).

Carcinosinum – breast cancer nosode: Anxious to make everything alright, and can therefore not endure having his social value called into question by means of criticism or competition. This is because he fears to depend on himself and because of instability and being exposed to arbitrariness. He prefers to be dominated and used in favor of social security, to avoid being the one who gives stability to others;

Strategy: To continue as long as the desired security is received, but to rebell, protest, or resign in case of disappointment;

Cuprum – copper: Cu: Problem with change, changeability, loss of position, and to adapt to the conditions of change appropriately, hovers between strict assertion and extreme restraint, because he is inflexible, fixed on his condition and therefore completely disoriented by any deviance.

Strategy: goes on strike, refuses himself or is excessively compliant.

Phosphorus – phosphor: P: Problems adapting to changing conditions and changes, possibly to have to accept, without consensus, and possibly even to be dependent on oneself, because he is ready to engage beyond his limits, or to give in, to contain himself, and to deform in the extreme, to be socially accepted. Cannot endure to be without resonance;

Strategy: Engages with the actually refused conditions due to his desire for consensus, reacts sensitively, even autoaggressive in case of failure;

Comparing the three remedies, carc, cupr and phos, with the above mentioned motive of the disease, the remedy choice is carcinosinum.

That’s the whole procedure !

About the author

Philipp Zippermayr

Dr. rer. nat. Philipp Zippermayr was born in Salzburg, in 1949. He studied biology and worked as a freelance author. Since 1985 he has worked in Dr. Pöcksteiner’s practice in Kremsmünster, dealing mainly with natural medicine. Since 1991 he has studied, practiced and taught homeopathy. He is the author of several books.
http://www.zippermayr-homoeopathie.at/

14 Comments

  • I agree that most diseases/symptoms have a psychic background. It makes sense to look for it.
    But we need to be open for an always fresh interpretation and understanding. Fix concepts include the chance to misunderstand a patient. As you refer to Dahlke let me say that he is wrong when he states that migraine always has the background of sexual issue.

  • I dont refer to Dahlke, I refer to my own work, Menschliche Signaturen (IRL-Verlag). I do agree with your critique but dont forget his work stands at the beginning.

  • dear dr, i would like to know more about your work,does your book contain interpretations regarding all the diseases with solved cases? please write about the contents of yr books…with regards hetal

  • DEAR DR,
    YOUR METHOD OF FINDING A SYMPTOM FROM UNCONSCIOUS OR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND FOR CURE IS NOT COMPLETE. TO ME IT MAY BOTH WAYS PHYSICAL DISEASE MAY GIVE RISE TO MENTAL CHANGES AND VICE VERSA. IN HOMEOPATHY LIKES ARE REQUIRED TO BE SEARCHED IN A RUBRIC FROM VARIOUS ANGLES TO ACHIEVE PERFECT CURE
    THANK
    DR SHEKHAR

  • to hetal vasa,
    the module I develope for radar just now will concern ca 7000 translated symptoms (messages of symptoms) and more than 500 translated homeopathic remedies (message of remedies).
    2010 I leaved my publisher because handling such tremendous amounts of information is not possible with books (this only was one of the reasons why I leaved him), you need support of a computerprogram. In case of need each user can combine this know-how with his personal methods.
    But the real target of mine is to develope reliable homeopathic standards. The method you met in the article is only the simple idea. This idea is not sufficient enough to balance failures of interviews or the lacking homogenity of our repertories (based on KENT). To improve this I added nurmerous remedies, I think more than 65 000, but this is only a drop in the bucket.
    Meanwhile I developed methods to exchange uncertain mind symptoms (often a question of personal using) against certain body symptoms.
    Repertorisations as usual are too static, so I developed a dynamic way of doing this.
    A special problem of homeopathic prescription is the reason of disease. Working with synchronous symptoms – they are representative to the typical way of mental and bodily reactions of the patients – help to find it in a methodical way.
    With kind regards
    Philipp Zippermayr

  • Dear dr. gupta,
    Excuse me, but my English is not good enough, so I realy dont know why you dont agree with me.
    I hope the answer to hetal vasa will give you the lacking informations.
    With kind regards
    philipp zippermayr

  • to Dr. Gupta
    My bad English bothers me somewhat. I tried to translate your statement at home and hope that I have now understood:
    For me the body is part of the subconscious mind, thus, there is no hardware-software division, body and spirit are identical. Disease is emotion that comes from the subconscious. Similar to the computer awareness is similar to the memory of a computer and the subconscious with the hard drive. Diseases are emotions that come from the subconscious, and therefore can only be treated at the level of the subconscious can. Homeopathy is a method, one has access to this level.
    With kind regards
    Philipp Zippermayr

  • to hetal vasal,
    you asked me because of documented cases. Allow me a personal note, in my view, we learn from such cases only as homeopathy in general works and the respective homeopath in particular. Documented cases so specifically help beginners. In my opinion, homeopathy can help only comprehensible rule further. We need a logical framework both for the beginner and the experienced. Such a framework is dedicated to my work.
    with kind regards
    Philipp Zippermayr

  • dear sir, thank you very much for your kind reply but can you please correlate itching of inner canthus of eyes and early morning colds and sneezing with the subconscious message of the mind? i will be obliged if you answer. with warm regards – hetal.

  • to hetal vasa
    The symptoms is:
    Embarrassment (itching), to embark on the next day (modality: in the morning), because one thinks not to meet the conditions of social appearance.
    The common cold is that you can not meet the social conditions prevailing level (confirming the eye symptom)
    With kind regards

    Philipp Zippermayr

    • Dear sir, thanks a lot for your reply. Can you please send your book’s name and it’s Indian price ( in rupees) or how can I buy your book ? I would love to read and it seems fascinating. With warm regards Hetal.

  • Dear Hetal!
    2010 I left my publisher. Currently, you get in Germany only one of my books: Materia Medica of the motifs with over 500 brief descriptions of remedies (Irl-Verlag, German, € 39).
    My full concentration is currently the radar module, it is done at about 95%.
    The central question is, which symptoms characterize the case as well, that their analysis leads to the appropriate agent. The aim is to bridge the gap between simile principle and Miasmatik. I anticipate, the miasmatic approach will have to be subordinated to the simile principle.
    With kind regards
    Philipp Zippermayr

  • dear sir, sorry for asking again for your work…i thought may be your initial work may be in a book form…is english translation of your book available?…i would like to know about your work so will wait for new module of radar to come.with good wishes hetal.

  • Dear Hetal!
    Sorry, no English translation is available. The radar module will come sooner or later. However, it takes success in Germany, in order to allow a version in English.
    Sincerely yours
    Philipp Zippermayr

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