Barium phosphoricum

Barium phosphoricum Case(taken by Anton Kramer)A woman, aged 47, comes with the complaint of urticaria.
She is a very warm and lively person. Her gestures, during talking, are graceful and sometimes rather helpless at the same time. Her face is full of expression, while her mouth moves rather nervously.
A little while ago she was very depressed. She had problems at school where she works as a teacher. She says in a tiny little voice 'I don’t want to go to school anymore'. There was a conflict with the staff about a pupil who did not do his work. At first the head of department supported her in this matter, but suddenly he changed his attitude and told her that she asked too much of this pupil. The reason behind this conflict was that the staff were afraid that they soon wouldn’t have enough pupils left. She did not understand this attitude. Another colleague had told her to bang her fist on the table, but she couldn’t do this, did not know how to. She doesn’t understand why people are so hard and matter-of-fact with each other. She herself is very sympathetic. She likes having contact with people. She has to learn to shut herself off from the hard, outside world. She says: 'When they don’t like me, it feels as if I don’t exist anymore', and 'It looks as if I am a naive little idiot'. She has very little feeling of self worth. Sometimes she is even surprised if someone recognises her in the street, 'because I am really nobody'.
She has joined a group for intuitive self-development and sacred dancing. That is where she meets other people who are sensitive too.
Childhood: As a child she received little appreciation or compliments. Her mother was an extremely anxious woman. She has always given her mother a lot of help and support, but often felt 'Why do you give me nothing in return?'
She is still unmarried.
Temperature: cold (3).
Desires: fruit, cake, nuts, bread, yogurt. Thirsty (2).
Aversion: 'a slice of cow'.AnalysisThere are quite a few reasons to prescribe Baryta: naive, 'being nobody', feeling inferior, cold. In addition we can also see some symptoms of Phosphorus: sympathetic, lively, intuitive self development, thirsty. Her whole being shows both elements to be present. It is not immediately clear why we should give the combination Bar-phos. We could just give Bar-c first, followed by Phos later on as a complementary remedy. Yet the indication for the combination Bar-p can be found in her great sensitivity to the way that people treat each other. She feels that people are too hard on each other, don’t take feelings into account, in other words people disrespect each other, they think the other person is worth nothing.ReactionAfter Bar-p 1 M an old problem of pains in the groin came back. After that she felt more quiet and relaxed. She became less strict with herself regarding the process of her cure. She has regained confidence in the possibility of cure. She also doesn’t feel obliged to live according to the rules anymore. She allows herself to have fun and enjoyment. She did know that in theory already, but now she really feels it. The urticaria improved after a short time. After a while she had a dream of a self-possessed young woman of 17, who effortlessly solved all her problems by herself. She feels that she is moving towards the centre of her own life.