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Osmunda claytoniana
Year 2026, Issue 7, Article 2CaseAuthor: Chantal Roux
Female, 60 years old, therapistThe patient started seeing me about 10 years ago and would see me once in while for digestive problems: IBS, liver complaints, diarrhea. I was able to give her remedies that would help her enough for her to come back but I always had the feeling that my remedies were not precise enough. Last year, she called saying that she was now very sick, she had caught something on a trip to the Cuba, she had worms, and although she had seen several doctors and had all possible tests done, they did not help her at all. She was quickly losing weight, was getting very weak and was extremely anxious.
As she was so weak, she would write a few details and send me messages. I had little to prescribe on but gave her a series of remedies that somewhat helped but did not clear it. Carbo vegetabilis was the best one, it would give her a bit of energy and calm her down but she had to repeat it very often, almost every day. I was getting really worried, she did not eat much and had severe diarrhea if she ate.
When we finally had a good session by video conference, she looked terrible, very skinny, pale, I got the distinct feeling she was dying. She was very anxious, shaky, had trouble sitting, and kept repeating that “she was afraid of disappearing”, of dying.
Asking what she meant by afraid of disappearing? “I don’t feel grounded, in fact, I don’t feel connected to anything, I feel lost, I don’t know anything, can’t explain anything, it is very difficult to put things into words”. She is usually very articulate so that was surprising.
When she was young, there was violence in the house, her father drank a lot and beat her brother, but not her. Her mother was passive-aggressive, overwhelmed with work and 8 kids in the house. She was a loving mother but had too much on her plate.
The patient felt that to survive in such an environment, she had to conform, for her own security. Rules were rigid, don’t do this, don’t do that, you had to do as you were told, her father would quickly get angry. She obeyed but hated it, and people would constantly scream in the house, and to her, it was a dangerous place. She felt that she had to deserve her place in the house. She was constantly in survival mode, she was constantly afraid that she would not get fed. She had no clue on how society worked, it was enough to survive in the family. She was quite resentful, as she did a lot of work in the house, giving a lot and receiving nothing in return. AnalysisAt that moment, I decided to give her Osmunda regalis 30 (only potency available) 432.16.10. I would have preferred to give her a stage 13-14 or 15 remedy but I did not have any at the time.
432: feeling that you might not survive if you don’t follow the rules of the family.
Phase 6: giving more than you receive, resentment, things are unfair, IBS, digestive problems
Stage on the right hand side: disappearing, losing itFollow upI see her 2 months later:
For the first few weeks, she felt the need to take the remedy every week. The anxiety went down considerably but her appetite was not great. She knew that she could still get hypervigilant but was able to get out of that. She also realized that she was in survival mode all her life. The feeling is not completely gone but better.
Although not perfect, she felt that she was getting back to her old self: happy, able to have fun. She could see herself go, think of projects, ideas but wondered if she would be strong enough to be creative, saying it might be too late for that. AnalysisSince her appetite is still not great and there is some anxiety left, I have received the stage 15 remedy of that family by mail and give her Osmunda claytoniana 30 every week. Follow upI see her 6 weeks later, she looks well and is gaining weight. She is happy, the anxiety is gone and when I ask about “disappearing”, she hardly understand what I am talking about, as if it has never been there.
She has realized that before, she was afraid of not having enough all her life. As she is self-employed, there was financial insecurity but that has lessened.
She says: I have stopped relationships where there is no reciprocity. I see the situation as it is now, otherwise, people are greedy and take more than they should. But I don’t feel that I have to obey anyone anymore. I am good-natured, people see that and I don’t want to feel used again. I feel good in my group but know that there is a possibility that someone might abuse me again. I would like to find a partner but all my relationships have been unfair. She has taken time off as a holiday and feels much better. The free time has allowed her to have all sorts of plans, creative ideas, she is doing a lot of yoga, and meditates a lot. She feels impulsive about it, wants to do one thing and is ready to quit everything in order to do it. She talks of having the courage to pursue your dreams. I prescribe Lantana camara 1M 665.64.06
Lanthanides: yoga, introspection, meditation,
665: being a therapist, being creative
I keep the phase 6, she is still talking about abuse and the digestion is not perfect
Sub-phase 4: she feels good in a group, she feels heard and at ease
Stage 6: I now see impulsivity in her. She feels like doing something and might drop everything to do it without really think it out. I see her again 7 months later. As she walks in, she says that she is a whole new person! She has gained 24 pounds, that is unheard of for her! Her concentration is better, everything is much lighter, she is happy in life. As if some bad things are gone and made room for better things. She says she has reconciled with her childhood, with her past life, with a lot of people.
Her digestion is better, better than ever. She eats pretty much all she wants. If she drinks too much coffee, then she feels her intestine but everything is much better. She read novels, for fun, does things for herself. The anxiety is totally gone.
She says that she is doing so well that she keeps forgetting about taking the remedy, she thought of it the other day because she felt a bit of congestion in her right breast. Also at the time, she suddenly had the idea of moving 4 hours away and starting over. She discussed it with her brother who said: why would you do that? You would have to start over with a whole new clientele!! She realized that he was right and that was impulsive of her. I suggest that she takes Lantana camara whenever something is not perfectly right.
As she was so weak, she would write a few details and send me messages. I had little to prescribe on but gave her a series of remedies that somewhat helped but did not clear it. Carbo vegetabilis was the best one, it would give her a bit of energy and calm her down but she had to repeat it very often, almost every day. I was getting really worried, she did not eat much and had severe diarrhea if she ate.
When we finally had a good session by video conference, she looked terrible, very skinny, pale, I got the distinct feeling she was dying. She was very anxious, shaky, had trouble sitting, and kept repeating that “she was afraid of disappearing”, of dying.
Asking what she meant by afraid of disappearing? “I don’t feel grounded, in fact, I don’t feel connected to anything, I feel lost, I don’t know anything, can’t explain anything, it is very difficult to put things into words”. She is usually very articulate so that was surprising.
When she was young, there was violence in the house, her father drank a lot and beat her brother, but not her. Her mother was passive-aggressive, overwhelmed with work and 8 kids in the house. She was a loving mother but had too much on her plate.
The patient felt that to survive in such an environment, she had to conform, for her own security. Rules were rigid, don’t do this, don’t do that, you had to do as you were told, her father would quickly get angry. She obeyed but hated it, and people would constantly scream in the house, and to her, it was a dangerous place. She felt that she had to deserve her place in the house. She was constantly in survival mode, she was constantly afraid that she would not get fed. She had no clue on how society worked, it was enough to survive in the family. She was quite resentful, as she did a lot of work in the house, giving a lot and receiving nothing in return. AnalysisAt that moment, I decided to give her Osmunda regalis 30 (only potency available) 432.16.10. I would have preferred to give her a stage 13-14 or 15 remedy but I did not have any at the time.
432: feeling that you might not survive if you don’t follow the rules of the family.
Phase 6: giving more than you receive, resentment, things are unfair, IBS, digestive problems
Stage on the right hand side: disappearing, losing itFollow upI see her 2 months later:
For the first few weeks, she felt the need to take the remedy every week. The anxiety went down considerably but her appetite was not great. She knew that she could still get hypervigilant but was able to get out of that. She also realized that she was in survival mode all her life. The feeling is not completely gone but better.
Although not perfect, she felt that she was getting back to her old self: happy, able to have fun. She could see herself go, think of projects, ideas but wondered if she would be strong enough to be creative, saying it might be too late for that. AnalysisSince her appetite is still not great and there is some anxiety left, I have received the stage 15 remedy of that family by mail and give her Osmunda claytoniana 30 every week. Follow upI see her 6 weeks later, she looks well and is gaining weight. She is happy, the anxiety is gone and when I ask about “disappearing”, she hardly understand what I am talking about, as if it has never been there.
She has realized that before, she was afraid of not having enough all her life. As she is self-employed, there was financial insecurity but that has lessened.
She says: I have stopped relationships where there is no reciprocity. I see the situation as it is now, otherwise, people are greedy and take more than they should. But I don’t feel that I have to obey anyone anymore. I am good-natured, people see that and I don’t want to feel used again. I feel good in my group but know that there is a possibility that someone might abuse me again. I would like to find a partner but all my relationships have been unfair. She has taken time off as a holiday and feels much better. The free time has allowed her to have all sorts of plans, creative ideas, she is doing a lot of yoga, and meditates a lot. She feels impulsive about it, wants to do one thing and is ready to quit everything in order to do it. She talks of having the courage to pursue your dreams. I prescribe Lantana camara 1M 665.64.06
Lanthanides: yoga, introspection, meditation,
665: being a therapist, being creative
I keep the phase 6, she is still talking about abuse and the digestion is not perfect
Sub-phase 4: she feels good in a group, she feels heard and at ease
Stage 6: I now see impulsivity in her. She feels like doing something and might drop everything to do it without really think it out. I see her again 7 months later. As she walks in, she says that she is a whole new person! She has gained 24 pounds, that is unheard of for her! Her concentration is better, everything is much lighter, she is happy in life. As if some bad things are gone and made room for better things. She says she has reconciled with her childhood, with her past life, with a lot of people.
Her digestion is better, better than ever. She eats pretty much all she wants. If she drinks too much coffee, then she feels her intestine but everything is much better. She read novels, for fun, does things for herself. The anxiety is totally gone.
She says that she is doing so well that she keeps forgetting about taking the remedy, she thought of it the other day because she felt a bit of congestion in her right breast. Also at the time, she suddenly had the idea of moving 4 hours away and starting over. She discussed it with her brother who said: why would you do that? You would have to start over with a whole new clientele!! She realized that he was right and that was impulsive of her. I suggest that she takes Lantana camara whenever something is not perfectly right.