Back to QJournal
Selaginella kraussiana
Year 2026, Issue 10, Article 7CaseAuthor: Martin Jakob
Selaginella krausianaA 40-year-old woman who has been receiving homeopathic treatment from me on and off for nearly 20 years suffers from bipolar disorder associated with psychotic episodes. She takes the medications Lamotrigin and Olanzapin for this condition.
In recent years, she has had recurring periods during which she was hospitalized for several weeks; there, she felt safe and well cared for. She has completed a distance learning program in media design and works in that field.A psychotic episode announces itself a few days in advance with poor sleep and a lack of appetite. Then she hears voices and sees colors; she feels like an angel, thinks she is Jesus, exercises extremely intensely, and eats very little while doing so. She then sees a bright light and figures of light standing at the edge of the forest, sleeps only 2–3 hours, and then enters into a light meditation.The latest episode was triggered by her breakup with her life partner. She thinks she’s unlovable, feels insecure, broods a lot, and is quick to think, “Now I’ve said something stupid again.” She feels deeply ashamed of herself.When she was in school, she thought that what she said wasn't right, that she couldn't please anyone. Given her immigrant background—she's originally from Bosnia—she thinks, “You can never do it right; you always have to be better than everyone else.”Her parents separated shortly after she was born. When she was 4, her stepfather moved in with them; he wanted her mother, but not her. He was moody, aggressive, and negative, and made her feel deeply insecure as a child. As a result, she has no father figure; her mother has filled both roles.Father: Her biological father is traumatized; his mother repeatedly locked him up for several days at a time. He is extremely intelligent and later became a mathematician. He is addicted to gambling, very disturbed, and was unable to provide for her mother and her. His parents had already separated when he was very young.Mother: Due to her separation from her husband, she returned to work as a nurse after giving birth (after 1 to 1.5 years); she took on night shifts and locked her daughter in the nurses’ station while she cared for the patients.Her father's grandfather was a genocide survivor because he had managed to flee just in time, along with a few others. Her father's family also had to flee when he was a small child. Her father was not open to having a child—possibly because he was schizophrenic—who was burdened by a severe family trauma.She describes her experience with psychosis as follows:
-“It’s like a tunnel; I’m isolated from the world, I’m alone, everyone is standing above me, everything around me is dark blue, I feel unsettled, I’m doing everything wrong—I’m bad. I lose my footing, I have no sense of time—it pulls me down like a whirlpool in water; I’m numb, silent—fear: what’s happening to me, where is this leading—hopelessness.”-“I have no self-worth; I withdraw from my body, shrinking to a tiny dot; I lose touch with the outside world; I don’t feel at home; I’m not allowed to take up any space blackness: “All love is gone; only hatred and fear remain; I must die to survive: this episode lasted about 30 minutes.”The breaks from her daily routine at the hospital are good for her; she thinks it’s good that she’s being monitored. She’s irritable, emotionally unstable, and wants to argue. She feels helpless in the face of her emotional mood swings, which are caused by her instability.Analysis3-400.00.00 Pteridophata:
A hidden, preverbal trauma dating back to early childhood that cannot be reflected upon, or of which there is no awareness, or that is not perceived as the underlying problem (DD Magnolianae). As a child, she had to suppress the trauma—the feelings of being locked up alone at night, without her mother or any other caregiver—otherwise she would have faced a conflict of loyalty with her mother, whom she needed for her survival (Authenticity versus conformity: Gabor Maté) or a betrayal of her true self (Autonomy versus conformity: Arno Gruen). The lack of love in early childhood is perceived as one’s own fault, and one begins to blame oneself for everything.
Added to this is the transgenerational transmission of her father’s trauma, the genocide and expulsion of her grandfather, and the expulsion of her father’s family.
Carbon Series: low self-esteem, parental separation, left alone as a child.
3-000-00.00 Plant Kingdom: sensitive, loves plants and nature.
3-422.10.00 Lycopodiales: Surviving alone in a difficult world. The feeling that one’s very existence is a problem. Feeling unwanted, being too much, too much of a burden, being the cause of all the problems. The feeling of being guilty simply by virtue of being alive.
3-422.17.00 Selaginellaceae Phase 7: Psychosis, completely alone as an infant, no support or help to be expected. A dark funnel pulling one down……
(Sensation of Selaginellaceae?)
3-422.17.02 Selaginella kraussiana Stage 2: insecure, doing everything wrong (Stages 2–5), not allowed to take up any space, unable to act.Follow-up appointments at 6 weeks, 4 months, and 9 months:
After 6 weeks, she is very balanced; she is no longer manic but is in good spirits. Her self-esteem has improved, and she feels stable.
After four months, for the first time in 20 years, she felt that her illness didn’t have to return—that it would stay away. She has developed a sense of personal responsibility, a sense of growing up. She had always struggled with organizing her work routines or her free time, but now she can take responsibility for them; she has the self-confidence to manage things in a way that works for her. Before, it was like sitting in the passenger seat—she didn’t have control over her own actions, like a ship on the high seas, or the opposite—the ship just stays in the harbor. She now realizes that the people around her are happy to see her, that they’re interested in her, and that she’s sometimes the center of attention. Before, she was afraid of saying the wrong thing; that feeling is gone now.Dreams:She now has beautiful dreams with vivid colors, in which she swims along a gorgeous coastline. The dreams are pleasantly clear.
In recent years, she has had recurring periods during which she was hospitalized for several weeks; there, she felt safe and well cared for. She has completed a distance learning program in media design and works in that field.A psychotic episode announces itself a few days in advance with poor sleep and a lack of appetite. Then she hears voices and sees colors; she feels like an angel, thinks she is Jesus, exercises extremely intensely, and eats very little while doing so. She then sees a bright light and figures of light standing at the edge of the forest, sleeps only 2–3 hours, and then enters into a light meditation.The latest episode was triggered by her breakup with her life partner. She thinks she’s unlovable, feels insecure, broods a lot, and is quick to think, “Now I’ve said something stupid again.” She feels deeply ashamed of herself.When she was in school, she thought that what she said wasn't right, that she couldn't please anyone. Given her immigrant background—she's originally from Bosnia—she thinks, “You can never do it right; you always have to be better than everyone else.”Her parents separated shortly after she was born. When she was 4, her stepfather moved in with them; he wanted her mother, but not her. He was moody, aggressive, and negative, and made her feel deeply insecure as a child. As a result, she has no father figure; her mother has filled both roles.Father: Her biological father is traumatized; his mother repeatedly locked him up for several days at a time. He is extremely intelligent and later became a mathematician. He is addicted to gambling, very disturbed, and was unable to provide for her mother and her. His parents had already separated when he was very young.Mother: Due to her separation from her husband, she returned to work as a nurse after giving birth (after 1 to 1.5 years); she took on night shifts and locked her daughter in the nurses’ station while she cared for the patients.Her father's grandfather was a genocide survivor because he had managed to flee just in time, along with a few others. Her father's family also had to flee when he was a small child. Her father was not open to having a child—possibly because he was schizophrenic—who was burdened by a severe family trauma.She describes her experience with psychosis as follows:
-“It’s like a tunnel; I’m isolated from the world, I’m alone, everyone is standing above me, everything around me is dark blue, I feel unsettled, I’m doing everything wrong—I’m bad. I lose my footing, I have no sense of time—it pulls me down like a whirlpool in water; I’m numb, silent—fear: what’s happening to me, where is this leading—hopelessness.”-“I have no self-worth; I withdraw from my body, shrinking to a tiny dot; I lose touch with the outside world; I don’t feel at home; I’m not allowed to take up any space blackness: “All love is gone; only hatred and fear remain; I must die to survive: this episode lasted about 30 minutes.”The breaks from her daily routine at the hospital are good for her; she thinks it’s good that she’s being monitored. She’s irritable, emotionally unstable, and wants to argue. She feels helpless in the face of her emotional mood swings, which are caused by her instability.Analysis3-400.00.00 Pteridophata:
A hidden, preverbal trauma dating back to early childhood that cannot be reflected upon, or of which there is no awareness, or that is not perceived as the underlying problem (DD Magnolianae). As a child, she had to suppress the trauma—the feelings of being locked up alone at night, without her mother or any other caregiver—otherwise she would have faced a conflict of loyalty with her mother, whom she needed for her survival (Authenticity versus conformity: Gabor Maté) or a betrayal of her true self (Autonomy versus conformity: Arno Gruen). The lack of love in early childhood is perceived as one’s own fault, and one begins to blame oneself for everything.
Added to this is the transgenerational transmission of her father’s trauma, the genocide and expulsion of her grandfather, and the expulsion of her father’s family.
Carbon Series: low self-esteem, parental separation, left alone as a child.
3-000-00.00 Plant Kingdom: sensitive, loves plants and nature.
3-422.10.00 Lycopodiales: Surviving alone in a difficult world. The feeling that one’s very existence is a problem. Feeling unwanted, being too much, too much of a burden, being the cause of all the problems. The feeling of being guilty simply by virtue of being alive.
3-422.17.00 Selaginellaceae Phase 7: Psychosis, completely alone as an infant, no support or help to be expected. A dark funnel pulling one down……
(Sensation of Selaginellaceae?)
3-422.17.02 Selaginella kraussiana Stage 2: insecure, doing everything wrong (Stages 2–5), not allowed to take up any space, unable to act.Follow-up appointments at 6 weeks, 4 months, and 9 months:
After 6 weeks, she is very balanced; she is no longer manic but is in good spirits. Her self-esteem has improved, and she feels stable.
After four months, for the first time in 20 years, she felt that her illness didn’t have to return—that it would stay away. She has developed a sense of personal responsibility, a sense of growing up. She had always struggled with organizing her work routines or her free time, but now she can take responsibility for them; she has the self-confidence to manage things in a way that works for her. Before, it was like sitting in the passenger seat—she didn’t have control over her own actions, like a ship on the high seas, or the opposite—the ship just stays in the harbor. She now realizes that the people around her are happy to see her, that they’re interested in her, and that she’s sometimes the center of attention. Before, she was afraid of saying the wrong thing; that feeling is gone now.Dreams:She now has beautiful dreams with vivid colors, in which she swims along a gorgeous coastline. The dreams are pleasantly clear.