Arbutus menziesii A woman of 38 with the posture and face of a woman in her twenties, she is very gentle, almost fluid in her behavior and speech, absorbing her surroundings with her eyes, speaking very softly. The therapist who referred her describes her as “angelic” in terms of energy. She takes medication for psychosis, which she would like to reduce, as it causes her to feel no emotions and makes her hands shake. She still has fears of the dark, of noises, animals, strangers, and of being alone. She became depressed during her school years, when she was very sensitive to the atmosphere and picked up on other people's emotions. Belly dancing helped her, and she even took a course in it. As a child, she didn't like to play with others; she was anxious and clung to her parents, and everything had to be done together. She is the youngest at home. When she was 25 years old, she was working, in a relationship, sleeping poorly, and taking medication. She suddenly became psychotic, lost touch with reality, and had unsafe thoughts: she heard voices and saw images, she had to flee, she was afraid of being burned at the stake, she no longer dared to go out on the street, and could no longer be alone. This was followed by months of hospitalization, with medication that made her pass out. She only felt safe in the closed ward. Whenever she tried to reduce her medication, she had panic attacks again. She is very introverted and very tired. She wants to get the most out of every day, with writing and dancing. She likes to drink warm or hot beverages and eat salty foods. She is often not grounded; she ‘floats out’, she is absent. She lived with her parents for a long time, but for the past year she has been living on her own with supervision. Everything takes a lot of energy, and she has difficulty cooking or cycling. She is interested in spirituality, meditation, and dancing, particularly dervish dancing, but she no longer does this because it can be too triggering. She reads many books about therapy, energy, and chakras. During her psychoses, she made drawings. Silence meditations suit her best. She is extremely committed to therapies, diets, and training; she cannot stop; it is a “must.” She does not notice when she crosses a line. When she reduces her medication, the anxiety attacks return, and she also becomes more emotional, which she finds difficult. Her mother sees a connection with anxiety due to family history; her parents and grandparents experienced war in the colonies.
Malva alcea (chosen for her sensitivity and constant work on herself) does nothing. She has lichen scleroderma, a few brown spots on her arms, and severe chilblains, which are red and very painful.
AnalysisSeries 6: spiritual interest, working on herself, aware of the shadow in life, theme of independence—all of this fits with the
Lanthanides, analogous to Class 6.
Series 4: Living independently, taking care of herself, and having a place in society are problematic items for her.
Within the rubric “abstraction of mind,” we are looking for a characteristic or the triggering factor of her problem. With her constant immersion in the world of therapy, losing herself in books, dieting, and searching for a purpose in life, even the rubric “flight reality” fits. Within these two categories, Arbutus menziessii was chosen because of the Class 6 aspect (independence, self-awareness) and the
Phase 6 aspect, fatigue, falling outside of society, not having the strength to participate in society, or the Class 4 aspect of her life.
Prescription: Arbutus menziessii C30.
Follow-upThe first three weeks went very well; she was fit and did many things. The chilblains disappeared after two days. Her mood was positive. The side effect of trembling disappeared. She had one night of nightmares; there was war, people were shouting, and she was looking for a toilet. Both her mother and she now refer to the dosing of energy as ‘a challenge’. After the three active weeks, she became ill with a sore throat and headache for two weeks, and she had a heavy period. After that, she became fit again. She now wants to taper off the medication. Observation: When walking, it is as if her legs move autonomously, spinning around a little, searching, while the rest of her body stands straight and dreamy above them. In the coming months, she will be able to reduce her medication, she feels more enthusiastic about things, undertakes more, and makes social contacts. She gets mild hay fever with sneezing, which she also had in the past. After five months, the medication is repeated, she starts to feel her emotions more strongly, and from then on her energy increases; she always wakes up rested, can do more, and starts a creative study. She now moves steadily, has an open gaze, and is less dreamy. The following year, she takes on more and more activities.