Paeonia lutea A 55-year-old woman, she is friendly, a little shy, sitting quietly and centrally on the chair with her attention focused inward. She has very clear, almost luminous eyes, straight eyebrows, and thin lips. She is dressed in black and seems detached from her surroundings, from the space around her. She comes from Eastern Europe and speaks in a searching, sing-song voice. The problem is sleeping; she is a light sleeper, wakes up easily from noises, has many dreams, and wakes up tired. For the past month, she has been experiencing lower abdominal pain, first with stabbing pains, then constipation with nagging pain. Her stools are greasy, and she has also suffered from heartburn a few times. She had no problems during her vacation, but the complaints returned on her first day back at work. She works as a program coach in a community center, where she conducts intakes. She has been working here for 25 years. It was never a conscious choice to work in social services, but in recent years, she has been wondering whether she is happy with it or whether she wants something else. She is still looking for an answer; it is a thought she cannot quite grasp. But it is always in the back of her mind. Her tongue is a good color, and the edge is smooth (without papillae). Poor sleep causes neck problems and daily headaches from the occiput across the entire head. Sleep has always been an issue; she has suffered a lot of trauma in the past. Her childhood was unsafe at home; her father was an alcoholic, and her mother was severely abused and had to flee. Later, her own relationship was also bad; she had to be alert at night when the children were in bed. Now she still wakes up easily, but she is no longer anxious. She can have intense dreams about familiar people, searching for her way in a city or a building, or finding herself on the wrong train. She can remember her dreams well, including those from her childhood. Once she is awake, she cannot get back to sleep. It is often 3 or 3:30 a.m. by the time her head is clear. She studied art, but after emigrating here, she ended up in a different line of work. She is trying to take up drawing again. Her hobbies are nature, gardening, and reading. She feels at home here, but she is not attached, not even to her mother country anymore. Her mother died early, and she left home at 16, but she continued to feel responsible for the home.
AnalysisWe always look at what is prominent in the case.
Phase 1: The home situation with her father could be
Phase 7, alcohol, abuse, running away, but the complaint in the present is more about being “too alert” and not panic or fear. No roots in her homeland, nor where she lives now. Her search for ideals.
Phase 5: wanting more, wanting to go further, travel, searching.
Class 2: The underlying layer of tension and problems is the family she comes from. The memory of this, and the pain it caused, began or was triggered when she had children of her own, whom she had to protect.
Class 5: Her way of talking, her musical voice, how she uses descriptions, her choice of education in the arts, the very conscious dreams, the awareness of culture all fit with the Silver
Series and the
Malvidae, indicating Class 5.
Stage 11: Protecting and ensuring that things continue to go well, being alert to a possible attack. Staying one step ahead.
Search within the
Saxifragales for a medicine placed at
Stage 11, focusing on the
Paeoniaceae: the theme of having or not having attachment, the theme of having roots in culture.
Within this family, the theme of a stable family and a home is also important. Placed on
Subphase 5, where the theme of moving on or wanting to move on, traveling, can play a role.
Phase 1 fits her work, her idealism.
This theme comes together in
Paeonia lutea.
Prescription:
Paeonia lutea C12.
Follow-upThe abdominal discomfort is quickly gone, and there are no more cramps. Sleep is still variable the first two weeks. After two weeks, there are noticeable changes: she notices a shift, and the people around her tell her this too. She is more ‘present’, clearer, and can make choices more easily. She dares to say something more quickly and no longer feels uncertain that her opinion or idea is not important. She wants now finally to go on a big trip, seeking mountain landscapes and space. For a long time, she didn't dare to do this, but she feels that this trip is now okay. She thinks about it and realizes that she now has to ‘catch up on time’. She dreams a lot again. She sleeps now fine, only the day before the work week starts, she still sleeps poorly, but when she gets up, she is fit after an hour. The dreams are about searching, many doors, being on a raft in the water, but in the dreams, she now sets her boundaries. Her neck is still the same. Things will continue to go well in the coming months; she feels confident and comfortable at work. With the busy workload, her neck continues to bother her. She often dreams about floating (a Paeonia theme: without roots).