Pteridium aquilinum A 56-year-old woman, after the death of both a loved one and a pet, and a lingering issue with her ex about the divorce, experiences a recurrence of old complaints (which had previously disappeared after Salix fragilis). She has a lot of muscle pain, diagnosed as fibromyalgia, the stress affects her lungs, and she becomes short of breath very quickly. She has a lot of heartburn, which can also cause shortness of breath. She is exhausted, sleeps poorly, and wakes up every hour. She forgets too many things. A conflict is growing at work, and discussions cause her anxiety because she no longer has the mental resilience to deal with them. She perceives her manager as hostile, feels threatened, and even psychologically “beaten up.” She never gives up. In the previous year, she indicated that she was unable to handle the responsibility. Her task was not clear; she felt like she was swimming without solid ground. Her work is a passion; she puts everything into it, but now it is no longer enjoyable; it has become broken. The same thing happened in her previous job; she was the only one who fought the battle, and eventually she left. She demands a lot from herself. She calls in sick, but now feels unhappy, without a goal, which is also nothing. She lacks ‘body awareness’; since the pandemic (three years ago), she has been upset because of the uncertainty and lack of structure. She says her whole life is built on trauma. After Lac leoninum (characteristics of the Lacs and the theme of intolerance domination), everything became heavy and dark for a short time; she wanted to crawl under a rock. After a day, everything became lighter, and a slight euphoria arose; she could do everything again. But after a week, a confrontation with the manager followed, and the complaints returned. Her body is locked up. She is gloomy, light-headed, she feels ‘frozen’, afraid, ‘how do I get that man away from me’. She is worried about her health; her blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure are rising. She doesn't dare go out alone; she prefers to stay at home all day. She only has contact with her new partner via the internet. She feels light-headed and has a feeling of cotton wool in her brain. In the past, she was depressed for a period, when she was so afraid that the ground beneath her feet would disappear, that she would be swallowed up by darkness. She has no memories of her childhood before the age of ten. Her parents were not there for her; they only had attention for a much older brother with an addiction. She was often alone, gloomy, sometimes self-mutilated, to which her father responded with “you should go to the madhouse.” Later, she went to a psychologist with the question, “Who am I?” She is interested in mysticism and religious studies.

AnalysisThe stress affects her body, but more remarkable is the reaction on her consciousness. Having no grounding, being swallowed up, frozen, no body awareness, no memories. Staying in her own life. An important clue in this case was the section from the Cotton repertory, which suggests Dactylorhiza praetermissa (Mind, concentration difficult, head full of cotton), an Orchidales, appropriate because of the Phase 7 aspect, but Pteridium aquilinum (Head, as of cotton) seems more appropriate. Ferns fit with ‘not having the strength to face the outside world’ or experiencing it that way. Not having a connection with the world, but still being present, still having strength. Sitting at home, making plans, and having a spiritual life, but not being able to put it into practice in the world. The word choice ‘cotton’ can be taken, figuratively, or symbolically; it is a description, an approximation of the experience both in this case and in the descriptions in the literature. Because the characteristics of this plant match, it is a clue, a ‘click’ that you use to recognize the whole picture. Fitting into this are Phase 1 (no connection, idealism) and Subphase 7 (loss of relationship, death, the addicted brother, depression, self-mutilation). We recognize Stage 12 as a theme in the struggle at work, the chain of “traumas,” “repetition.”
Prescription: Pteridium aquilinum C30

Follow-upAfter 7 weeks, there has been an incredible improvement! she exclaims. Her energy is much better, the foggy head is gone, she dared to travel alone, and she can leave the house without feeling tense. This improvement began gradually and peaked after three weeks, continuing for months afterwards. She has started a diet. She had the flu without any consequences. She experiences restless sleep, sweats profusely, and with a lot of movement, she still has very strong urges in her intestines, just as before. She is building up her work. She is having an IUD removed; she has large fibroids (corresponding to Stage 11 or 12). The response seems good, and she is making good progress at work in the coming months, also in terms of confrontations and concentration.