Case of NitrogeniumBy Dr. Mahesh Gandhi, M.D. (Psychiatry), Senior Consultant and Faculty, the other song
Co-authors:
Dr. Sneha Vyas, Resident Doctor, the other song
Dr. Devang Shah, Resident Doctor, the other song
Amongst one of the cases, was a case of a man who feels constantly cramped, nervous and tensed. He is very anxious when doing something for the first time and cannot relax. After this, he feels nauseated and his palms and soles become sweaty, thus plunging him into panic. Everything feels blocked from inside. Every situation produces a cramp or a tension, whether it is his job, travelling or even having to coming for this interview. By nature, he is very impatient. He has a very low self worth and feels he is incapable of doing anything. He is very anxious of doing anything, as he feels that things may go wrong. He gets attached to people easily and this feels safe.
The cramp comes before the panic (he indicates that by a gesture of body being cramped up). There is a wall in front of him. The opposite of the cramped up feeling is bliss, peace as if there is no wall in front of him and this feels like being able to breathe freely. The experience of cramped, (he goes into fetal position) is like being stuck in a dark place being pressed from all sides, feeling choked with no way out. This causes discomfort in the stomach. He screams and shouts in anger and panics so much that he says that he can hit or break a wall that time. His anger is aggravated when people don’t listen and things go beyond his control which intensifies the panic attack. He feels safe when he is with people, when there is someone to care for him. When he is with people, he feels safe, as there is someone to care for. This gives him a feeling of being in a circle, where things are under control which makes him feel protected from the external routine world.
The core theme of this case is cramps, tense as if stuck in dark place and being pressed from all sides, choked, with no way out. The opposite of this is like breathing freely, peace, bliss and no wall in front. The choking or pressure from all sides triggers panic and anger which amplifies when things are beyond control. He has a very low self worth and feels that he is incapable to doing things. Moreover, being alone is also scary and being together or with people makes him feel safe, protected from external world of daily life. This dependence on people and the inability to do things are characteristic of the Mineral kingdom. The experience of being stuck, pressed, choked, cramped along with panic are suggestive of Row 2 and the remedy which has this experience as its central issue or essence is Nitrogen6 which is what he received.
He was given Nitrogen 200 once a week. After 4 months, his panic episodes were significantly better. The feeling of explosion that he experienced earlier has considerably abated.