STATUS OF MIND SYMPTOMS

CAN THERAPEUTIUCS BE BASED SOLELY ON MENTAL SYMPTOMS?

(A CRITIQUE OF CLASSICAL HOMEOPATHY-2)

Human psyche is such that to get a true mental symptom is a tricky affair. Most of these symptoms are ‘assumed’, ‘concocted’ or worn as camouflage. As a poet says:

Baday kkhot hein zahiri soorton mein,

Bady qeemty cheese hai badgumaani

[There is definite deceit in the appearances of the people, so acquiring a trait of distrust, is a precious demeanor.]

Behavior is a contrived response in an individual to his whole social environ in which he lives. Behind the veneer of an amicably smiling and saintly face there may be a dastardly mean and a ferocious jackal. Behind and beneath a brave façade may be timid personality.

Referring to an acute disease which is not being settled by many attempts at curing it, a person may show a grave face to get sympathy, saying: ‘this disease will take me to grave’. From this statement, and the hopelessness worn on the face of the patient, a homeopathic tyro will translate his expression in the repertory language, i. e. ‘despair of recovery’. But, in reality, the patient is an optimistic one; and is always certain that the disease would ultimately go and he will surely survive.

From 80 to 90% of mental symptoms are contrived responses to the social structure of society and religeo-cultural compulsions. Very few rubrics contain symptoms that are really pathologic; there being no possibility of contriving; such as:

Hypochondriac personality, or hypochondriasis, or abject anxiety about health.
Home-sickness, as a mood or in delirium, as Bryonia, in delirium, insists going home, while being at home, in reality.
Most of the symptoms under the rubric ‘delusion’.
Many fear symptoms, as of being or left alone, as in Arsenic. Fear of dark, of closed spaces; of being pursued, or killed. Fear of death, fear of thunder, fear of heights. Or symptoms of fear plus delusions, as fear of animals with seeing imaginary animals; etc.
Symptoms of traits, as being absent-minded, abusive, absorbed (schizophrenic), anger-rage; censorious; etc.

Mental and psychic cases, ipso facto, will usually depend exclusively on mind symptoms. Symptoms of psychic derangements, and complexes, would be searched in the mind chapter; and corroborated with general symptoms and food cravings and preferences. Leaving this category, all other ailments will be dealt with in the usual way. Time will (and should) come when the presenting complaint, usually the pathologic, will be the first symptom to be sought for, and accessed in a repertory; and that remedy, from among these, would be chosen that tally with the generals, and mentals of the patient.

The occasion for writing this article became the first chapter of Dr. George Vithoulkas’ book entitled: Talks on Classical Homeopathy, [Pub. B. Jain Publishers. India]. A case of a seriously sick child has been discussed, in the first chapter, (pp. 4ff). Her parents both are M.D. doctors. And Vithoulkas remained concerned with the case throughout. During the course pediatric specialist had been consulted, time and again, because his chosen prescriptions proved futile. She was also hospitalized times and again. Nothing positive could be done for the patient—neither by allopathy nor by homeopathy. The child was evidently at the verge of depletion and death. Second hospitalization was the last scene. Every body was grieving. Our doctor saw the mother of the patient sitting downcast beside her daughter, who was holding her hand. The doctor said to the mother to liberate her hand from the child’s grip. But as she did this the child started crying. He asked her to give her hand to her again. The child stopped crying. On repeating the same experiment again the child got disturbed and started crying.

Now the doctor announced to the parents as to their preferences: whether they wanted their child to be cured at once—that is ‘this evening’; or the next morning. If they choose the first option, he would give the child Phosphorus 50M. if the next morning was their choice, the child be given 10M potency. The child was ‘cured’ by the first preference, though the dose had to be repeated in the same night.

Cured or not cured, the episode has left many questions to be answered.

In two to three weeks duration of a critically ailed patient the doctor could not decide or discover the right remedy. Various homeopathic medicines were tried and failed. The episode of holding the hand became the occasion for the discovery of Phosphorus as being the remedy, which made him utter such a peculiar harangue, which never ever had been heard in the history of medicine. Phosphorus is one of the well proven and well tried medicines of the homeopathic Materia Medica. So many symptoms could lead to its selection. In the absence of which symptoms the selection of phosphorus would be doubtful. Among such symptoms are the following:

Averse to sweets, while craves chocolate (which is also sweet).
Aversion tea and warm drinks.
Sensitive to noise and fear of thunder-storm.
Desires company, and aggravation when alone.
Fear of dark.
Tendency to start, frightened easily.
Aversion to milk, but likes icy-cold milk, and craves ice-cream.
Warm drinks and tea can cause nausea and vomiting. Etc. etc.

If holding the mother’s hand became the sole cause of determining the remedy, then it was very precarious cause. The doctor could have missed it. He perchance was there when such an occasion occurred. Then the child would have certainly died and could not hold long, as the depletion and dehydration was so critical.
The child could have been motherless, and would not have that protective sense with the father. (Note: Murphy has made it a symptom in his repertory. Cf. page 1345: “holding constantly mother’s hand”).
Fear of stranger could be the cause of it, as she was in hospital, among strangers, and not at home. This fear of stranger is just normal for children. In crowds and among unknown people a child naturally sticks to the mother and seeks her bodily proximity.
This example of the child in vithoulkas’ case is a blatant example of the duplicity and unreliability of the meanings in mental symptoms. The doctor could not select Phosphorus because her parents informed him that the child was brave, since it did not show any cowardice, or alarm on whatever the doctors did. So our doctor took their information at its face-value, and did not construe that the bravado mask of the child was in fact a nonchalance to cover her timidity and fright. Or she was so much dazed and perplexed that she was unable to evince any response.
This confession of the doctor for his failure or delay to reach or find the indicated remedy depended on the sheer fact that mental symptoms are a slippery lot. Then how can a therapeutic be based on such a spurious foundation?
In retrospect you can imagine this case as occurring in one or two generations back, when there was no potency higher than 200. How could this child have survived when she could not have the 50M potency? Only the good doctor would be able to answer this question!

Mystifying homeopathy should end. Let us accept that homeopathy is a true science of therapeutics, and deal with it as such.

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