Classical Homeopathy for Anxiety & Jealousy

George Vithoulkas

Classical

Homeopathy for

Anxiety & Jealousy

Materia medica
Differential diagnosis
Anthracinum-Case

Classical Homeopathy for Anxiety & Jealousy

George Vithoulkas

Groma Verlag

eBook-edition 2018

based on the 1st edition of the printed version

ISBN 978-3-907188-00-2

Copyright 2018

© Groma Verlag, Oberdorfstrasse 2, CH-6340 Baar, Switzerland

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Homepage: www.gromaverlag.ch

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Layout and design of the eBook edition: Peter Vint.

Publisher: 907188 - ISBN 978-3-907188-00-2

George Vithoulkas

George Vithoulkas is regarded as the most important homeopath of the 20^th century. His entire life and creative powers are dedicated to serving homeopathy. In decades of teaching internationally he contributed to the worldwide revival, recognition and dissemination of classical homeopathy.

Born in Athens in 1932, he is married and lives on the island of Alonissos. He started studying homeopathy in South Africa in 1960 and was a student of several homeopathic colleges in India.

In 1967 George Vithoulkas returned to Greece from India and founded the Centre for Homeopathic Medicine in Athens in 1970. Many well known homeopaths received their theoretical and practical training in this large centre.

Since 1976 George Vithoulkas has been teaching homeopaths internationally. He soon became a globally known teacher, whose students are in charge of numerous homeopathic schools and clinics in several countries around the world.

In collaboration with the University of Namur, Belgium, George Vithoulkas started developing the V.E.S (Vithoulkas Expert System), a sophisticated computer-system making intelligent suggestions to the homeopath for homeopathic treatment. Thus he is also seen as reviver of homeopathy and as a pioneer of electronic data processing in homeopathic practice and research.

He is the founder and head of the “International Academy for Classical Homeopathy” in Alonissos, Greece. Since 1995, homeopaths from all over the world travel there for homeopathic education and postgraduate studies.

His numerous books and articles, among them “Medicine for the New Millennium”, “Materia Medica Viva”, “The Science of Homeopathy” and “A New Model for Health and Disease” are well-known by every homeopath.

In recognition of his contributions to homeopathy he was awarded the “Right Livelihood Award” for health, the alternative Nobel Prize in Stockholm in December 1996.

Since 1999 he is honorary professor at the Medical Academy in Kiev and since 2000 he is collaborating professor of the Medical Faculty at the Basque University in Spain.

Foreword

It was a great honour for us to invite George Vithoulkas to Switzerland for a two day seminar. The theme of the seminar “Anxiety and Jealousy” met with great approval and inspired participants. The amount of positive feedback and the many inquiries led us to the decision to publish the contents of this seminar as a book.

During these two days, George Vithoulkas shared with us his extensive experience and his profound knowledge of Materia Medica. With great commitment he presented the keynotes of the most significant remedies for these issues in a vivid and practical way. While extracting their most important aspects, his comparative description of Materia Medica enabled each participant to clearly comprehend the reasoning leading to the prescription.

This volume contains lots of information and valuable suggestions for homeopathic practice. The extensive index, the clear lay-out plus the keynotes of the 25 remedies, discussed during the seminar make this book a very practical reference work.

We sincerely thank George Vithoulkas for permitting us to publish this seminar, and for checking through and amplifying the manuscript. We further thank Uta Schildwaechter and Hans G. Schrauder for editing the material.

Groma Publishers Baar, Switzerland

Heidi Grollmann, Urs Maurer

PART I: ANXIETY

Anthracinum-Case

In these times of violence we need homeopathy very much. Because, as you know, homeopathy takes out the aggression from the human soul. It makes people more balanced and more sane, with more common sense. In these times we need people who are balanced and have common sense. As everybody knows, violence brings on violence. And if we keep on doing this, using violence against violence, we will reach a point where we will destroy ourselves.

I have brought a very interesting case, and I would like to present it to you. This case was taken in America, in California, back in 1984 I think. This is a case of Anthrax – Anthracinum. I felt, maybe it would be of interest for you to see such a case. What is interesting in this case is the fact, that in this particular case Anthracinum did not only act on the skin-problem, but it went deeper and freed the person from the deeper effect of Anthrax. There are, as you know, different levels, different stages in which a human being can be affected through different agents. Anthrax is one of them. In this case you will see what in homeopathy we call a case of constitutional Anthrax.

In the beginning, when I prescribed Anthracinum for this woman, I didn’t think that it would act so deeply and create such deep changes. This case is a very good teaching-case for another reason. Many times we give a remedy, and we see some effect. The patient says: “It had a good effect, I felt better.” We give another remedy – “I felt better.” Another remedy – “I felt better” etc.”

Three, four, five, six remedies – always: “I felt better.” But the underlying problems actually remain the same! There was no deep effect. The remedies didn’t not go deep enough to touch the most inner, chronic problems of the case.

This is one of the cases where you can observe this. The case is presented by a good homeopath, her husband, and you will hear him tell about the remedies he gave her and how she got better from them. But what he was talking about was actually on a superficial level. There was indeed some effect to be seen from the remedies, but they didn’t go deep enough to bring about real changes.

So this is a teaching case, and as we go along I will draw your attention to certain points in the case, to show you and to enable you to get an idea of the chronic effects of Anthrax. You see, at this moment violence in America is being spread through Anthrax, right? And of course the government says: “Don’t be afraid. We have antibiotics, and we are going to face this situation.” But we know that the after-effects of Anthrax plus the antibiotics are going to be seen for years afterwards. [For more information regarding Anthrax follow this link ...].

These people, who will be affected in the form of a chronic condition, should need our help to bring back their lost health. So homeopathy is needed at this moment; very, very much. I don’t know – because I don’t have the experience of course – what effect homeopathy could have on a primary Anthrax-infection of the lungs. And I’m fairly doubtful about it, before I have seen the effect. But I know about the after-effects of Anthrax.

Like in this woman. She was a farmer, dealing with animals. Most probably she had been infected, but not as a primary infection. The manifestations on her skin were very close to the symptoms of Anthrax. And Anthracinum brought about a cure. So before giving you more information I would like to start with the case:

(The video begins. The patient and her homeopath are sitting in front of a class. George Vithoulkas was teaching in California at that time. A close-up of the boil is shown)

(George Vithoulkas explains to the auditorium in Zurich:) This is a boil, a huge boil, on the upper part of the body. You can see it bulging out.

GV on video: This seems to be quite deep. Is it very hard? (examines the area) When did it develop?

Homeopath: She’s had this sebaceous cyst in that place for about eight years. About nine days ago it began to drain a little bit, just a little bit of drainage, just drops, a little opening.

GV: It was there all these years?

Homeopath: It has never been opened for drainage. I squeezed out quite a bit of offensive smelling, white, sebaceous matter afterwards.

GV: What smell?

Homeopath: It smelled like very strong cheese. Offensive. But from what I have seen from other sebaceous cysts, it was exactly the same smell. It continued to ooze. So the next day I squeezed it again, until it became about 30% of its ordinary size. This now is roughly the size that it ordinarily is.

GV: Bulging out like that? All the time, all the years?

Patient: Yes, like that.

GV: The redness was always there?

Homeopath: No, never discoloration, never pain.

GV: So now there is an inflammation?

Homeopath: Yes. It was painful the second day after I expressed it, so we decided to leave it alone. But it was markedly smaller. I could feel all the patterns of the cyst. Then we didn’t touch it, and slowly over the next three days she wasn’t feeling as well. Not in regard to the cyst...

Patient: It was still oozing, though, all this time it would ooze by itself.

Homeopath: Finally, a reddish coloured discharge came out. Then, by Wednesday morning, she was having a headache, she couldn’t make any decisions, she was dying for open air and had a feeling that she wanted to go outside, without her clothes on, into the cold.

Patient: That was at seven in the morning, when it was really cold, and the cold would feel great. And stomach ache, wanting to cry...

Homeopath: Yes, she was very emotional. I gave her a dose of Pulsatilla M. In the past Pulsatilla has helped her repeatedly very well. And within half an hour...

Patient: ... I felt much better. No headaches anymore, no stomach-aches, I didn’t feel hot anymore, and emotionally I was better.

Homeopath: But then the discharge ceased.

Patient: The boil got hot, red and painful.

(Vithoulkas interrupts the video)

What does he say? He gave her a dose of Pulsatilla, due to the amelioration from fresh air. And: the headache subsided, but the sebaceous cyst stopped discharging. What does that mean in Homeopathy?

It means that Pulsatilla acted on a superficial level. It brought about some changes, but left the underlying causes untouched. And this, unfortunately, is what happens with most of our cases.

We don’t understand that there are underlying causes that have to be treated at a certain time, before a case opens up and we can progress. For eight years she has been treated by her partner, who is a good homeopath.

She has been given several remedies, Natrium muriaticum, Pulsatilla etc. Because this is a closed woman, as we can see... – maybe you cannot see, because it is an old video, and you cannot see all details, of course. Her face was dried up. The emotions were dried up. No emotions.

In its mental-emotional state, Anthracinum produces an analogous picture. We see a person who has a deeply imbedded emotional abscess. It is an abscess that has often been formed out of a very painful emotional experience.

This remedy retains so much deeply hidden grief that one might consider it to be the major remedy for silent suffering, its darkest emotional wound buried deeply within its psyche. It is as though all the emotional and mental suffering of the Anthracinum-patient has been enclosed in one big boil. The patient is unable to feel, to express or to share deep emotions.

She said: “I had the inclination to weep.”

But Pulsatilla does not have the inclination to weep. It weeps! In order to give Pulsatilla, you need an amelioration from open air and weeping without almost any cause or with the least cause.

But if someone says: “I need to cry and I cannot cry”, this has to make you think twice before giving Pulsatilla. In such a case, where the person wants to cry but does not cry, closed remedies like Natrium muriaticum, Ignatia, Phosphor acidum, maybe Staphisagria should be thought of. But not Pulsatilla! But still, it took away the headache.

Do you see how you can be mislead to believe that the remedy has acted? Here it has not really acted. What has it done? It has suppressed. That is why I had the problem at that time. I could see a woman with dried up emotions and skin. I remember her very well. The skin had fine, very fine wrinkles. She was not an old woman! But she looked much older than her age.

It is interesting to observe in these patients that they look and act as if they were old and tired. They will give you the impression, without admitting to it however, that they shoulder their misery and suffering silently, without complaining, without making a lot of fuss, while at the same time being emotionally quite dead inside.

So I was struggling with this case to see what could be the correct remedy at this moment. Also, her headaches were gone, but her sleep was disturbed. She could not sleep. Another point that shows us that the remedy had acted on a very superficial level.

(The video continues)

Homeopath: Burning hot.

Patient: It reminded me of the branding of animals.

Homeopath: And it’s getting worse day by day. She is getting weaker. She doesn’t sleep well. If someone touches it...

GV: Are you cold now?

Patient: No.

GV: You still feel warm?

Patient: Yes.

Homeopath: She feels quite well otherwise.

Patient: Emotionally I feel much better than before, when it was still discharging. But now it is very painful. And in the evenings the pain extends upwards to my head and downwards all the way to here...

GV: Especially in the evening?

Patient: Yes. And when I go to lie down for the night, then is the best time. Not immediately, but after lying for some hours, it feels best.

Homeopath: Even though her sleep isn’t good.

Patient: Yes, I wake up often.

(Vithoulkas stops the video)

You will see that Pulsatilla took away the headaches, but her sleep is disturbed. She cannot sleep. This is another point telling us that the remedy has acted on a superficial level.

Homeopathy has very serious therapeutic modalities, which have to be studied very well before we start dealing with patients, because Homeopathy is so powerful. It can give you the impression that it is acting, while actually it is either just changing, shifting symptoms from one side to the other, or even suppressing them – and many times of course it is doing nothing.

When your remedy is far away from the picture, the patient will come back and tell you: “I have no change.”

When the patient comes and says: “I am better in this and that, but I am worse concerning this and that,” this answer needs to be closely evaluated by the homeopath, to understand well if the remedy has acted correctly or not.

And how do you evaluate a situation like that? By thoroughly understanding the theory of Homeopathy. The theoretical understanding of Homeopathy is absolutely necessary for making a correct evaluation of a case.

(The video continues)

GV: Any other symptoms?

Patient: None, besides that it’s always hot and burning. It comes in waves, and sometimes it feels really hot, and sometimes it calms down and just aches.

GV: Any anaemia?

Patient: Yes.

Homeopath: Yes, she is pregnant.

GV: Are you always anaemic?

Patient: No, not anaemic, but with lower values than most other people.

GV: I see, not enough Ferrum...

Homeopath: Actually, this is her third pregnancy, and it is her best pregnancy so far. Thanks to good homeopathic treatment.

Patient: I went to India recently, came back with Hepatitis. Not yellow eyes, but itching all over and elevated liver enzymes.

GV: Itching everywhere?

Homeopath: Terrible, especially during the night.

GV: You gave Dolichos?

Patient: Yes, and the next day I was 80% better.

GV: Good... (smiles). He cured his wife.

Homeopath: She has had no remedy between Dolichos (which was a little bit more than two months ago) and the Pulsatilla. And concerning the anaemia: she was more anaemic in the last pregnancies. Her haematocrit is 34 right now; she would be around 29 to 30 even in prior pregnancies. So, for her, it’s probably reasonably good.

GV: Okay, thank you.

Patient: Thank you.

(Vithoulkas stops the video)

There was not much useful information. Usually I like to take more information, ask more questions. But the situation is difficult when you have a patient in front of the class. Especially investigating the emotional side, the sexual life is very difficult. It puts a patient like her under big stress.

Now I want to comment on what the Homeopath says about her coming back from India, having Hepatitis, the treatment for Hepatitis, being pregnant etc. Is she doing very well concerning the Hepatitis, or was the treatment suppressing, or whatever?

Can anybody evaluate that piece of information? (no answer from the class)

You see, we have to be very clear with this piece of information. What happened? She had the Hepatitis, she was ill, she took Lycopodium or Chelidonium or whatever, and the Hepatitis of course was better and she also was much better.

Looking at this case now: is your assessment that the treatment of the Hepatitis was correct or wrong? You see, you must be able to answer such questions clearly. Without understanding the whole theory, you will not be able to answer such questions.

Do you want me to do some statistics?

Who says the treatment was correct? (few hands are raised)

Who says the treatment was wrong? (more hands are raised)

Okay, thank you.

You are wrong! The treatment was correct! The treatment of the Hepatitis was correct, not wrong. Why did you fall into that trap? Because you don’t understand the real theory of homeopathy. If it is not understood, this is what is going to happen. Hardly anybody thought that the treatment was correct.

Of course I cannot explain everything, but anyhow, I’ll give you an idea: everyone, every patient has some chronic condition which requires one, two or three remedies in a particular sequence. Let us say you are treating this patient and you don’t give these three remedies in correct sequence.

Now this patient gets an acute Bronchitis. You give a remedy, Bryonia, and treat the Bronchitis.

Or a more serious condition, a Bronchopneumonia: you give Kalium carbonicum, then Phosphorus, then Arsenicum – three remedies, and the patient is doing fine.

The treatment is correct! What you have been treating is what was happening above his chronic condition. With these three remedies you correctly treated the acute which was manifesting in this patient. But you did not touch the underlying chronic problems of the patient. So your treatment for the acute was correct, your treatment for his chronic condition was wrong.

I will give you a simple example which everybody will understand. Let us say somebody falls and gets a bruise with extravasation of blood etc.

What is your prescription? (nobody answers)

Don’t be afraid just because you made a mistake! You don’t always make mistakes! What is your prescription?

The bruise is painful, you cannot touch it – what is that? (some voices answer “Arnica”)

Arnica! You give Arnica, and the reaction is beautiful: the pain goes away, and the bruise also goes away, of course.

What happened here? You have treated something that came upon this person. Something sudden, an acute. And this acute required a specific treatment which you had to give.

Otherwise you may have chronic after effects of the acute condition. That means you treated the acute correctly. Fine! Then the person comes back with his chronic headaches, his problems etc.

Now think of this woman! She has been handling the animals (sheep) for eight years, for eight years she is suffering from that condition. This condition has a deeper underlying problem, as will become clear in the follow-up.

Another example you will also understand very well. Somebody has lost a loved one. He comes, is sighing (Vithoulkas sighs deeply twice). You see: sighing, grief, does not cry, wants to cry but cannot cry – what is your remedy?

Participants: Ignatia

GV: Ignatia! I know, you still are afraid. (laughter among participants)

You will be afraid until the last minute. (Vithoulkas laughs) You see, when you have a picture of a remedy, you don’t need to be afraid. This is the picture of the remedy, this is the remedy. Ignatia is the remedy. So you give Ignatia. Let us say, the whole class has this problem. Ignatia will be indicated in most of the cases.

Okay. Is this correct or not? Of course it’s correct. You have to give it, the effect is there, and it is absolutely correct.

Now: after the Ignatia-layer is gone, you have to deal with the underlying problem. Pulsatilla took the headache away, left this and left that, and Natrium muriaticum was given and several other remedies as well. All the remedies acted very well, good homeopathic treatment...

But basically the idea is that the homeopath is confused. He is confused, because on one hand he correctly treated the acute, on the other hand he did not touch the underlying chronic condition. But homeopathy can do much more.

And this is what you came here to learn, to hear some good, solid, grounded homeopathy, right?

I am not going to tell you stories. I am going to give you some facts. In the Materia Medica I will give the main points of the remedies, on which you can base your prescriptions. But still, I would say, to really give you the total knowledge of homeopathy, you have to take the four-year-course which was held in the Academy in Alonissos. It has been recorded on video and can be presented to those who are interested.

There is actually a University here in Switzerland which is interested in presenting the course. It’s a full course with precise Materia Medica and greatly detailed theory. But what is more important is that cases that came to be treated by me were followed for two, three, four years. So you will be able to see how such cases develop, which came after having been treated with allopathic medicine, with acupuncture, with homeopathic remedies – many times 40, 50, up to 150 remedies.

What happens to such a case? Can you treat such a case if you don’t start correctly, with the correct remedy? And then the second remedy also has to be correct, and has to be in time, and then the third remedy has to be correct. And then in three, four years you see the effect, and you see another person, saying: “Thank you very much. Now I really feel back to earth.”

There are patients that were totally destroyed by all these therapeutic modalities which are existing today in this world - which are very good! Acupuncture is a very good therapeutic modality, there is no question about that. Chiropractors are doing good work. As long as they know what they are doing, each one of them is doing good work.

I am sorry to say that there are so many ideas flying around in homeopathy, right? Like potentising a song for example! “Why not?” he says. “We’ll potentise a song and we’ll give it.” I ask: “To whom do you give it?” - “Ah, well, if somebody sings falsely, I’ll give it, and then he starts singing....” (participants laugh)

I mean, what is this? I read it in the ‘Homeopathic Links’, a journal which is supposed to be about Homeopathy. Or: If you have to give a remedy and you don’t have it available – what do you do? You write the name of the remedy on a piece of paper (f.e. Lycopodium 10 M), you put a glass of water over it, and then you let the person drink the water, and thus he has received Lycopodium 10 M. (laughter in the auditorium)

Can you understand how I feel when I see things like this, written down as instructions for students? For God’s sake! Homeopathy has nothing to do with all this craziness! And you have to be aware – at least that’s why I’m here, to make you aware – not to buy all this nonsense.

So let us see what happened to this case. The prescription was Anthracinum C 200.

Anthracinum is indicated in patients who suffer chronically from carbuncles, boils, hydradenitis, and tumours which tend to have a malignant appearance, a reddish-black colour, and cause a burning sensation and extreme pain.

So in Anthracinum, ulceration takes place easily, with sloughing and excruciating burning pains. Cellular tissues become oedematous and indurated.

Anthracinum meets septic conditions with enormous swelling, and, as already mentioned, intolerable burning pains, and with the dark-red discoloration of the inflamed part. Generally in this remedy there is a tendency to easy suppuration and sepsis.

The patient is unable to feel, to express or to share deep emotions. She trudges through her existence in an apparent state of confusion, especially concerning her emotions, where nothing is clear, nothing is perceived properly, where she herself does not know how she feels.

(The video continues. The follow-up is shown)

Homeopath: She received Anthracinum C 200. She felt dizzy very soon after she took the remedy and thought that she was about to get a headache. And the infected area became very, very hot after the remedy.

(Vithoulkas stops the video)

Watch this! Immediately you can see the correct action. What happened? She started to get dizzy. It is an expression. The headache was back. You see? Remember? Pulsatilla took away the headache. The headache had to come back.

(The video continues)

Homeopath: And she felt lots of downward vaginal pressure and the feeling of contractions when she was walking around. And that has persisted pretty much until today. One hour after she took the remedy she went to sit out in the park, and she said she had more peaceful concentration than in days. Through this she realized something hadn’t been right. She said she hadn’t realized that she had lost it until the sense of peace returned. 2 ½ hours after the remedy she was ...

(Vithoulkas interrupts the video)

That is another important point. Maybe you couldn’t understand it correctly. He says, a few hours after the remedy, while she was sitting on a bench, she felt peaceful. Something, she realized, she had lost. She had not been peaceful before. Now she is peaceful. This is again an indication, a hint that this remedy has gone deep and may bring about some changes.

Why? Because he says the headache is back, the inflammation began to get worse, it is burning, but there is a peaceful feeling inside. Then we have a correct sequence of events.

If she had said: “I feel good psychologically”, it would mean nothing without the aggravation, without the correct sequence of events, which has to be amelioration from deeper to the more peripheral areas. Better psychologically, worse physically – that is good.

But you see, these things we don’t realize, don’t understand, unless we know the theory very well. Then we can perceive what the person is saying. Let’s see more.

(The video continues)

Homeopath: Pain free movement of her neck was possible. By seven in the evening, five hours after the remedy, the muscles - which had been very painfully involved with the ulcer - were much better, and she had an overwhelming feeling of peace and sleepiness. Lots of yawning.

She said: ‘I am a walking zombie.’ Whereas in the previous night, at the same time, she had been at her worst, with pain and restlessness.

She said: ‘I feel like I’ll sleep forever.’ For the first night in days she was looking forward to night time. Before she had had very bad nights. Now she was confident that she would have a restful sleep. And she indeed had a pretty good sleep, definitely a very improved sleep. Then, on the next day, there was definite improvement, the pain was lessened. But you couldn’t really see any difference.

Now, yesterday, the cyst got more massive, it spread out. It wasn’t as raised, but it involved more area, especially extending, spreading out to the neck. And it was tighter and hotter and more painful again, though not like before the remedy, but worse than the preceding day. And she experienced stinging and throbbing pain, but not that intense burning that she had had before. And then, today, it was down in size. And I should mention, because you had mentioned Lachesis, that yesterday it was purple, and she didn’t want it touched at all. She couldn’t even tolerate clothing on it, held up her clothes.

(Vithoulkas stops the video)

That is a good point. That’s another examination for you. And you will see, now you are going to answer my question correctly. But before my question, I have to draw your attention to the fact that she is “a walking zombie”. She sleeps, she wants to sleep, she wants to sleep the rest of her life. She feels very sleepy. You see the deep relaxation of the organism, that now makes her want to sleep. All the days before she had sleepless nights. Now she wants to sleep. This is another confirmation that the remedy is acting.

As I was saying: we observe the deep relaxation of the organism while at the same time he says the mass of the cyst became bigger. The pain is there, but not the excruciating, burning pain. Anthracinum has absolutely intolerable burning.

If you see an ulcer, an Anthracinum-ulcer, it is black, smelling like old cheese. That mostly indicates an infection with Bacillus anthracis. That means an infection which is quite stubborn and gives a very bad smell of the infection.

Streptococcal or staphylococcal infections would not have this smell, would not have this intensity. So on the physical level we see the aggravation, the cyst becoming bigger, but inner peacefulness develops. Beautiful.

Okay. Now he says: “We have a picture of Lachesis, exactly as you said.” Most probably in my analysis I had said‚ if it does not work, we should be thinking of Lachesis. The homeopath says: “As you said in your analysis: cannot be touched, colour blue...”

The question now is: are you going to give Lachesis to complete the action of this remedy? Yes or no? (participants laugh)

You see? Now at last you see the correct answer! You don’t give it, you must never give it! This is the fourth day in the report. You must never give a remedy while at the same time the person is doing so well. It still is painful, still the ulcer has not opened, there is no discharge, but is Lachesis going to help open the ulcer, bring discharge etc.? Not at all! Lachesis would stop the entire process. Never give it.

There is a time when you should give Lachesis. What time would that be? What would you need? You would also need an aggravation on the level of sleep. You would also need an aggravation on the mental-emotional level.

Together with this and a developing Lachesis-picture, you could say yes to giving Lachesis. You could give it on the fourth day of treatment, as long as you have a full picture of Lachesis. Here we have a local picture of Lachesis, while the general condition of the patient, the whole patient is doing so well! If I go and interfere...

God help! You would destroy your beautiful work. It is not so easy to find Anthracinum in this case, right? If you were going to prescribe Lachesis for the local symptoms while the person in general is doing better – forget it!

You would spoil your case. It’s not like “Homeopathy is harmless”, it’s not like “it won’t matter”, no! The local symptoms are now close to Lachesis, and Lachesis would stop the progress. The cure would not be finished. And then you would be tempted to give another remedy and another remedy and another remedy...

This is how the cases actually come to me. I don’t receive any first-time-cases anymore. I receive only the spoilt cases. They say: “Okay, now fix it.” I receive all those cases that have received half of the Materia Medica before. I get to see those kinds of cases. And I understand why!

This is my experience which I am trying to transfer. We have laws that have to be grasped and understood well. You see, the organism is doing its work. The physical body is taking all the impact, is aggravated. The mass of the cyst is quite big. Just wait a few more days, and the ulcer will start discharging.

(The video continues)

Homeopath: Today it was down in size, softer, more moveable, and off and on it began exuding small amounts of that same foul, infected smelling discharge, just since today. It’s harder and more painful while she is up and moving, and definitely better while she is reclining, reading, sitting. She had some transient headaches today, but much less painful than yesterday.

GV: How long was the cyst existing?

Homeopath: Eight years. She is much better, really, incredibly better. Every day is better, with a little bit of ups and downs, but today she is doing exceedingly well. Yesterday it opened up. To get a little more of the evolution: After the remedy the pain went down dramatically.

And there were immediate effects that were felt, almost immediately after the remedy was given. But the actual thing became larger after the remedy, even though the pain went, it became really large! I mean, it was five or six inches across. And people would look at it in disbelief. But she was altogether much better than before.

GV: It’s very strange. The size becomes bigger, but the actual pain is reduced.

Homeopath: Yes, by 75 - 80%. And now, by Friday, meaning two days ago, there were a lot of sensations, prickly sensations, not this hot burning. Tingling sensations and much pressure. And you could see certain points where it was beginning to get ripe, different areas, little whitish areas where you could see underneath and see the pus that would later discharge.

And yesterday, after she got out of the bathtub, unknowing to her, it was starting to discharge, and she maybe lost a teaspoon or a teaspoon and a half of pus. And today it was maybe a tablespoon. The size is way down. It’s still quite large, but it’s way down compared to what it was. There is no pain whatsoever. And the normal skin-colouration is starting to come in around the edges.

She has some interesting things. She would be a good prover, she always does this with remedies. There are a bunch of proving symptoms, all which are very strongly represented in Hering’s Materia Medica in Anthracinum: She had some dizziness all through the week off and on; light headaches early in the day, and when the headaches would go away, in the afternoons, she would feel very indisposed to work.

And that’s strong for Anthracinum actually. Normally she is more of a workaholic type. And then she gets restless at night, it eases at about three in the morning and she sleeps better. Her appetite has been decreased all week long and she has lost a couple of pounds, but overall she is doing really well.

(Vithoulkas stops the video)

Some of you people turned around to check whether I am the same person as seen in the video....(laughs) Well, it was about 16 years ago... But it is an interesting case. The discharge has started, and the process of cure is going to be completed. This is a trust in our science. Otherwise you are bound to prescribe for little things here and there, which is totally wrong in such cases. What is happening here is that the remedy has touched the case very deeply. And you will see the development.

(The video continues. The patient has returned personally for a follow-up in front of the class Vithoulkas was teaching in California at the time.)

GV: (to his California class) (...) As the homeopath said: it is really twenty times less now in size. When I saw it, it was very red, a big cyst going deep, very deep into the tissue. Huge, and bulging out also. It started discharging soon etc., but all this is okay.

What is really interesting is what she said: From a grief she had 17 years ago, her sexuality was blocked. And with Anthracinum the sexual energy became completely unblocked. She also tells me that these old grief-pictures seem to come up to the conscious mind and just leave, which indicates that Anthracinum was indicated for the last 17 years.

And her health is going to improve tremendously from now on, as the next picture of a remedy is going to appear quite clearly.

(question from a participant of the California class, without microphone)

GV: Anthracinum being a constitutional remedy? Well, I don’t know. We’ll see how far her health will improve. I believe she will improve to an extent she can’t believe herself, but so far the indications are ‘ailments from grief’, most probably. In this way sometimes those situations develop, where I am talking and say: “Okay, this is the remedy” – due to such experiences! And then you say: “No, no, can’t be, because this remedy does not have xy,” or: “Anthracinum isn’t in this rubric.”

Here we may be talking about a grief situation that was affected by the remedy. But it definitely produced a well defined effect, which she feels very clearly. Not so much in the video now, because she felt a bit embarrassed to speak about all of this in front of the camera. But she is present now; I’m just repeating her own words: her energy was blocked after that grief.

(The video is stopped)

I don’t know if you understood what happened. If you had examined her, I’m sure most of you would have thought of Sepia, because she looked so dried out and didn’t have any sexual drive at all. Her sexual energy was blocked.

She had no interest in having a sexual relationship. She had had a grief, and she had kept that grief all along, without being able to cry.

Do you see how wrong Pulsatilla was? In spite of being warm etc., open air etc.

Why? Because she could not cry. A Pulsatilla with grief will cry, cry, cry. And then you have a symptom for Pulsatilla.

When the grief is so deep and held back and has cut off the sexual urge, which is so important for survival, it means it is a very deep grief.

And then Natrium muriaticum was given of course - no effect.

Ignatia was given – no effect. What brought about the change? Anthracinum!

It is amazing how this remedy withholds emotional expression while at the same time it stores the hurt emotions in an encysted wound, a malignant abscess.

After the remedy has been prescribed, it is interesting to see in such cases how the enclosed emotions, which remained unexpressed and subconsciously painful for years, are poured out as tears with such intensity that one is reminded of a malignant tumour which suddenly opens and pours forth an endless discharge.

What I said before: students will tell me: “Oh, but Anthracinum is not found in ‘ailments from grief’! It’s not in the repertory.”

Yes, we don’t have it in the repertory, but we have it in real life, in real homeopathy. So it makes no difference!

And, by the way, I can tell you something which I have decided to do. You can contact our website through www.vithoulkas.com. It has a section called “Exciting Information”. What is this section about? This section contains new symptoms, that come from our real cases, recorded on video, which are not contained in the Materia Medica or in the repertory.

Every month such symptoms will be given out, free of charge, and you can find out about them and collect them. But you cannot print them in a book!

That means (laughs), don’t collect them and immediately print them in a book and start selling the book. Because I have made this experience again and again and again. I give out information, and the next day I see a book printed, not even containing my name, without mentioning where the information came from. And I look at it and say: “...but this is my book!”.

I remember 1983 in Washington D.C., there was a big congress, and suddenly someone approached me and said: “Do you want to buy an interesting book?” I said: “What’s it called?” He says: “The Stolen Essences.” (participants laugh)

I said: “Let me see!” I look, and I see whatever I had taught Bill Gray, who had been in Athens. It was all there!

I said: “How much is this?” He says: “This is 30 Dollars.” In 1983, 30 Dollars! For a copy of about 90 pages of stolen essences. Without my name, and for 30 Dollars. I said: “Yes, I am interested.” I paid to take back a copy of my notes, which had been stolen by somebody! That was what Bill Gray told me at the time. He said, somebody had broken into his room and stolen them, and after that had made copies. It was found out that the copies were circulating all over the world.

Later on I went to England, in 1984/85, and there I saw the same book, but with a different title. Something like “Homeopathy given by fairytales, gnomes and by spooks” (laughter in the audience). I look at the book, and what do I see? It’s the same book!

This has been my experience again and again. Still I like to help. So go to the website. You’ll find good information there. Also, the part “Exciting Information” contains symptoms which are really reliable. It is sure that a specific symptom belongs to a certain remedy.

That means: when we have a case, based on certain symptoms, and the remedy cures the case and the symptoms disappear, then these symptoms really belong to this particular remedy.

So we have confirmed symptoms and new symptoms which do not yet exist. In this way we try to eventually, after years, long after I am gone from this earth, develop a Materia Medica which will be reliable. You see, the problem at this moment is that we have a lot of information that comes from unreliable sources. Nobody knows how reliable this information is. Is it reliable? Is it information on which I can base my prescription?

Once I was giving a seminar. Somebody said: “I heard that if you have a patient coming from an orphanage, for whatever problems, you give Tuberculinum.” I said: “What?”. The person repeated the statement. I said: “Who said such nonsense?” The person answered: “They claim you said that.” I said: “Oh my God...”

(Participants and George take a break)

GV: I think you have gotten a good idea of the remedy Anthracinum. We’ll continue with the follow-up.

(The video continues)

GV: (to his Californian class): It is very interesting to see what the remedy did. It took away the pain almost immediately. The pain had been excruciating. The actual size had increased within the next 24 hours, and yet the pain was less. That shows immediately the processes if information within the organism.

The organism begins to inflame the cyst, in order to start liquidating, to drain it. These are the cases we are learning from! Those of her symptoms subsiding belong to Anthracinum.

That is how you learn more about a remedy. It is a very teaching experience, and would be even more, if she were willing to talk more specifically. Then she would probably realize that other symptoms are also changing. I would suggest not to give another remedy, until we can see whatever is taken away, in order to have better information about the remedy.

(question by Californian participant – unfortunately without microphone)

GV: That’s speculation. Don’t speculate. She is making dolls, and she is stuffing the dolls with wool, since years. Maybe the Anthrax came from the sheep. Maybe some of the stuff was infected. I mean, you can speculate. Maybe eating some vegetables from near a grassy area where some sheep were grazing was the cause...

You can speculate, but you cannot be sure. What you can be sure of and what you are interested in, actually, is the following: for one, when the sexual energy is blocked after grief, you can now connect it with Anthracinum. Not always just with Anthracinum, of course.

(question by Californian participant, or additional information by the patient – without microphone)

Homeopath: Crying before for her was a waste of time. But now it feels good.

(Vithoulkas stops the video)

Alright. This is another symptom which you know in connection with Natrium muriaticum, right? What she says is that every time she wanted to cry, she felt it would be a waste of time and she would stop it, and she would not cry. Now, after Anthracinum, she can cry.

Because of grief and things like that we give Natrium muriaticum. What you have to notice in this case is especially the connection to the blockage of the sexual energy, also to the blockage of the expression of tears. Now that becomes an idea, which needs to be confirmed.

Do you see how we get new information? Now, we have some information, but we cannot confirm this information, until we see another, similar case.

Okay. Later on she will say, that she was crying constantly for two days. Crying constantly for two days. This shows the release, and how the Anthracinum blocks the emotional and sexual energy and dries up the individual. This is amazing. We have to keep this case in mind in case we ever have to treat after-effects of Anthrax-cases.

Dried up individuals, whose energy has been blocked, especially the emotional energy. They do not have the energy to cry. And suddenly she opens up and cries and cries. Just like this boil does not open, does not open. For years, eight years the boil is there, but it does not open. And then, after the remedy, it opens and releases. I think you got a good idea about Anthracinum.

Burning pains. The affected parts burn like fire. These symptoms we also have in Arsenicum album. But here we have an amelioration from heat, not an aggravation.

Another remedy with similar symptomatology as Anthracinum is Tarentula cubensis.

Tarentula also has strong, burning pains and boils. Just like Hepar sulphuris.

But the size of the boil and the combination of heat and burning pains, besides the other symptoms, led us to the idea of Anthracinum.

(End of Anthracinum-case)

Anthracinum

Anthrax Poison

Mental / Emotional Symptoms

Unable to feel, express emotions.

Doesn’t seem to perceive or remember his suffering. Would never talk about it to anybody.

Confusion of mind. Cannot remember emotional trauma, even though it had consequences for his life and health.

SILENT GRIEF, as if the hurt emotions were stored in an encapsulated wound, in a malignant, large, black ulcer.

Feels that death is nearing.

Physical Symptoms:

BOILS, CARBUNCLES, ABCESSES, ULCERS, felon, eczema, tumours, gangrene etc. with EXTREME BURNING PAINS and great exhaustion.

Purple to black discolouration of external parts.

Swelling of inflamed parts.

Black pustules on the lips.

Gangrenous ulcer of leg.

Black blisters on the thighs.

Fetid abscesses with acrid pus.

Haemorrhages with black and thick blood.

Septic fever.

All discharges relieve the constitutional symptoms.

Generalities:

Prematurely aged. Looks tired and old.

Face full of fine wrinkles.

Patients who had contact with raw wool in their past.

Aversion to sex.

Remarks concerning Anthrax:

Anthrax is caused by the bacterium “Bacillus anthracis”, which can transform into highly resistant spores. These spores can last in nature for decades and develop into active bacteria in the body. Its poison is fatal.

Observations of diseased animals show, that the disease causes the spleen to enlarge and look like it was burnt. The disease occurs mainly in animals, rarely also in humans working with livestock or processing meat or other animal products.

Infection usually occurs through infected animals. Contagiation between humans is rarely known.

Categories:

Anthrax of the skin

Pulmonary Anthrax

Gastrointestinal Anthrax

Sepsis due to Anthrax

Symptoms:

The symptoms – fever, dyspnoea, coughing, headaches, nausea, shivering, pains in abdomen and chest – resemble symptoms of numerous other diseases.

Different organs can be affected: mainly the skin or the lungs (especially people working with animal hair), and other areas like the gastro-intestinal tract. Skin-infections usually start through a small injury. At first the disease becomes visible through a painless, itching area, which then develops a vesicle. From this a blackish ulcer may develop (Pustula maligna), which can heal spontaneously. In about 10 to 20 percent of all cases of Anthrax of the skin though, further organs become involved.

If the disease develops after inhaling spores, it begins with fever and discomfort, muscle-pains, coughing and a feeling of pressure. Even though this can ameliorate without treatment, the second phase may possibly lead to severe complications. In cases of gastro-intestinal Anthrax there are symptoms of fever, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pains, which can worsen severely.

Course of disease and complications:

All three kinds of Anthrax can lead to septic states with fever, shivering, haemorrhage of the skin, enlargement of the spleen and circulatory shock. The sepsis brings on death very quickly. Anthrax of the skin is usually treated with antibiotics. Depending on the author, the number of fatalities without treatment lies between five and 20% of all patients. Pulmonary and intestinal Anthrax are fatal within one to three days if not treated or if treated too late.

In the recent years deaths have been rare. The last reported death in Germany occurred in 1998. 332 persons became ill in 1912, about 50 of them died. Almost all cases were of Anthrax of the skin with following sepsis.

Two epidemics are known of worldwide. After Anthrax leaked from a military plant for biological weapons in Sverdlovsk, about 1400 km east of Moscow, 66 people died. The Soviet side tried to hush up the accident. The United States assumes there were thousands of victims.

In the late seventies, around 9700 people developed Anthrax during the war in Zimbabwe.

Terrorist attacks:

Between 1990 and 1995 the Japanese Aum-Sect tried a number of terrorist attacks on the Japanese imperial family, the Japanese parliament and a US marine-base.

In 1998, a microbiologist threatened to release Anthrax in the United States of America.

In September and October of 2001, Anthrax-spores were sent by mail in the USA. They were discovered in the following places:

A post-office in Missouri

A mailbag for the Embassy of the USA in Lithuania

The American Embassy in Peru

A post-office in Kansas City

Spores were also found in five federal states of the USA

In Pakistan, in Islamabad, traces of Anthrax were detected in two buildings (of the largest newspaper of the country and in the offices of the US-computer company Dell).

One NBC moderator, one senator and 28 senate employees were contaminated with spores of Anthrax.

Within one month, 18 cases of Anthrax developed. Of these, eight developed Anthrax of the skin and 10 developed pulmonary Anthrax. Four persons died from Anthrax.

GV: Now I would like to give you some information about remedies with anxiety and panic attacks.

Aconite

Monkshood

Mental / Emotional Symptoms:

Sudden, serious complaints, caused by a life threatening shock, and accompanied by an AGONIZING FEAR OF DEATH.

PANIC STATES.

FEAR of:

Open spaces

Darkness

Elevators

Tunnels

Heart disease

That the heart will stop beating

Airplane

Earthquakes

Crowds

Narrow places

All complaints, acute or chronic, are accompanied by fear of death and the feeling, that death is near or imminent.

Physical Symptoms:

PANIC STATES with:

Sudden, violent palpitations

Red face

One sided numbness

Faint feeling

Perspiration

Trembling

Vertigo

Dyspnoea and

Fear of death.

During fever the skin is dry and hot, the person suffers from intense nervousness, is restless, tossing and turning about, and has intense thirst for cold water.

Generalities:

Acute symptoms appear after exposure to cold, dry air.

GV: This information about the remedy you most probably can find in most of the Materia Medica books. The idea with homeopathy is to understand the essence of such cases. What you have to see with Aconite cases is the intensity with which the symptoms are presented.

Aconite used to be a remedy for acute conditions. You had a cold with a running nose, a cough and a red face etc., and you would start with Aconite. This is what it was used for initially.

But actually Aconite is also useful in many chronic conditions, especially panic states. And what causes such a panic state? Usually it is a big fright. It is the kind of fright which can come about when somebody is suddenly faced with the idea of death.

If somebody comes up to you while you are walking in the night and suddenly puts a pistol to your face and says: “Give me your money, otherwise I will kill you.”

This sudden shock can create such changes in the human body, that afterwards periodical panic states can develop. They can last for many, many years. Aconite cases will manifest such states of great fright, with the idea that death is imminent. Aconite must contain the idea of imminent death in its symptoms. Imminent means either in a few hours or in a few days or weeks. It depends on the case.

You have a case and you say: “You are afraid. What are you afraid of?”

The patient says: “Well, I am afraid of dying.”

“Of what are you afraid you could die of?”

Usually they will say a cause, or they may not say a cause.

Fear of death without a cause is just as possible as fear of death because of a heart problem or because of brain stroke or because of cancer. But this fear comes with such intensity that it sometimes is really frightening.

I remember a case to which they called me in Athens. There were several consulting rooms, and one of the doctors came to my room and said: “Come quickly!”

There was a young woman, about 28 or 30 years old, lying on the floor, in a terrible fit of panic. She was gasping for breath, gasping and shouting at the same time. (Vithoulkas imitates her sounds)

Her mother says: “When she goes into a crisis, then the entire building can hear her shouting.” What I just demonstrated here is still not loud enough. Overwhelming fear with shouting. And we saw palpitations, red face etc. But the most important was the suddenness with which the panic came, and the intensity. Sudden and intense fear of dying.

In the rubric “Fear of death” we will see in many, many remedies. Our task as homeopaths is to find the differentiating points between one remedy and the other, otherwise we get lost.

Fear of dying. Go to the repertory and show me the rubric. (rubric “Fear of death” is shown on the screen)

MIND – FEAR – death, of

ACON. act-sp. adam. Adren. Agn. aids. all-s. aloe alum. alum-p. am-c. am-caust. am-f. anac. anan. anh. ant-c. ant-met. ant-t. Apis aran. Arg-n. Arn. ARS. ars-h. ars-met. Ars-s-f. asaf. asar. astat. aur. aur-ar. aur-m. aur-m-n. aur-s. bapt. bar-br. bar-c. bar-i. bar-met. bar-s. Bell. beryl. beryl-m. Bism. Bism-sn. bor-pur. brom. Bry. bufo Cact. caes-met. calad. CALC. Calc-ar. calc-p. calc-s. calen. camph. Cann-i. cann-s. canth. caps. carb-an. carb-v. carbn-s. Carc. Caust. chel. chin. CIMIC. cinnb. Cocc. Coff. con. cop. corv-cor. croc. Crot-c. culx. Cupr. cupr-f. cur. Cycl. cystein-l. Dig. diosm. dros. Elaps fago. ferr. ferr-ar. ferr-f. ferr-lac. ferr-n. Ferr-p. ferr-sil. Fl-ac. fl-pur. GELS. glon. Graph. hafn-met. haliae-lc. heli-n. Hell. Hep. hydr. hydr-ac. hydrog. hyos. ign. iod. ip. irid-met. iris KALI-AR. Kali-c. kali-fcy. Kali-i. Kali-n. kali-p. kali-s. ketogl-ac. LAC-C. Lach. lanth-met. lat-m. led. Lil-t. lith-c. lith-f. lith-i. lith-m. lith-met. lith-s. lob. Lyc. mag-n. mag-p. mag-s. mag-sil. MANC. mang-i. mang-m. mang-met. mang-n. mang-p. mang-s. med. Merc. merc-d. merc-i-f. miml-g. moly-met. Mosch. mygal. naja nat-ar. nat-br. nat-c. nat-caust. nat-f. nat-lac. Nat-m. nat-met. nat-p. nat-sil. NIT-AC. nitro. nux-m. NUX-V. oci-sa. Op. osm-met. ox-ac. oxyg. petr. Ph-ac. phase. PHOS. phyt. PLAT. plb. plb-m. plb-p. pneu. podo. polon-met. pot-e. Psor. Puls. raph. rhen-met. rheum Rhus-t. rob. Ruta sabad. Sec. sep. sil. sium Spong. squil. stann. staph. still. stram. sulph. symph. syph. tab. tant-met. tarax. tarent. thal-met. trach. tril-p. tung-met. vario. Verat. verat-v. vinc. visc. xan. zinc. zinc-i. zinc-m. zinc-n. zinc-p.

You can see how many remedies are contained in this rubric “Fear of death”. How do you differentiate? Here we have 165 remedies with fear of death. Which one do we take? We are going to try to differentiate.

Aconite is underlined; it has been elevated to the fourth degree. Just like Arsenicum.

We also have Calcarea, Cimicifuga, Gelsemium, Kalium arsenicosum, Lac caninum, Mancinella, Nitric acid, Nux vomica, Phosphorus, Platinum in the third degree.

Those are the remedies with the most fear of death.

Now, Aconite has another element which we have to consider. It has the element of claustrophobia.

Aconite gets this feeling very easily in a closed place.

For instance: An Aconite case will go through tunnels only with great difficulty. Do you know these tunnels in which the accidents occurred, here in Switzerland?¹

An Aconite case having to go through such a tunnel will have palpitations. Especially if he is driving himself he will be in a state of panic even before he enters it. I doubt whether a real Aconite case could go through all these tunnels. They told me one is 17 km long. That is too long for an Aconite person.

Claustrophobia can also arise in a crowd, a train, an airplane or a bus. If the weather is dark or cloudy, the claustrophobia will be aggravated and may eventuate in a panic attack. Especially, fear of crowds is characteristic of this remedy.

Aconite patients will not participate in a demonstration which would necessitate their being in close proximity with a large number of people.

In theatres they may choose a seat in the rear, so their exit will be made easier if an emergency arises. There is also a fear of suffocation, especially in warm, closed places and when they are caught in traffic jams, where panic may overtake them and force them to leave their car or an underground train.

Which other remedy can also not go through these tunnels? Participants: “Stramonium”.

Stramonium, very good! Stramonium also, because Stramonium has an extra symptom: Once it becomes dark, the panic develops. Darkness and a closed place – Stramonium will go crazy.

So, if Aconite gets closed in an elevator, it will go crazy. You see, if we get stuck in an elevator, we usually wait until help is underway. Okay, it takes a while, half an hour, one hour, we push the button, somebody will come and help. But an Aconite person would collapse. “I am locked in now, and I am going to die!” is the panic which arises in such cases.

Another condition in which Aconite will be prominent: A young woman comes and tells her complaints: headaches etc., and fear.

“Fear of death?”

“Oh yes, absolutely, fear of dying – to the extent that I have made my will.”

Imagine, a young woman! She has made her will.

“In case I will die – what will happen with my money etc.?”

Their conviction that they are going to die is so great! The period of time can differ, as I said, but the main idea is soon! Maybe in one day, one week. One, two or three days you only see in acute conditions.

When a patient has an acute with very high fever, great palpitations, redness in the face, and you go there and he is murmuring: “...oh, ah, ...forget it, forget it”, then you understand he is thinking something, and you ask: “What? What is it?”

The patient goes: “It’s no use. I’m going to die.” This is the idea: “It’s no use, you came too late. I am going to die. I’m not going to be saved.”

In acute conditions even if the condition is quite serious, where you have given one, two, three other remedies without effect and the condition has progressed and the fever remains high, and when you see this symptom of: “Forget it, I am going to die, I know I will die…”, it is an Aconite condition.

Another interesting situation in which you will find this, is when somebody tells you the following: “I drive very well inside the town. But as soon as I come out with my car on to the national road and there is space...”

Do you see the difference? “When there is space...”

“I am driving and suddenly the area around me open, then the fear comes and the panic comes and I get anxious.” Now, these panic attacks in Aconite will come from time to time. It is not a constant state. Otherwise they can go and lead their normal life. But when a moment comes where, on entering a place, they feel closed in, or because they come into a situation in which they feel danger for their life, then the panic will come suddenly, will come intensely and will totally overwhelm the individual.

It is like a storm coming on, a storm which overcomes the psyche and produces a terrible state of panic stricken fear.

It is interesting that most of such panic attacks can occur at certain hours. That means for example the time of sunset, during sunset. Sunset is a time when the attack can occur. You may know such cases, where relatives or friends say: “Oh, come on, cut it out. What are you afraid of? Everything is okay.”

The Aconite patients know that, but they cannot do anything about it. You see, the problem is that these panic attacks are not what we call “psychological states”. They have their roots in chemical changes of/in the brain, which repeat themselves. We do not know exactly what kind of enzyme is discharging more or less in the brain cells etc., but the fact remains that these conditions cannot be overcome by logic or by common sense.

I am also saying this because we have to be very careful when we describe cases on a psychological base. We must not describe the personality qualities of the case, the personality traits of the case. We must describe the pathology! It is very easy to confuse the personality quality with pathology. Each one of us has a different personality.

No two people are the same. Each one has his or her own peculiar characteristics. Now, you have prescribed a remedy, and the person has spoken to you about his character. You had asked: “Tell me about your character.” He has said certain things, and you take them into consideration and think that his personality traits, personality qualities are qualities which need to be treated! This is wrong. You have to treat the pathology on top of the personality.

Somebody is born open, can exchange easily, is social, can easily express etc. Somebody else is not born with this ability. They cannot express, they are internalized, they are serious.

Or somebody is very fast in his mind and actions. Someone else needs more time. If you expect that such traits are going to change with your remedy that is a big mistake! You have to be careful. Because, what have I seen happening?

After I started teaching in America, back in 1974, concerning the essences of the cases, I found out that people misunderstood, and each teacher who had some cases took the personality traits of the case and presented them as belonging to the remedy.

You see, a person needing Aconite can be a simple farmer, just as a computer expert, a doctor, a scientist. It can be a government official, whatever. These people will present in different ways and they will have different personalities.

So don’t confuse this. That is why I say we are going to learn the basics. And the basics for Aconite are the intensity, the fear, the prediction of death: “I am going to die.”

If you go away from this information, you will be mixing the personality of your patients into Aconite. And that is very dangerous, because if you are teaching, you will be giving information to others that is not reliable. Also, when you prescribe the remedy, you have to have in mind that the symptoms that go away belong to the remedy.

It is apparent that Aconite states can include a wide range of symptomatology. Symptoms can vary from relatively mild tachycardias, arrhythmias, numbness, tingling, etc. to fears, phobias, tremendous panic and, finally, coldness, extreme prostration and collapse with blueness and coldness of the whole body.

It is important for the student of homeopathy to understand that a case that needs Aconite will be cured in an impressive way only by this remedy alone; no other remedy can replace it, be it an acute or a chronic case. Do not hesitate to prescribe it if the symptoms agree, in any case, no matter how severe its pathology may appear to be. I repeat, the information given by old masters that Aconite is indicated only in the beginning stages of acute conditions is totally misleading.

Baryta carbonica

Carbonate of Barium

Mental / Emotional Symptoms:

IMMATURITY and DWARFISHNESS.

LACK OF SELF CONFIDENCE, suspicious of others, thinks they are laughing at them.

IRRESOLUTION, cannot decide what to do on any serious project.

Mental weakness.

Memory deficient; forgetful, inattentive.

Mostly used in children who are physically and mentally retarded and also in senility of old age.

Children are timid/shy, hide behind mother.