Afraid something bad will happen
Anxiety and depressions can take many forms and in the case of Claire there was a pervading sense that something bad would happen, leaving her feeling constantly anxious and "on edge". This was not without reason however, as her son had been in a serious car accident 20 years earlier in which he nearly died. She spent a night in A&E waiting to hear that he had not made it, but miraculously he pulled through and went on to make a full recovery from some very serious injuries. She told me that he is now a very successful business man and fully enjoying his life.
However, an incident like this when there is huge shock and fear, can get stuck in our life force, similar to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, a well know problem for people who have experienced severe trauma such as war. From a homeopathic point of view, Claire was locked into that anxiety from all those years ago and it was stopping her from being happy in her everyday life. She had tried counselling for the anxiety but it had not helped. In addition to this, Claire had some periods of depression in her early adult life and was also bullied badly at school.
I Cry At Everything
She to told me that she would cry at everything and she knew this was not healthy. She used to be a strong and confident women but when confronted with a bullying boss at work she was unable to cope, (no doubt bringing back earlier memories from her school days) and she lost her job. She knew for her own mental health that she had to walk away rather than stay and try to fight.
Shingles
In addition to all of this, Claire had recently started with Shingles. This is a very painful skin condition, usually in a specific area of the body such as the head, neck or chest often the outbreak follows a nerve pathway. Blisters appear on the skin which itch a great deal and are also very painful. The causes of shingles is not fully understood, but it is thought to be linked to stress and anxiety. We know that the immune system becomes lower at times of stress and so it is very possible that when this happens the virus which causes shingles can become activated in some people.
The Full Picture
So as you can see when Claire first came to see me for homeopathy she was suffering from a number of stress related conditions that had gradually increased in intensity over the years, despite her very best efforts to keep things under control. My first impression of her at that time, was that she was very much on the edge and in a state of acute anxiety, restless, irritable and unable to sleep.
The First Prescription
I had to deal with the most pressing symptoms at the time, which were the shingles but also wanted to give a remedy that would help her feel less anxious. The first remedy given was Stramonium.
When I saw her next she said that the shingles had gone but she was still feeling very anxious. I gave her Aconite for the anxiety to take when she felt at her worst. In the meantime, she was having more tests at the doctors as she had developed heart pain and irregular, strange coloured bowel movements.
When I saw her next she said the Aconite had helped her become calmer and was also helping with the heart pain. She was also getting a stuck feeling in her chest when she ate and was unable to sit down as she was in too much pain at these times. Tests had shown that her heart was in good working order and no treatment was recommended by her doctor. She had to keep her diet very simple, just eating rice, vegetables and chicken. Once she ate a tea cake and was kept awake all night by the pain.
A New Remedy Needed
So although the Aconite had been helpful, it was only acting on a superficial level and we needed a remedy more closely suited to Claire's constitutional type to act more deeply. The new remedy was Phosphorous. This proved to be a very good remedy for Claire and was prescribed almost throughout the duration of her treatment.
Ups and Downs
It was a long road to get Claire back to full health and during that time we had many ups and downs including an episode with tooth ache, when she did well on Merc, and towards the end of the case migraines became a feature. In all we worked together on Claire's health for about 8 months, with consultations once a month.
Migraines
Claire told me that she had suffered from migraine for years. However, in recent times her anxiety had been such that she no longer saw them as a particularly big problem. Her consultant had not been able to alleviate these migraines, even though she had treatment with him over a period of several years. This was largely because they were different each time. Some were like a blinding light coming down from above. Others like a stroke and once her face dropped on one side and other times she would vomit with the pain.
Final Prescription
Although Claire had done very well on Phos, it was not helping her migraines. She was now better on every level, the anxiety considerably reduced, her appetite had returned, she was able to laugh and enjoy life again but still she would get these very disruptive migraines.
At a time like this when a remedy that seems to be indicated as the Phos was, but still does not act, a miasmatic remedy is often called for. In Claire's case this was very beneficial. She reported back to me that since taking the miasmatic remedy she had experienced no migraines at all and was very happy to stop treatment for now and enjoy her life.
Conclusion
This case shows how often deep states of anxiety can be as a result of a build up of challenging circumstances over time, more than 20 years in Claire's case. What is wonderful is how a course of homeopathic remedies can bring about healing in a way that few other therapies or treatments can and all with a painless and natural course of remedies.