Books on Happiness / the happiness revolution - 2 students

REMEDIES FOR COLLAPSE, EXHAUSTION AND

FATIGUE

One of the greatest privileges in medicine is being able to release an individual who has been imprisoned for years by a syndrome or situation that seemed incurable. In the realm of fatigue and exhaustion, a well-se- lected homeopathic remedy can breathe life and vigor back into a person who has been bedridden from overwhelming fatigue. Any homeopathic remedy that matches that patient’s symptoms can bring about a curative response. Over the years, I have seen five di erent remedies that most frequently match the various phases of collapse and fatigue. Three of these remedies are known as the “acids of collapse” and the other two are classically known for relieving fatigue and symptoms of the flu.

PHOSPHORIC ACID

Karl came to my o ce the week before his final exams at the end of his first year of college. His mother described him as an enthusiastic lad who wanted to be an engineer like his father. He threw himself into his studies with relentless energy. His first semester went very well, but come spring, he had faced major challenges in mathematics.

While we talked, Karl sat in his chair, emotionless. He was completely indi erent to his mother’s comments and my gentle, probing questions about his health. He had burned himself out trying to be a top-grade student. His mother told me that he had now lost interest in everything except for listening to music. His fatigue began approximately six weeks earlier when he did poorly on his midterms. He had also developed diarrhea in response to the stress at school.

Seeing this state of collapse, his mother brought him to me, looking for a miracle. His final exams were days away and Karl had no desire to study. He would constantly remind himself of his potential failure. His state of indi erence, hopelessness, and fatigue were the

classic symptoms of needing the homeopathic remedy of Phosphoric acid. This college freshman had started his academic year with vigor and high hopes and now sat before me quiet, withdrawn, and disappointed. He was grieving as if his

whole world had died because of his poor midterm grades.

I gave Karl one dose of Phosphoric acid 200c and the very next day his mother reported that the “old Karl” was back! He became more alert, more hopeful, and more

focused. Karl relapsed into his withdrawn fatigue in the middle of summer, but one more dose of the remedy brought a lasting cure.

The typical Phosphoric acid patient is fatigued and drained to the point of appearing lifeless or indi erent. While this is also a remedy for grief, it is more strongly indicated for a total collapse that may be caused by a debilitating illness, such as diarrhea or mononucleosis; more than just grief alone. Patients appear to be apathetic, dull, and depressed. They are forgetful and slow to answer any questions. They appear to be non-reactive to the world around them and are commonly fixated on music or television, yet oblivious to everything else.

Key Symptoms Remedied by Phosphoric Acid:

•Severe fatigue

•Indi erence

•Hair loss or change in hair color (from grief)

•A tendency to weep easily

•Loss of vital bodily fluids

•Weakness from sexual excess

•Painless diarrhea

Please remember that Phosphoric acid, as a homeopathic remedy, is completely devoid of any of the original acid molecules. Therefore, this remedy is completely safe at a 200c potency that would commonly be found in a homeopathic pharmacy.

MURIATICUM ACIDUM

I would probably never have had the chance to meet Max if it weren’t for his hemorrhoids. In medicine, I guess that is not such an unusual introduction, but for Max, hemorrhoids were the least of his problems. He was a 62-year-old business executive known for his constant struggle to make his business succeed. Downsizing and the reality of competitors using more a ordable overseas work forces had presented Max with the challenge of his life. Several months earlier the financial reports on his company warned him that his business would most likely go under.

Shortly after that, Max rapidly declined into a bedridden state. The chief financial o cer of the company was a friend of mine and had tried, on several occasions to get Max to see me. It was only when Max’s hemorrhoids became so painful and he felt too weak to go through another rectal surgery that Max’s wife finally brought

him to my o ce. He was one of the few people I had seen who had to be brought in a wheelchair. Max was in a state of total collapse. Even in the wheelchair, he would slide down as if trying to slip to the floor and go back to sleep. This wonderful executive felt hopeless and dead.

I had treated many pregnant women for their large, bluish-purple, grapelike hemorrhoids with low doses of Muriatic acid. I knew how well it worked. So upon completing my examination of Max, dur-

PICRICUM ACIDUM

Picric acid concludes our triad of the “acids of collapse.” This is the remedy for complete collapse of the intellect. The old homeopathic books refer to this state as “brain-fag,” and today we call it complete burnout. In this state, the mind loses its ability to read and concentrate. Practically all patients who need this remedy are overpowering intellectuals, students, writers, and researchers. Quite simply, they have stretched their problem-solving capacity to its limits.

The kind of collapse treated by Picric acid is commonly caused by mental exertion from over-study- ing and experiencing overwhelming intellectual strain. The mind becomes dull, tired and unable to concentrate any further. The patient cannot remember what he read within minutes after reading.

Often, he also has physical weakness made worse from any kind of exertion or even from passing a stool. Rest, sleep and Picric acid in homeopathic potency will greatly improve the patient’s condition.

Key Symptoms Remedied by Picricum Acidum:

•Collapse from mental exertion

•Dull mind

•Tiredness

•Inability to concentrate

•Di culty reading

•Weakness from physical or mental exertion

Picricum acidum is chiefly for those highly intellectual people who have gone way beyond their capacity. Usually higher potencies are

needed to revive their mental brilliance. This remedy is not commonly found in health food stores and is usually obtained from a homeopathic pharmacy.

KALI PHOSPHORICUM

A sense of nervous dread was his modus operandi. Single and in his mid-40s, Roger lived in a world of worry and weakness. He was oversensitive to every event and encounter. Roger was so nervous and so easily startled that the slightest touch would result in a massive jump, causing everyone around him to startle. I think his friends and family described him as a high-strung worrier. No matter what was going on in his life, he felt like he was unable to cope with the situation. This would consistently lead him to a state of collapse, very often resulting in a call to my o ce.

Roger had been through a smorgasbord of therapists over the past 20 years before my supervising physician referred him to me. He was chilly, restless, and nervous. Any unexpected noise or touch, no matter how benign, startled him in such a violent manner that made me think his life was at risk. His chronic fatigue, chronic anxiety and headaches demanded the homeopathic remedy Kali-phosphoricum.

Due to his intermittent use of anxiety medications, Roger’s homeopathic remedy had to be repeated frequently throughout the year, but it always brought him good results in the form of improved selfesteem, a decrease in his overly exuberant startling, and a full return to feeling vigorous and dutiful. Any course of therapy is easier to select and prescribe when no other medication is being used. Today this ideal situation is rare.

I start my patients on a remedy and have them continue all medications and therapies. Once I see improvement exceeding their past experiences with other treatments, then we might consider the gradual elimination of other medications. It is important to understand that

this change in medications requires the care and skillful monitoring from the entire team of physicians and family members.

The remedy Kali phosphoricum is for mental fatigue. Patients’ oversensitivity to noise, suspiciousness and nervousness is caused by fright, sleeplessness, fear, or grief. They are chilly and feel greatly depleted. Their headaches are caused by, and made worse from, mental exertion. They are tearful, wanting to avoid conversation and feel that everything is too overwhelming for them.

Key Symptoms Remedied by Kali Phosphoricum:

•Oversensitivity to noise

•Suspiciousness and nervousness

•Sleeplessness

•Chilliness

•Headaches

•Tearfulness

•Avoidance of conversation

The essence of Kali phosphoricum patients is the “jumpy” nature of their nerves and the mental exhaustion brought by fatigue. A quick trip to the local health food store for Kali phosphoricum 30c will quickly resolve their jumpiness and fatigue.

GELSEMIUM

In the world of homeopathy, Gelsemium is the classic remedy for the flu. If your symptoms are a match for the specifics of Gelsemium, you will delight in the rapid freedom you gain from these seasonal ailments by taking this wonderful remedy.

Gelsemium is useful for weakness and drowsiness brought on by sudden bad news or the anticipation of any future event. It is the number one remedy for stage fright and “test amnesia” where the mind goes completely blank and the individual is unable to answer the questions on an examination. Histori-

cally, Gelsemium has been used to resolve cowardice on the battlefield and before any di cult challenge or task. It is also the number one remedy for feelings of guilt from overindulgence. Whenever people have devalued their personal standards and thus wounded their own conscience, Gelsemium will quickly remove their blanket of shame and allow them to choose more wisely in the future.

Candidates for the Gelsemium remedy have no appetite or thirst and the symptoms have a slow onset. A sensation of chilliness rises up their spine and there is a dull, heavy ache in the back of the head. Dizziness may also be present.

Key Symptoms Remedied by Gelsemium:

•Chilliness in the spine

•Classic flu symptoms

•Stage fright

•Guilt from overindulgence

•Weakness and collapse

•Lack of appetite or thirst

•Slow onset of symptoms

•Dull, heavy ache in the back of the head

•Dizziness

Most commonly you will use Gelsemium when your children or students have test anxiety or stage fright. This common remedy is usually given at 30c potency and can be found at any health food store that carries homeopathic remedies.

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HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES FOR ANXIETY, FEAR

AND DOUBT

Our basic survival instincts trigger powerful surges of vitality that are meant to be used to help us escape from danger. Once these forces are unleashed, their momentum feels unstoppable. Today we no longer need to outrun tigers or leap mountain gorges, and yet our survival instincts still carry the same amount of power required to perform these feats. The modern tiger today dwells in the mind. It appears in the form of mortification, unexpected losses and the fear of the unknown. Regardless of the emotion, your metabolism is at its peak and is prepared to leap the gorge in a single bound. When this tremendous surge of power is not expressed through strenuous physical feats, overwhelming feelings of anxiety and panic inevitably result.

When physical exercise and psychotherapy are unable to wear down these frightful surges, I have found homeopathic remedies to be a godsend. Everyone should know of the homeopathic options for anxiety, fear and doubt. In my experience, there are four remedies that are commonly helpful for these maladies. While the actual list of remedies could be endless, we will review the characteristics of Aconite, Arsenicum album, Calcarea carbonicum and Phosphorous.

ACONITE

Aconite (Aconitum napellus) is famous for resolving anguish and the fear of impending doom. The patient feels that death is close at hand and unavoidable. She may even predict or declare that death will come for her at a specific date

and time. Often the Aconite patient has claustrophobia, a fear of earthquakes and a fear of crowded rooms. When a person becomes anxious after a very frightening experience, such as a car accident or a fall down the stairs, this anxiety

continues to grow even after the event has passed. The patient is extremely restless and commonly worried about the safety of others. The fear of impending doom is obvious in the patient’s facial expression and demeanor of restless haste.

Key Symptoms Remedied by Aconite:

•Fear of impending doom

•Intense restlessness and agitation

•Prediction of when death will come for them

•Unbearable, frightening pains which alternate with sensations of numbness

•Sudden illness from exposure to extreme cold or extreme heat

•Inconsolable anxiety

•Anxious dreams and nightmares

Aconite given at 30c potency can greatly quell the patient’s fears and anxieties. Aconite is one of the most common homeopathic remedies.