...A sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause. They are twice as common in women as in men and they run in families.
Homeopathy can feel like a miracle. An accurate homeopathic prescription can be a life-changer, providing safe, effective relief that far surpasses most conventional treatment as illustrated by the example below.
Sally, age 51, came to me for increasing anxiety which she attributed to peri-menopause. To the outside world Sally appeared to be a self-confident extrovert but inwardly she was ridden with anxiety and low self-esteem. She was a slightly plump woman with rosy red cheeks.
Anxiety had been a problem since childhood. Now approaching menopause it was governing her life, sometimes making it almost impossible for her to leave her home. Sally didn’t know what she was afraid of but that something ...she didn’t know what... “might happen”.
Sally had been only child. Her parents were “very strict with high expectations”, especially her father who was fault-finding about almost everything...her clothes, her friends and especially her grades. He expected straight A’s, and when she got B’s, he would tell her she hadn’t worked hard enough and she could do better. She tried being perfect to please him.
“I was always filled with guilt, that I could never be good enough.” My father was my chief judge and critic now it I am my own critic. To this day I am always judging myself. I am afraid “I don’t measure up. I think I can’t understand things like everyone else.”
Characterizing symptoms- while many people suffer from anxiety and panic, no two people exhibit identical symptoms. To select a remedy, the homeopath needs to know the distinguishing or characterizing symptoms of the patient.
Sally’s symptoms:
• Sally feared big open spaces. “I panic under a big, open sky. Even a large area makes me panic. I wonder “what’s going to happen”
• Heights made her feel shaky, “I don’t feel secure, what’s going to keep me from going over the edge.” Heights over water are better, …but what if I got stuck?
• Dreads events she can’t control. “I get tired of thinking so much about what might happen.
• Doesn’t like big cities with tall building which tower over her. “What if they collapsed”?
· Doesn’t like to go to the theatre or movies, but when she does, sits in the back of the theater at the end of te aisle where no one can see me and “I have an easy escape route.”
· Anxious when thinking about leaving her home but feels much better if friends visit.
Other distinguishing symptoms:
- Sally tends to be warm but likes the sun which makes her face red and she sunburns easily.
- Diarrhea when anticpating an upcoming event or a panic attack.
- When she feels anxious, walking faster and faster gives her some relief.
The homeopathic remedy, Argentum Nitrium (homeopathic silver nitrate) was prescribed.
The situation of argentum nitricum is the person has to struggle but is not succeeding and there is no one to help. There is a tremendous feeling of fault within which they try to cover up resulting in the development of certain fixed ideas such as, compulsion about time, or about doing things in a particular way. It is important for her to keep in control of a critical situation, and find her way out of the problem. For example, the person may become:
· afraid of high or narrow places
· fear when anticipating an upcoming event
· fear of failure
· diarrhea from anticipation
· fear of falling
Life reminds them of a trap. A common expression with an argentum nitricum patient is “I don’t see a way out”. Such a situation might be:
· a bridge
· high places
· an event
· closed spaces
· tunnels
In addition, other symptoms Sally experienced were...aggravation from heat, feeling hurried and diarrhea from anticipation which are all part of the symptom picture of Argentum Nitricum.
Outcome: after 6 weeks, Sally began to notice that leaving her home wasn’t nearly as stressful; at the end of three months she no longer even thought about it.
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