Depression :: Depression and homoeopathy

Homoeopathy is a science of Life. Human beings are liable to various kinds of diseases though the creator has created them to be healthy; but, there are different kinds of circumstances, temptations and pitfalls which affect the human beings on physical as well as on mental levels. The mode living, eating habits, atmospheric change, mental stress and also the telluric effects are the factors singly or in combination which affect the health of individuals.

The homoeopathic system of treatment being based on natural laws is capable to cure all such diseases which resulted from natural causes and have not been complicated by indiscriminate use of strong medicines.

Hereunder I am presenting two cases of mental depression from my Case Records to show the efficacy of Homoeopathic system and the marvelous effect of the minute doses of homoeopathic remedies.

1. A Case of Depression with formication in Limbs and Chronic Bronchitis.

The patient is a senior Medical Officer, employed in Medical Services of Uttarakhand. Age 49 years.

First consultation: 2 – 6 – 2005.

The following symptoms were elicited from him.
• Greatly depressed and worried for a number of years.
• Formication as if ants were creeping on the limbs for the past 5-6 years.
• Sleeplessness.
• During the episodes of depression intense craving for tea and smoking (Cigarettes).
• Suffering from Asthmatic Bronchitis for 10 – 12 years < in rainy season.The following problems with him are unavoidable and there is no alternative except to bear them up:He is posted at a remote hilly place where there are no facilities available for the education of his children. So he has to live all alone as his wife as staying with children at Dehradun. He being a sincere and devoted to his profession medical man could not maintain his routine of life. Often feels frustrated being lonely away from his family and having no society of his taste to mix up. By nature he is very gentle and polite person.The drinking of tea and smoking excessively also affecting his health adversely.– Agaricus muscarius 200 on alternate days.He started feeling improvement gradually.17 – 9 -2005 Asthmatic bronchitis aggravated due to the damp cold weather for 4 – 5 days.
• Feeling breathing difficulty on any exertion with dry cough.
• Feverishness.
– Arsenicum album 200 two doses.

29 – 9 – 2005 Feeling amelioration in all respects, but for some time feeling rage without cause.
– Nux vomica 200 with
– Agarics muscarius 200 inter-currently were given at longer interval.

The treatment thus continued throughout the year 2006 and by the end of the year 2006 he was feeling O. K. in all respects and keeping well till now (end of the year 2007) though the circumstances of his life remained as usual, during all the changes of the weather.

2. Another case of Depression in a young female.

This is a case of a 27 years’ old female.

First consultation on 4 – 8 – 2002.

She developed fear and depression since 1997. She is a resident of Chandigarh and had taken much treatment at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Chandigarh. But there was no remarkable improvement in her fear and depression. Her father is my old acquaintance. He contacted me if Homoeopathy could help his daughter to any extent. I told him that Homoeopathy can definitely help the cases of depression but how far I shall be able to help her I can not promise, but I can try my level best. So I request him to bring his daughter to Dehradun for personal examination and case taking which is necessary to proceed in a rational manner. He brought her on 4 – 8 – 2002. She is a Graduate and is employed as a teacher. On enquiry the following symptoms were collected:

• She is very timid by nature.
• Likes to meditate a lot and read Holy Scriptures often. She has a kind of religious mania before she suffered from depression.
• In 1997 she developed fear of doge and fear about the future.
• Became depressed and melancholic.
• Unlike her habit lost desire to get up early in the morning.
• Desire to meditate lost.
• Loss of concentration developed.
• Lost interest in all kinds of work.
• Loss of appetite.
• No desire to work for which she was very fond of.
• Desires solitude, no desire to mix up with friends and colleagues.
• Has become very shy.
• Periods late with little pain which were previous to 1997 were regular and very painful.
• Temperament has become irritable.

– Stramonium 200 every 4th day
Nux vomica 1M, occasional dose was also given.
She went on improving.

When visited on 6 – 12 – 2002 told that there is much improvement in nearly all respects. Now the symptoms present were:

• Feels that maturity in thinking is still lacking.
• Bad smelling perspiration in axillae and palms of the hands.
• Confidence is still lacking to some degrees.
• Sensation as if some one was walking at her side.
• Anxiety still persisting.
• Dark brown patches have formed on her face.
• Afraid of animals.
• Feels chilliness.
• Growth of some hair on the chin and breast.

– Silicea 10M, one dose.
Argentum nitricum 200, one dose every third day.

25 – 2 – 2003 Feeling further improvement; but:
• Shyness and hesitation in appearing before others.
• When talking to others she feels stammering in her speech.
• Discolored patches on face persisting.
– Natrum muriaticum 1M, biweekly, later weekly.

7 – 6 – 2003 Suspicious, thinks that people are talking about her. Although feeling much improved on the whole.
– Baryta carbonicum 200, every fourth day.

2 – 10 – 3003 now she has regained much of her confidence. Menses late 10 – 12 days with some pain.
– Sepia 200 biweekly.

Last medicine was given on 18 – 3 – 2004.

And she was cured.

I happen to visit her in the month of May, 2007, and found her a blooming person cheerful and full of confidence. She attends her teaching job about 15 kilometers away from her residence by a scooty driving herself fore and back.

In the Homoeopathic Materia Medica all the well proved medicines created symptoms in all the parts of the body from the mind to the skin. When one goes through the detailed symptoms collected from the provings it seems on superficial reading of these as if every medicine has produced symptoms more or less alike. Yet, as a rule the pathogenesis of every medicine is quite different from the pathogenesis of any other medicine. No one medicine can take the place of any other medicine. That is the character of every medicine is unique.

So, where lies the differentiating character which makes every medicine unique?

The differentiating factor lies in the characteristic nature of each individual medicine. The deciding factors of a remedy for a particular complaint are:

1). Locality where the complaint is situated.
2). Sensation felt by the patient.
3) Modalities i. e. the conditions in which there is amelioration or aggravation in the complaint.
4) Concomitant symptoms i. e. the symptoms occurring in other parts of the body accompanying the main symptoms.
5) Sometimes the causation also plays an important role for selecting the correct medicine.

Most of the medicines may be able to affect a particular locality with a certain sensation (as earlier stated every well proved medicine, especially the polychrests have shown affinity for nearly every locality in their provings and certain sensations are also common in various medicines). So, the difference lies in the characteristic nature of each medicine, differentiated by the modalities and also in concomitant symptoms which make each medicine unique or stand alone. To acquire this kind of knowledge the close acquaintance of detailed Materia Medica is essential.

In chronic and complicated cases we often have to use a series of medicines to complete the cure. The view of Dr. J. C. Burnett is very befitting to quote here. Dr. J. C. Burnett says, “I always feel that unless we can use a series of remedies in very difficult complex cases, such cases will ever remain uncured ……… And the complaint raised against “using so many medicines in a case” is really on par with a complaint against a difficult game of skill such as chess that it takes many moves to win.”


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