Understanding Psorinum

Dr. Claudio C. Araujo M.D., F.F,Hom. (Lon.) et al.

The symptoms brought to life by the proving show us someone completely devoted to himself. It is not present in the symptoms his relationship with his family or with his loved ones. On a first look, it seems that he has eyes only for himself, but not in a selfish way. Psorinum is in great distress. 

He had been severely hit and is in a most violent suffering. He is painful all over and his body is sprained, bruised, wounded. And these sensations altogether give us the impression as if he is someone beaten down, injured or as he had been facing and enduring physical punishments.

Sensations:

back of head as if sprained. 

right side of occiput as if luxated (dislocated);

as if piece of wood were lying across back of head; 

as if head was separated from the body; 

cheek bones as if ulcerated. 

condyle of jaw as if lame; 

tongue as if burnt; 

teeth as if glued together. 

as of a plug in throat; 

as if intestines were hanging down. 

as if frightened; 

throat as if narrowing. 

asthma as if he would die.

as if everything in chest were raw and scratched. 

as if everything were torn in chest. 

glands of neck as if bruised; 

back as if bruised; 

arms as if paralyzed; 

hip joint as if ulcerated; 

joints as if encased in armor. 

as if left foot were pulled around inward. 

as if joints would not hold together. 

hands and feet as if broken. 

as if he would lose his senses.

Psorinum is sad, filled with depressed, persistent thoughts.

His ideas are sad and joyless.

Discouragement.

Depressed in spirits and hopeless. 

Very depressed, sad, suicidal thoughts.

She is so downhearted that she could commit suicide, then is full of phantasms,

Melancholy, sorrowful, despairing.

Religious melancholy.

Melancholy after suppressed itch; emaciated, pale, earthy complexion, weakness of limbs; flushes of heat and palpitation prevent sleep; sleep comes towards morning; would like to stay in bed until midday; aversion to work, indifference, weeping; seeks solitude, despairs of recovery; she is irritable and forgetful.

Very melancholy and despairing; he wishes to die in spite of his good luck..

Melancholy and sorrowful.

The general idea of Psorinum may reveal someone pessimist, filled with sad forebodings. The idea was originally brought by Kent and his own definition of the Psorinum character:

“The mental symptoms present some strong features. Sadness, hopeless; he sees no light breaking through the clouds above his head; all is dark about him.

It is a fixed idea during the day and he dreams about it at night. Overwhelming sadness; dejection; he takes no joy in his family; feels that these things are not for him”.

This definition may be an external aspect of the Psorinum patient. But we were confronted with a group of symptoms never considered before on the analysis of the proving:

Cheerful, lively, enjoys everything.]. 

Suddenly very lively, at other times depressed; thus it changed several times during the day.. 

He pictures the future in the brightest colors.. 

In good humor; he works with pleasure (second morning),. 

In great humor and full of fun,

Excitable before falling asleep.. 

One day in his life, long time ago, Psorinum was a happy and good-humored fellow. He saw the future in “the brightest colors”, he was happy in his work and with his life. But something has changed and now he is “beating down all over”, wounded and his arms and legs are sprained. Something came over as an obstacle to his happiness. His   itching leaves him in despair at night. He wants to die; his future is dark and he had lost his sexual instinct and fondness for love.

Somehow, he decided to choose between the agreeable and the disagreeable things in his life:

He is very irritable, although he conquers his ill-humor; only disagreeable things affect him, agreeable impressions he passes by without noticing them (from smelling 28th potency).. 

Very melancholy and despairing; he wishes to die in spite of his good luck.

This symptom says he is only affected by disagreeable things, but the “agreeable ones” are left unnoticed. Although he is a very lucky guy, he is melancholic and chooses to die.

Why? If we investigate the symptoms, a group appears as a leading group since his early days:

Sick babies will not sleep at night but worry and fret and cry. 

Intolerably self-willed, annoys those about him; a boy, suffering from an eruption.


Restlessness: with eruption, in a child; with oppression of chest.

Much depressed, on account of an eruption on dorsum of hand which appeared overnight.

Has been nervous about nine months; was obliged to abandon all business; has taken much quinine and other drugs; a very disagreeable feeling about head; mental depression; thinks he will not recover; has lost all hope; cannot apply his mind to business; confusion of senses, he cannot reckon; attacks of numbness of leg and arms, left side <; < on going to bed; formication and crawling, with pricking and smarting on scalp, and some on extremities; tongue white.

Hypochondriasis, with hemorrhage from rectum.

Driven to despair with excessive itching. 

Does not want to be washed. (Kent) (In a time when bathing could be seen as a thread to one’s health)

Great fear death; anxiety about heart and dyspnœa, with attacks of pain in chest.

Believes the stitches in heart will kill him if they do not cease. 

Despairs of recovery; thinks he will die; hopeless; especially after typhus, > from nosebleed. 

Psorinum looks to any single ailment that his body may produce as if he was looking through a magnifier lenses. It’s unbearable for him any minor physical ailment, for instance, an itching eruption.

It’s not that his itching is too strong. He couldn’t bear it. Any single scratch, any minor bruise will be taken as if it was a major ailment. That’s the reason why he is so “sensitive”, that’s why he will feel himself as if:

his back of head as if sprained; right side of occiput as if luxated; as if piece of wood were lying across back of head; cheek bones as if ulcerated; condyle of jaw as if lame; tongue as if burnt; teeth as if glued together; as of a plug in throat; as if intestines were hanging down; throat as if narrowing; asthma as if he would die; as if everything in chest were raw and scratched; as if everything were torn in chest; glands of neck as if bruised; back as if bruised; arms as if paralyzed; hip joint as if ulcerated; joints as if encased in armor; as if left foot were pulled around inward; as if joints would not hold together; hands and feet as if broken; as if he would lose his senses.

It is coming all way down through his senses, through his imagination. That’s why someone so cheerful before will turn himself as someone in great pain and distress. The sick baby is in despair, the child is suffering, and the grown-ups are depressed. All due to his altered perception of his own ailments, minor symptoms that the Psorinum patient will perceive as a despairing and incurable disease.

He is the very hypochondriac patient.

Has been nervous about nine months; was obliged to abandon all business; has taken much quinine and other drugs; a very disagreeable feeling about head; mental depression; thinks he will not recover; has lost all hope; cannot apply his mind to business; confusion of senses, he cannot reckon; attacks of numbness of leg and arms, left side <; < on going to bed; formication and crawling, with pricking and smarting on scalp, and some on extremities; tongue white.