Understanding Staphisagria

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

Someone is sitting there, and he is alone. Averse to society, ill-humored, his friends and acquaintances are all the people to be avoided.

She was full of grief all day; she grieved over her condition and wept; nothing in the world pleased her. 

He was joyous, enjoyed society, and was good-humored. [Curative reaction of the organism in a man of the opposite disposition. -Hahnemann.] 

Mind phlegmatic, depressed, sad, apathetic, indifferent to everything, without peevishness or without being weak,. 

Her mind seemed dead and sad, though not with weeping, 

She will hear or know nothing from anyone; she wraps up her face and weeps aloud without cause, 

Dreams full of bitterness, 

He became someone completely indifferent to the others, to his surroundings and he is finally exhausted.

Even attractive things made no impression upon him,

He is mentally exhausted, has no desire to think, is not inclined to thought, and is indifferent to his surroundings. 

This process, all way down in his life up to that point, was intermingled with many situations, when he tried hard to cope with society, to live among them. A very sensitive person, he has been always fighting for his points of view. But now, after all these years, he can’t stand any longer.

Very sensitive to least impression, either mental or physical. 

Palpitation: from least motion; from mental exertion; from music; after siesta; nervous; so, marked it can be seen, shakes the whole body.

Very sensitive to least impression; least word that seems wrong hurts her very much.

What had happened to the Staphisagria patient? Why did he suffer so much, why he (at the end) wants to throw even valuable things into the fire?

Convulsions, with loss of consciousness, retraction of thumbs and foaming at mouth, brought on by domestic troubles (being unjustly accused of infidelity); (…)

Seminal emissions followed by great chagrin and mortification; prostration; dyspnœa.

(…) sits by fire for hours without getting warm, amuses himself by throwing into the fire any article near at hand, regardless of value; at times more violent (…)

On reading the symptoms from Hering, Allen and Hahnemann, altogether with the comments by Kent, we could perceive three most important aspects in Staphisagria:

His pride.

His amelioration from sexual relations.

His constant inclination to misanthropy.

Is from that combination of those three aspects that we will start our understanding of the remedy.

We are, all of us people in this world, born with a certain degree of justice. Of what should be considered right or wrong, what are our duties regarding the others and ourselves. Regarding culture, social position or religion, human beings are born with a general measure of what should or shouldn’t be done. 

But then, for the Staphisagria patient, comes pride.

Brain-tire, with great genital weakness; irritability, inability to sustain a mental effort; was insulted, being too dignified to fight, subdued his wrath and went home sick, trembling and exhausted.

Suffering from pride, envy, or chagrin.

Pride is related to dignity, nobleness, presumption, conceit, glory, and many other words that could be understood, from the side of the one affected with pride, as an internal sensation of justice, a strong internal demand for righteousness.

Now our patient is suffering from “injustice” but in fact it is only his strong pride that got him sick. We have heard that Staphisagria is someone with a strong sense of justice. But it’s not. He looks to the world through his pride.

Every word vexes her; she cries even if one only speaks to her, [1]. 

Great indignation about things done by others or by himself; grieves about consequences. 

Ailments from indignation and vexation, or reserved displeasure; sleeplessness. 

After becoming angry, trembling of whole body, oppression of chest and dyspnœa, so that he feared he would suffocate; pressure as of a heavy weight lying upon stomach, severe tension in epigastrium; nausea, and salty-bitter eructation; pains so severe that he wished death would relieve him.

Paralysis on one side, from anger. 

Very sensitive to least impression; least word that seems wrong hurts her very much.

Very peevish (in the morning); he wishes to throw from him everything which he takes in his hand, 

Quiet fretfulness: he is vexed at everything which even does not concern him.

Colic: after indignation.

Staphisagria is vexed, sensitive to the least word and angered, fretful, prone to quarrel.

Quiet fretfulness; he is vexed at everything which even does not concern him, 

Fretful and sad, 

Fretful and peevish all day; does not know himself on account of despondency, and is extremely depressed,

Fretful and restless all day, found rest nowhere. 

Fretful and disinclined for mental work. 

Fretful and lachrymose,  

Fretful peevishness, with excessive ill-humor.

Quarrelsome mood and yet lively. 

All his sufferings are all coming from his pride. That’s his first look to reality, He is prone to be offended, vexed, he is taking everything in a bad part, he has a broad sense of “injustice” to himself. Even a single word may offend him.

The second point is that Staphisagria will find out the he or she feels much better after sexual relations. Even his pains got better. He (or she) has a strong sexual inclination, up to the point of losing control of his own sexual passions. The first symptoms are a combination of the two aspects of the remedy:

Hypochondriasis; apathy; weak memory; caused by unmerited insults, sexual excesses, or by persistently dwelling on sexual subjects. 

And then comes the loss of sexual control:

Nymphomania, with extreme sensitiveness to mental and physical impressions; mind has been dwelling too much on sexual subjects.

Effects of onanism or sexual excesses; loss of memory, hypochondriasis, taciturnity, face sunken, abashed look, nocturnal emissions, backache, weak legs, relaxed organs, deficiency of vital heat and tendency to take cold, deep sunken, red, and lusterless eyes, hair falls out; loss of prostatic fluid and impairment of sexual desire; dull and contusive pains in the testicles, voluptuous itching of the scrotum, atrophy of the testicles."

Sexual desire excited. 

Erections, without lascivious thoughts and without emission, the whole night,. 

Excessive erections all night, without emission.

Amorous dreams with emissions. 

Amorous dream, at night with two emissions,

His amelioration of his pains from sexual intercourse:

Atrophy of testicle in a man, æt. 50, of robust constitution; about twenty-five years ago had mumps on left side; on exposure to cold, left testicle began to swell until it nearly reached size of a goose-egg; as swelling receded testicle dwindled down to size of little finger, very soft and flabby; nearly ever since he has suffered from an aching pain in it, especially on outer side; great sensitiveness to touch; pain more violent after touching it, or after any friction, with sharp shooting pain up cord into abdomen ; walking upon frozen ground causes uneasiness; at times so sensitive at night, he cannot sleep without keeping his knees widely separated; there does not seem to be any inflammation in it; unpleasant sensation in cerebellum, can hardly describe it, extends from occipital protuberance to left ear, seems as if it were hollow, yet there is a dull ache, a feeling as if brain were not large enough to fill space; when he happens to hurt testicle, head trouble is < ; region of head alluded to is sensitive to pressure; > after sexual intercourse; at times thoughtful; if reading, and some one calls his attention suddenly, he forgets where he was reading and what about; scrotum on that side contracts, itches, and he has often to pinch and rub it between

Finally, his only way to protect himself from the world and everyone else is to retreat. His pride has brought him away from society. He had turned himself indifferent and apart. His memories from the past are still haunting him, giving him no peace. Old offenses, mal traits, they will never subdue.

Anxious thoughts and events in the past came to him as if the past were present before him, which caused anxiety and anxious perspiration, then it became black before his eyes; he did not know whether the images were real or illusory, then everything seemed different, and he lost all desire to live, 

Earnest mood, quiet, busy with himself, speaks very little, 

(Hypochondriac mood; everything seems indifferent to him; he would rather die), 

She will hear or know nothing from anyone; she wraps up her face and weeps aloud without cause, 

Even attractive things made no impression upon him.

He is mentally exhausted, has no desire to think, is not inclined to thought, and is indifferent to his surroundings. 

He was joyous, enjoyed society, and was good-humored. [Curative reaction of the organism in a man of the opposite disposition. -Hahnemann.] 

When before a Staphisagria patient, those three elements must be present: Pride, sexual amelioration or sexual excesses and his inclination of quietness, his aversion to society, his desire for not been bothered by those who have no respect for him.

But Staphisagria’s starting point is his pride, his perception of what he deserves from the others. That perception is what must change during the treatment.

Groups in Staphisagria

Allen, Hahnemann, Hering & Kent

 

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

Humor

Anxiety

 

Violent internal anxiety, so that he could not remain in any place, but without complaints, [1].

Anxious and fearful, [1].

Great anxiety: he dreads the future, [8]. 

Anxious thoughts and events in the past came to him as if the past were present before him, which caused anxiety and anxious perspiration, then it became black before his eyes; he did not know whether the images were real or illusory, then everything seemed different, and he lost all desire to live, [1]. 

 

Indifferent and sad

 

Indifference, low-spirited, dullness of mind; after onanism. 

Listless, sad, dreaming of the future. 

Sad distressing thoughts about one's illness. 

He was joyous, enjoyed society, and was good-humored, [11]. [Curative reaction of the organism in a man of the opposite disposition. -Hahnemann.] 

Good-humor; he was joyful and conversational, and was happy in his condition (after thirteen hours), [11]. [Curative reaction of the organism in a man of the opposite disposition. -Hahnemann.] 

Sadness, without ability to assign any reason, [5]. 

Sad; he fears the worst results from slight causes, and cannot quiet himself, [13].

 Mind phlegmatic, depressed, sad, apathetic, indifferent to everything, without peevishness or without being weak, [5]. 

Her mind seemed dead and sad, though not with weeping, [1]. 

 

Lachrymose

 

Morose; she frequently cries at nothing, [1].

Very lachrymose, [1]. 

 

Earnest mood, quiet, busy with himself, speaks very little, [1]. 

 

Peevish and fretful

 

Very peevish (in the morning); he wishes to throw from him everything which he takes in his hand, [1]. 

Fretful and sad, [12]. 

Fretful and peevish all day; does not know himself on account of despondency, and is extremely depressed (after thirty-seven hours), [1].

Fretful and restless all day, found rest nowhere, [11]. 

Quiet fretfulness: he is vexed at everything which even does not concern him, [8]. 

Fretful and disinclined for mental work (after two hours), [5]. 

Fretful and lachrymose, [12]. 

Fretful peevishness, with excessive ill-humor.

Quarrelsome mood and yet lively, [13]. 

 

Hypochondriac mood; everything seems indifferent to him; he would rather die, [1]. 

Alternations of mood, at first joyous, then anxious, at last quiet and contented, [11]. [The first mood is a transient reaction of the organism from one of fear and depression; afterwards, the primary action of the drug is again noticed in the anxiety, after which the reaction of the organism is again seen, and the quiet contented mood remains. -Hahnemann.] 

 

Very sensitive to least impression, either mental or physical. 

 

Colic: after indignation; after lithotomy; with urging to stool, or with urging to urinate and squeamishness, < after food or drink.

Every word vexes her; she cries even if one only speaks to her, [1]. 

 

Relation with Oneself

 

Suffering from pride, envy, or chagrin.

Anger and Indignation

 

Brain-tire, with great genital weakness; irritability, inability to sustain a mental effort; was insulted, being too dignified to fight, subdued his wrath and went home sick, trembling and exhausted.

Great indignation about things done by others or by himself; grieves about consequences. 

Ailments from indignation and vexation, or reserved displeasure; sleeplessness. 

She was full of grief all day; she grieved over her condition and wept; nothing in the world pleased her (after fifty hours), [1]. 

After becoming angry, trembling of whole body, oppression of chest and dyspnœa, so that he feared he would suffocate; pressure as of a heavy weight lying upon stomach, severe tension in epigastrium; nausea, and salty-bitter eructations; pains so severe that he wished death would relieve him.

Paralysis on one side, from anger. 

Convulsions, with loss of consciousness, retraction of thumbs and foaming at mouth, brought on by domestic troubles (being unjustly accused of infidelity); intervals between fits from two to three days, at first, later a fit every month or two; duration of each attack in proportion to free interval; from 1850 to 1865 was continually under allopathic treatment, without least benefit; in spite of her many years of sickness she still looked robust; neither cranium, spine nor any other part of her body showed anything remarkable, only her physiognomy was rather stupid and her intellectual faculties weak; she complained of loss of memory and impossibility to think.

 

Continual concern about the future.

 

She will hear or know nothing from anyone; she wraps up her face and weeps aloud without cause, [1]. 

Dreams full of bitterness, [11]. 

 

With the Others

 

Very sensitive to least impression; least word that seems wrong hurts her very much.

 

When walking rapidly, it seems as though some one were coming behind him, which causes anxiety and fear, and he is constantly obliged to look around, [1]. 

 

Dreams of murder, [1]; (second night), [7]. 

He dreamed as soon as he feel asleep; at one time he was fighting with someone, at another time he had anxious visions, when he woke, and then dreamed again, [4].

 

With the Environment

 

Even attractive things made no impression upon him, [1].

He is mentally exhausted, has no desire to think, is not inclined to thought, and is indifferent to his surroundings, [5]. 

He does not know whether the things which are presented to him are from out of his memory, are real, or whether he is only dreaming of them, from 5 to 7 P.M., [1].

Palpitation: from least motion; from mental exertion; from music; after siesta; nervous; so marked it can be seen, shakes the whole body.

 

Male Sexuality

 

Hypochondriasis; apathy; weak memory; caused by unmerited insults, sexual excesses, or by persistently dwelling on sexual subjects. 

Kent: "Seminal emissions followed by great chagrin and mortification, prostration, dyspnoea.

Effects of onanism or sexual excesses; loss of memory, hypochondriasis, taciturnity, face sunken, abashed look, nocturnal emissions, backache, weak legs, relaxed organs, deficiency of vital heat and tendency to take cold, deep sunken, red, and lusterless eyes, hair falls out; loss of prostatic fluid and impairment of sexual desire; dull and contusive pains in the testicles, voluptuous itching of the scrotum, atrophy of the testicles."

Sexual desire excited. 

Erections, without lascivious thoughts and without emission, the whole night, [11]. 

Excessive erections all night, without emission (after sixteen hours), [11].

Amorous dreams with emissions. 

Amorous dream, at night with two emissions, [11]. 

Amorous dreams, with emissions, [5]. 

Voluptuous dreams, without emission, [3].

 

Impotence.

Impotency with irritability of bladder and urethra, brought on by sexual excess. Effects of onanism or sexual excesses; loss of memory; hypochondriasis; taciturnity; face sunken; abashed look; nocturnal emissions; backache; weak legs; relaxed organs; deficiency of vital heat and tendency to take cold; deep-sunken, red, and lusterless eyes; hair falls out; loss of prostatic fluid and impairment of sexual desire; dull and contusive pains in testicles; voluptuous itching of scrotum; atrophy of testicles. 

Seminal emissions followed by great chagrin and mortification; prostration; dyspnœa.

Atrophy of testicle in a man, æt. 50, of robust constitution; about twenty-five years ago had mumps on left side; on exposure to cold, left testicle began to swell until it nearly reached size of a goose-egg; as swelling receded testicle dwindled down to size of little finger, very soft and flabby; nearly ever since he has suffered from an aching pain in it, especially on outer side; great sensitiveness to touch; pain more violent after touching it, or after any friction, with sharp shooting pain up cord into abdomen ; walking upon frozen ground causes uneasiness; at times so sensitive at night, he cannot sleep without keeping his knees widely separated; there does not seem to be any inflammation in it; unpleasant sensation in cerebellum, can hardly describe it, extends from occipital protuberance to left ear, seems as if it were hollow, yet there is a dull ache, a feeling as if brain were not large enough to fill space; when he happens to hurt testicle, head trouble is < ; region of head alluded to is sensitive to pressure; > after sexual intercourse; at times thoughtful; if reading, and some one calls his attention suddenly, he forgets where he was reading and what about; scrotum on that side contracts, itches, and he has often to pinch and rub it between thumb and finger.

Female Sexuality

Frequent urging to urinate in newly married people, especially the women; great irritability of bladder and urethra.

Nymphomania, with extreme sensitiveness to mental and physical impressions; mind has been dwelling too much on sexual subjects.

Childhood

Children are ill-humored, and cry for things, which, after getting, they petulantly push or throw away; < early in morning.

Dentition: child very sensitive to mental or physical impressions; winces and shrinks from every wry look or harsh word, and cries from least pain; pale white appearance of gums, which are tender to touch; pot-bellied children*; frequent desire for stool, not relieved even by a free evacuation; moist scald-head, with yellow scabs, offensive; teeth decay as soon as they are cut.

Child cries as soon as it eats.

Child wakes, pushes everything away and wants everybody to go away; restless at night, as from frightful dreams, calls for mother often.

Sufferings of pot-bellied children*, with much colic and humid scald-head; pains caused by a fit of chagrin or indisposition of nurse; children in bad humor, cry for things, which, after getting, they petulantly push or throw away.

Work

Aversion to mental or physical labor; inability to think. 

Dullness of mind, that keeps him from every work, [1]. 

Disinclination for earnest work, [5]. 

Palpitation: from least motion; from mental exertion; from music; after siesta; nervous; so marked it can be seen, shakes the whole body.

Nervous weakness; a feeling as if done up after much hard work. 

He dreamed of the business of the day, immediately on falling asleep, [1]. 

Intellectual

Want of memory: with heavy weight between eyes; a few minutes after reading anything, the sense escapes him, and he is scarcely able to recall it after long reflection. 

He is mentally exhausted, has no desire to think, is not inclined to thought, and is indifferent to his surroundings, [5]. 

On attempting to grasp an idea, it vanishes, [1]. 

Thoughts disappear whenever he attempts to think or speaks of any subject, and if any one interrupts him or changes to another subject, he, for the moment, forgets, or cannot at all collect his thoughts, [4].

The thoughts disappear (memory disturbed by fantasies); whenever he reflects upon anything numerous and confused subjects crowd upon him, so that he cannot collect his thoughts, and forgets entirely of what he was thinking, [4]. 

Weakness of memory; a few minutes after reading anything, he can recollect it only dimly, and whenever he thinks of anything, the sense escapes him, and he is scarcely able to recall it after long reflection, [8].

Neurological

For sixteen years attacks of mental disturbance, every four years, beginning on the 4th of January, always lasting two months; great restlessness, would go about house in search of something, not knowing what, but if attracted by any object, would put it in his pocket if possible, and, if not, would hide it in his coat; excessive loquaciousness; inability to read, on account of letters running together; firmly believed he would lose his fortune, constantly told his wife to be careful that they did not starve; thinks his wife will run away from him; sleep greatly disturbed, lies down a few moments, and suddenly jumps from bed to middle of room, stands there about a minute, scratches his head, and looks about as if a new idea had struck him; constant chilliness, sits by fire for hours without getting warm, amuses himself by throwing into the fire any article near at hand, regardless of value; at times more violent, strikes at any one coming near him, although he is conscious something is the matter with him, and tells his wife he will try not to kill any one; great thirst; canine hunger, eats anything set before him, complete loss of taste; general appearance is marked by extreme nervous excitement ; face wears an anxious expression; shuffling gait; hands tremble, cannot retain anything in their grasp, not even long enough to drink water without spilling it; all symptoms < about midnight; in intervals between attacks, feeling of pressure over nape of neck; at times this disappears, and is followed by a throbbing sensation, and a rush of blood to crown of head; vertigo, especially when walking in open air; from slightest gust of wind legs feel as if they were going out from under him, and that he will fall backward.

 

*Jennifer Warner, on Abdominal Obesity among children

Nov. 7, 2006:-- Potbellies are becoming all too common among children, according to a new study that shows abdominal obesityin kids has increased by more than 65% in recent years.

Researchers say the findings are especially troubling because belly fat is now considered a better predictor of heart disease and diabetes risk than the more commonly used body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight in relationship to height).

It's the first national study to document the increase in children's waistlines; it shows abdominal obesity increased by 65% among boys and nearly 70% among girls from 1988 to 2004.

Researchers say the findings paint a bleak picture for these children, who have a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems. But they say the good news is that it's not too late for children with extra belly fat to do something to lower their health risk.

"Kids, teens and adults who have early stages of [hardening of the arteries] can have a healthy cardiovascular system again," says researcher Stephen Cook, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center's Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong, in a news release. "Older adults who have plaque buildup have a much harder battle, especially if the plaque has calcified."

Kids' Potbelly Problem

In the study, published in Pediatrics, researchers analyzed data gathered by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1988 to 2004. Using waist size, they estimated the number of boys and girls with abdominal obesity in four different age groups.

The results showed that the percentage of abdominal obesity in boys and girls increased significantly in every age group between 1999 and 2004; the increase in abdominal obesity in children rose even faster than those classified as overweight.

For example, the percentage of 6- to 11 year-old children with high BMI scores increased by 25% from 1999 to 2004, but the increase in the percentage of children with abdominal obesity in this age group rose by more than 35%.

"Those increases only grow more alarming as you tease out specific age groups over longer periods of time," says Cook. "For example, between the 1988-1994 data and the 1999-2004 data, the largest relative increase in the prevalence of abdominal obesity occurred among 2- to 5-year-old boys - 84 percent - and 18- to 19-year-old girls - 126 percent."