Originally published in The Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients.
Claudio’s Incapacitating OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)
Claudio, in his mid-forties, had his first appointment with me in late 2014. Married with two children, he described himself as “outgoing, happy, and very strong about getting what I want.”
He enjoyed a challenge and was considered very successful. “I was bold coming to the US from Mexico. I had a degree in computer science, and one of my first jobs was equivalent to a master’s degree in manufacturing. That began a two-year process with lawyers to try to convert my US visa into residency. That’s when the uncertainty started. There was a drastic increase in gang activity in Mexico and I was afraid for my family to go down there. What if they denied me the visa? Just before the date of immigration review, I began to experience anxiety on a daily basis. I didn’t want to eat. I worried constantly that I would arrive late to the interview. And, if it were denied, what about my responsibilities? How would I pay my rent?” What if the visa were denied?” Would my family have to move back to Mexico with my parents?”
The tremendous stress started to take a toll on Claudio’s work life.” Since it was my job to double check the computer backups for the entire organization, it occurred to me that a mistake on my part could cause anguish to hundreds of people, all of whom depended on my backups being accurate… Then I began to feel anguish that someone would break into our house because I forgot to lock the door. So, I began to go back three to four times to check. Then I started to double- and triple check the car. Did I really put it in park? Lock it? Set the emergency brake? Then came worrying about leaving the on the stove burners.” “At work I started obsessing about whether I needed to lock my computer when I walked away from my desk. Then I wasn’t pacified even when the screen read ‘locked.’ What if I created a new program and it accidentally deleted important files? I’m afraid I’m gonna harm someone, then I will feel responsible for it. I’d lose sleep at night trying to figure out how to test and retest, make the system foolproof… at home I am afraid that someone will go through the paper shredder and use my information, even though it’s not even sensitive data. What if I get contacted by the police, lawyers, immigration officers? They might send me to jail!” “I also have a problem with germs. When I wash the dishes, I get concerned that I didn’t wash them right. That it will contain something that may harm my children or my wife. When I take money, I have to wash it once or twice, in case it might hurt someone else… I’m afraid to put pesticides into the garden because it will drain into the drinking water.”
“Tell Me More”
Patients often complain that their conventional medicine docs seemed rushed… the hand reaching for the doorknob after five or ten minutes. Homeopaths are definitely not like that. In order to choose the one best remedy (simillimum) out of 8000+ (!) takes a lot of listening and individualizing the possibilities. Claudio continued, “I get restless. A fear of being on the edge.
Let’s say you were just scared by a dog who was very close to you and barking. That’s how I feel every morning when I wake up. My heart is beating fast. I feel anguished. In alert mode… Say your father is in a life-or-death duel and you know someone will be killed, die.”
Claudio woke regularly at 3 or 4AM with anxious thoughts. “Anguish. A fear of danger, of getting hurt, of not living anymore.” As a child, Claudio was the victim of bullying. It had taken much time and great effort for him to develop the boldness that he had referred to early in our conversation. “Fearless, secure… knowing that everything will be fine.”
Persistence on the Part of Both the Patient and the Homeopath
Using Rajan Sankaran’s Sensation Method, Claudio clearly had the qualities of a mineral: organized, structured, responsible, performance, identity. But I didn’t find the remedy that ultimately resolved the OCD initially. Kali bromatum (Potassium bromate) helped quite a bit over a three-year period, but not completely. Kalis are all about keeping things safe, sure, and invulnerable to attack. You can see how that fit Claudio quite well. Claudio had a great deal of faith in homeopathy (I use that word instead of “confidence” intentionally.) He was willing, unfailingly, to hang in there until I found the right remedy to cure his OCD. Not only was it my unswerving belief that there is, indeed, a simillium (perfect remedy match) for each person, but his confidence. And my simply wanting to help him because he was such a sincere, heartfelt, caring individual.
So, as I do when I feel stuck on a case, I carefully revisited Claudio’s case from the beginning, open to a new remedy from understanding the patient in a fresh way. I believe it is partially the intention of the homeopath and patience, and the belief that the simillimum does exist and can be found. So, two and a half years ago, I looked carefully again at what were the core issues of Claudio’s case, and found homeopathic rubrics that matched more precisely.
They were: “Delusion that he has neglected his duty;” “Ailments from responsibility;” “Compulsive disorders;” “Remorse/repentance;” “Praying;” “Fear something will happen to his family or to him;” and “Washing one’s hands.”
The remedy that came up was one that fit Claudio so perfectly that I was amazed I had not come upon it earlier: Aurum arsenicum. Aurum (gold) has more of a nobility, responsibility, and duty than the Kali’s. They are able to withstand considerable pressure, often find themselves in positions of leadership and management, and feel personally responsible for the welfare and wellbeing of others. They are quick to blame themselves, as did Claudio, and the remedy is found under the very appropriate rubric: “conscientious,” which was so descriptive of Claudio, fits Aurum much more than the Kali’s. As does the tendency to self-reproach. There are so many features of Arsenicum in this case: the anxiety about the future, obsessive-compulsive checking, worries about safety of oneself and one’s family, and loss of sleep due to anxiety, just to name a few. There are a few uniquely Aurum Arsenicum symptoms in the homeopathic literature which I have seen before, but which did not fit Claudio: “Indifference to domestic
duties” and “Neglects her children.” In fact, the opposite was true in Claudio’s case: an obsession about washing dishes and cleaning.
What is a Homeopathic Mineral Salt and When Is It Needed?
A homeopathic mineral salt is a remedy made from more than one macro-element (such as Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, and Chloride) and either a microelement (such as Iron, Copper, Zinc, Fluoride, Iodine, Selenium, Chrome, Cobalt), or a trace element (Bromine, Chrome, Nickel, Lithium, Silicon, Tin, and others). The idea is that such a remedy contains the qualities of both minerals.
In many cases, especially for homeopaths who are not so experienced in differentiating these remedies, the patient will experience a partial, but not complete, amelioration from the prescribed remedy. Then, upon restudying the case, it becomes clear that the patient exhibits characteristics or symptoms of the other element as well. One of the fairly common mineral salt combinations is Kali bromatum, Potassium bromate. Kali carbonicum (the main Potassium remedy) is a by-the-book, rule-oriented, family-oriented, responsible type of person. Kali bromatum adds the bromate characteristic of guilt, hence the classic “Delusion: brother fell overboard in her sight.”
Years ago, in our Depression book, I included a case of a woman who toddler, tragically, drowned in their backyard while she and her husband were elsewhere in the house. Kali bromatum helped her dramatically. I recently gave Kali muriaticum to a very Kali-like woman with a number of children whose whole life and world revolved around caring for them.
However, it is not, of course, just the situation of the patient that calls forth a mineral salt, but the symptoms and nature of the individual.
I have many cases of these mineral salts being used in my practice. In Claudio’s case, I had given him a number of remedies. His anxiety was very typical of Arsenicum, and his high degree of responsibility could have indicated either Kali or Aurum. It is easy to confuse the two.
So, I did not arrive at Aurum arsenicum for a while. Claudio was a very loyal and determined patient and had a great of confidence in homeopathy, in my ability to help him, and in the process. So, he was willing to stick with it until we both knew that I had found the simillimum (one best remedy) for him. And we both knew when I had.
Claudio’s Response to the Remedy
Ten Weeks Later: “I’m surfing life! I think this remedy is one of the best I’ve had. I’m able to let go of my obsessions more easily than before. 80% of the time I can let them go… I think this is the remedy we’ve been looking for…. This is it!”
Five months: “This is a good remedy… I’m more able to manage my anxiety and obsessiveness. I’m able to let the thoughts go easier.”
Seven months: “I’m fine. This remedy is the right one. I feel very good…. I’m able to let a lot of things go that I would obsess about. Like before I didn’t want any soap remaining on the dishes I’d washed. Now, ‘too bad.’ I’m able to let go of a lot regarding responsibility and security. I’ve lost 20 pounds, too!”
One year seven months: “We haven’t talked in a year. My remedies have kept me going. I’m back into sports big-time. I’ve done some therapy to heal my childhood wounds. I still take the remedy when I need to—the last time was two and a half months ago. I still have to remind myself that it’s okay to make mistakes. To accept others. Put myself in their shoes. In some ways, I have the tools I need to deal with the quarantine.
Twenty-five months: In response to my email asking how he was doing: “I never took the last dosages that you sent me. I have them in case I feel I need them… How can I ever forget you who helped me for so long? I am so grateful for all that you have always done for me. You are in a very special place in my heart. My best regards, Claudio.”
By Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman ND, MSW, DHANP
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