Let me share with you a case of a 45-year-old man, who approached me with the complaint of longstanding panic disorder that he had been suffering for 20 years and was on medication for the same. He said that he first experienced panic while he was preparing for his MBBS final exams, for which he studied 14-16 hours a day at a stretch and started experiencing lot of palpitations and chest pain, due to which he started dreading that there was something wrong with his heart. The patient recollected situations when he was extremely distressed and anxious of being infected when he was posted in leprosy ward during his internship. He was afraid to give even a vitamin injection fearing that the patient may land up with an anaphylactic shock (widespread and a serious allergic reaction).
His fears of the supposed dangers associated with the field, made him take up pathology as his stream for post-graduation later because in his perception, it meant less stress and anxiety. However, after selecting pathology as his mainstream too, he could not overcome his panic. He regularly sent reports to other laboratories for a second opinion so as to allay his anxiety despite having to spend money from his own pocket. He was under the impression that he would slowly muster enough courage to start his own practice after a year’s time, which never happened.
He soon joined his father’s practice which involved treating obese patient using Ayurvedic medicines, which he thought was extremely safe. Once, while treating an obese person, with blood pressure of 140/100 mm Hg, he panicked, thinking that the patient would get a heart attack and he imagined all possible worst scenarios and was very restless, calling up the patient every few minutes, to check out on his health. His worst fear was of being jailed by the police and being involved in legal proceedings. He always thought that he would be harassed when in jail and he would fall a prey to several contagious diseases.
All these thoughts would produce palpitations, dryness of mouth, chest pain and light-headedness. The patient said that he is very mild, friendly, peace loving, and does not like to work hard and likes all comforts of life. He is cowardly by nature but he dreams of beating up all the bad guys and all his friends are happy with him. His wife tells that he makes an issue out of a small thing and he panics over petty things. E.g. once he misplaced his cell phone and he assumed that criminals would use his phone for killing someone and then he would be implicated for murder and would be put in jail.
The main problem for the patient, the essence of his individuality is the uncertainty that is a source of extreme stress for him. The uncertainty whether it is an anaphylactic shock, pathology or herbal medicines is a strain for him. Uncertainty is such that it is beyond his control, and where things just keep dragging indefinitely. Restriction of movements, taking deep breaths, jumping from the chair and jerking of the hands when experiencing or even thinking about these situations, are all features peculiar to him. This is something that runs through and through his case. It is seen at the level of mind, and even at the level of body. This innermost experience that runs through a patient and which is seen in different areas of life is called as the Sensation or the Vital Sensation according to the Sensation Approach.
On the basis of this understanding, I prescribed him an appropriate remedy which covered up all his complaints and matched with his sensitivity. In his follow up after 6 months, he reported that he was much better and peaceful. His anxiety levels significantly diminished. Earlier the smallest of situations would trigger off absolute panic, now he is markedly relaxed. His family and friends noted a positive shift in him. In homoeopathic treatment, we just merely do not prescribe on the basis of signs and symptoms, but at the level of sensitivity where we go to the very cause of the complaint which gave rise to it. The individual is treated as a whole, with a remedy that matches his sensitivity and state.
A case by Dr Mahesh Gandhi - Homeopath and Psychiatrist
Senior homeopathic doctor and teaching faculty at the other song homeopathy clinic and academy
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