Déjà vu and Depression: a Case of Ultrasound |
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by Nancy Friedrich |
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M.W., 14 years old, is very slim and tall for his age, with large, widely spaced eyes and a strong bone structure. Throughout the entire two-hour initial consultation he wears a knitted hat that hides his hair and ears. He comes with his mother, who also speaks, but mostly he speaks for himself, albeit reluctantly.
M.W.: “The depression is not always there, it comes and goes; it is more a lack of motivation than true sadness. I experience it like an inward frown. Many things are not worth doing because they are too difficult - beyond my reach.”
After eight years at a Waldorf school he moved to an alternative secondary school. “It is a disappointment. I have no male friends; I have only one girlfriend, a girl from my former school who is nice and intelligent. There are no challenges, and I feel alienated from the others. I used to be much more social.”
Mother: “He is not cheerful any more, he is no longer himself. The pregnancy with him was OK. I had a planned caesarean section. His head did not engage in the pelvis. It was the same as with his older brother. Several ultrasounds were done. He received all vaccinations. When he was in the first grade he had chickenpox and was treated with antibiotics for a minor middle ear infection. I breastfed him for nine months.
When he was two or three years old he had incredible tantrums. It was like a bomb, he was constantly blowing up. He didn’t speak and did a lot of silly things, which is why he went for occupational therapy.”
M.W.: “I am slow with schoolwork. I want to use my time efficiently. I need to relax, to have time for myself. I can sit very still for a long time. I prefer that to being among people. My mind is very active, I am always thinking. I am more intelligent than my peers; in my class we only make slow progress. I spend a lot of time drawing and stippling with a felt-tip pen; I make complicated black-and-white dotted drawings.” (His mother is a calligrapher).
“My eyes become sore from the brightness. After noise I need silence. Noise distracts me, that is a real problem. Background noises make hearing difficult for me. I hate the sound of footsteps. My hearing is very sensitive and critical. High heels make a particular noise that is very annoying.”
At eight years old M. had a major eye operation for his exotropia; he had difficulties when he came out of the anaesthetic. Then his baby teeth were extracted, during which he received heavy anaesthesia that impaired his breathing. Since then he has had a huge fear of needles and intravenous injections. |
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M.W.: “I think I am a daredevil. I like to climb high into the treetops and sit there. I am very careful when climbing. I like being 15 metres up. I know how to distribute my weight. I can stay up there and relax without anyone disturbing me.
I meditate and look down at people and see how small they are. I mostly do that after school.
From time to time I have extrasensory experiences, a flash of clarity; I have premonitions in words or see vague images that are not associated with any emotions. Snatches of random conversations run through my head. About once a week I have a déjà-vu experience in which for a moment I can recognise the truth
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| I can perceive. I experience a series of déjà-vu episodes; 2–3 episodes occur in succession. |
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I enjoy informal creative writing.
I have no desire for social interaction.
My motivation comes from within.
Mostly I reflect. I think very scientifically. I want to understand how things work so that I can apply what I have learned in real life. I am aware of how I think, but I find it hard to put these thoughts into words.”
Cravings: cheese, pasta, cereals, rice cakes, meat.
Aversions: spicy food.
“My taste buds are very sensitive. I eat the same thing every day for lunch - mustard, ham, cheese, sliced green apples, green sauce with crisps. One part of me loves change and the other part wants everything to stay the same.”
Mother interjects: “Like a 90-year-old in a rocking chair.”
Physical complaints: lower back pain, flat feet and heel spur. Pulsing headaches. He has never had a head injury.
M.W.: “I am not afraid of spiders, but I am afraid to kill them. I used to have a strong fear of heights. In Year 4, after the operation, I began climbing trees. My body temperature warms up. I can convince myself that I am not cold. I like cycling, but climbing trees is my favourite sport. I am a poor runner. When running you exhaust all your energy.”
My dreams are surreal, but they relate to something I have experienced, like a dream where all my teachers looked the same. In Year 3 I dreamed of a darkly glowing skeleton. I met it under a street lamp. It reached for me, hurled itself at me and attacked me. |
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Ultrasound image |
Last summer I was two weeks at a friend’s camp. I left my existence as a middle-schooler behind. I am experiencing an intense separation process from my younger self. I feel the need to think more deeply; I want to become a shaman. I have no fear of exams. I have no personal relationships with anyone in my class. I experience that as alienation, but I exclude no one.” |
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Assessment: M. is very precocious, aware and intuitive for his age. I felt that he needed a remedy that I had never prescribed before. Above all I was impressed by his description of sitting in a tree and observing the world from a perspective to which no one else has access. When I learned that this behaviour had begun after an operation that had altered his field of vision, and when I saw his black-and-white dotted drawings, images of ultrasound scans of my own children from 30 years ago came to mind. His interest in shamanism and his controlled déjà-vu experiences point to the realm of the imponderables.
Prescription: Ultrasound C 30
Follow-up:
2 months later: M. comes in smiling, without headgear and with a wink. He is no longer depressed; the head, back and foot pain have disappeared. He has joined the science club and an art group at his school and is engaging in various kinds of drawing. He no longer climbs trees so much now that he spends more time with other youths who have similar interests. He even stood on stage at a school assembly to show a trick, which he also demonstrates for me. He lifts his shirt and very impressively rolls his abdominal muscles like a yogi, grinning from ear to ear.
February 2012: Since taking the remedy he has had no more déjà-vu experiences and is doing well at school. He has changed a great deal and now feels grounded and secure. The remedy was repeated once after six months when he had to cope with a disappointment; over the last 18 months he has been well.
Nancy Friedrich is director of the Baylight School of Homeopathy and practises in Portland ME, USA. |
This article was published on www.interhomeopathy.org . |
