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SPECTRUM OF HOMEOPATHY
JONATHAN HARDY ¦
LAC HUMANUM | LAC LUPINUM
40
ADDICTION ¦
EATING | HEROIN
polarity in the remedy in that it expresses both as an inability
to be tidy and an aversion to untidiness.
1
Prescription:
Lac humanum
200C, single dose
FOLLOW-UP AFTER FIVE WEEKS
How are you getting on?
I have noticed certain things. My spots are worse. Appetite
wise, I have definitely noticed I am just less interested in food.
I can leave things and not eat them for the sake of it. I am not
wanting things that in the past I really enjoyed, I was really a bit
of a pig. I feel all round happier really. I would be even happier
if the spots were better!
How far back would you have to go to when your appetite
was this moderate?
Probably as a child if I am honest.
And the feeling happier, how far back would you have
to go?
Probably a similar sort of time really, perhaps 10 years.
Comments:
This is the sort of reaction we get from a deeply
acting remedy – changes which take the patient back many
years. In time her skin improved markedly and she has re-
mained well.
CASE 2: 41-year-old woman, chief complaint:
heroin addiction
Casetaking
What is your problem?
I have been using heroin for over ten years. I try to stop but I
have such intense cravings for it.
Can you describe the cravings you are getting?
I just want to be – I can’t think of another word, other than
satisfied. It is all consuming … I am frightened of it, but I
just want to be comfortable. It makes me feel comfortable,
it makes me feel warm, satisfied and so I don’t think about
things, or the things I think about are nicer. That’s all I can
describe it as.
What would be the opposite of this feeling warm and
comfortable and satisfied?
I get very on edge, I get quite agitated. A lot of it seems to do
with heat because the colder I feel the more I crave it; that was
a real big reason for me taking it. It was that warmth, that glow.
I like that warm feeling. You can go out in a t-shirt in winter and
you are not so cold. I don’t like the cold and it always seems if
I am down, I feel the cold a lot.
How cold are you feeling lately?
Shivery all the time … it is the sort of cold where it doesn’t
matter how many clothes I put on, I am still shivery, cold to the
bones. Nothing seems to warm me up. If I have a hot bath I
get out and I am shivering again. Just sitting there … I am just
cold within myself.
How are you lately in yourself, mentally and emotionally?
I am lazy in keeping things together, in keeping my life or-
ganized. I don’t seem to be able to cope with organizing
myself properly.
Describe that more.
I don’t follow things up. I procrastinate all the time. I waste
time doing silly things that don’t need doing, like being late this
morning. For some stupid reason I am not good at conforming
to things that I should be doing.
Describe that more – not good at conforming.
Just things like getting the children to school on time. Silly
things. I just feel a bit of a mess; I always look at other people
who are more organized than me.
Tell me about your childhood please.
I tried to … stamp my mark. I wanted to take over a bit; I
wanted to be boss all the time because my dad wasn’t around
a lot. In talking to my mum, I think she found me difficult. I
don’t think I was very easy.
Say more about wanting to be boss.
I wanted to rule the roost. I know my mother didn’t find
me easy.
Describe ruling the roost a bit more.
I can’t remember doing it, but she says I just wanted to be in
charge. I wanted to be the head of the household because
my dad wasn’t there very much. I think I wanted to take his
place. Not that I wanted to be bossy or tell everyone what to
do, like what to watch on TV. I felt like I was next in line to
protect the household, not in importance, but in strength. I
could protect everyone.
Describe this more. You are doing well, this is good.
I felt if anyone came into the house, it was my job to be the
protector. Physically and mentally the strongest there.
Including your mother?
Yes. I felt I was quite capable of looking after everyone, even
when I was just eight years old. One big memory from when
I was a child was that I hated injustice. I hated anyone lying. I
hated any injustice.
How would you react to it?
Quite aggressively. My sister had a habit of telling lies for the
thrill of it. Probably because she didn’t feel very much in con-
trol because I was! I used to be absolutely beside myself with
anger at the lies she would tell, and then my mother would
believe her and then my sister would look at me and smile.
Childish things and I would be bursting with anger about it.
Say more about ruling the roost and being the strong one.
I think I like to be in control, but I am not a control freak. I
don’t want to tell people what to do but I like to have control
1
Editor‘s note: see Houghton / Halahan; Lac Humanum – Die homöopathische
Prüfung (German), K.J. Müller Verlag (publ.), available from Narayana Publishers.
In reading sample 3 of the proving results for untidiness, there is a reference to
the symptom aggravation from untidiness: UNTIDINESS, external appearance, of,
agg., **; UNTIDINESS agg., ***; DISCONTENTED with oneself, 163.