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SPECTRUM OF HOMEOPATHY
JONATHAN HARDY ¦
LAC HUMANUM | LAC LUPINUM
34
ADDICTION ¦
EATING | HEROIN
MAMMAL REMEDIES AND ADDICTION
A number of themes very commonly found in mammal cases are
important in our understanding of the application of mammal
remedies in the treatment of addictions:
Milk:
The unique evolutionary adaptation of the mammals is
milk, which is fundamental to our understanding of mammal
remedies. It is the source of nourishment for all young mam-
mals. Not only is it essential to the physical survival of the baby
mammal but it involves the process of suckling. The infant
mammal draws nourishment from the breast of its mother. This
means bodily contact and warmth. It also has an emotional
element – it is an act of great intimacy: the mother is literally
giving of herself to give life to her young. All these elements
of nourishment, warmth, bodily contact, motherly nurturing,
and intimacy are found in mammal cases.
The “Mammal feeling”:
We could say that the feeling of being
fully nourished, on both a physical and emotional level, with
feelings of warmth, intimacy, and closeness are the “Mammal
feeling.” As a human being we should have this “Mammal
feeling” deep within us, as part of our basic inner structure, at
a visceral and subconscious level of our being. If we do, it will
go a long way to helping us to feel adequate, secure, worth-
while – able to be happy and effective in life. On the other
hand, if we do not have this “Mammal feeling”, we will lack
these basic elements which make a secure and stable person.
There will be a nagging sense of something missing, an inner
insecurity which is very fundamental. This is often experienced
in a very physical way – a visceral sense of emptiness, a hole
which cannot be filled. A deep feeling that something is wrong
with us, we are not complete.
It is interesting that many Mammal remedies are given in the
form of milk and called “Lacs”, a word very close to “lack”.
There is something lacking in one’s basic structure, which of
course sounds very like mineral remedy terminology. There is
a difference however. Mammals are animals and there is an
animal flavor to the experience of lack, and that feeling can be
summed up as shame.
Shame:
Shame is a common feeling in animal cases but
it is found especially strongly in mammal cases because of
this feeling of inner lack. The animal state in patients often
creates the sense of being dirty, low, unworthy. It seems to
be a product of the split in the consciousness found in animal
cases – the duality between our higher consciousness and the
animal part of our being. This feeling of being uncomfortable
with one’s animal nature, combined with the feeling of inner
unworthiness, is a potent combination and creates a powerful
and deep sense of shame in many mammal cases.
Shame is different to guilt. Guilt is a sense of having done
something wrong. Shame is a sense of being something wrong
– that there is something wrong with us. In guilt, because
something has been done wrong there is implied the possibility
of redemption – to do something right to compensate for
the wrongdoing. Not so with shame. It is a deeper and more
debilitating state because when you feel there is something
actually wrong with you there is nothing you can do to remedy
the situation.
Self-destruction:
How then do we react to a state of shame?
Unfortunately with a range of self-destructive and damaging
habits and behaviors. We are likely to fall prey to addictions
of all sorts – craving for something, anything – to fill that
awful feeling of emptiness within. Mammal patients often
talk of their addictions in terms of trying to fill a hole within.
The addictions may be physical: for drugs ranging from the
most powerful illegal drugs to the common addictions like
chocolate and coffee. There are eating disorders of all kinds
– and it is interesting that a sense of shame is characteristic
of anorexia and bulimia.
Suckling:
Mammal mothers nourish their babies through suckling.
Mammal patients of all ages can try to recreate the experience of
suckling in many ways, in particular through sucking the thumb
or putting fingers or any object into the mouth. The intimacy and
body contact is also mimicked through excessive hugging, cud-
dling and kissing, by wrapping oneself in blankets and comforters
or through attachment to soft toys – anything which resonates
with the infant’s experience of warmth, nourishment and security
provided by the mother.
Nourishment:
In the healthy state there is a feeling of being
satisfied, fulfilled, content, confident, valued, and so a feeling of
being properly nourished – not just physically but psychologically
AUTHOR ¦ Jonathan Hardy
SUMMARY:
when the typical “Mammal feeling” of
closeness, warmth, and being nourished is lacking, this
can cause a deep-seated feeling of lack and emptiness.
Addicts who need milk remedies attempt to fill the
inner void. The author uses two cases to show how the
typical dynamic of this remedy group can often lead to
eating disorders or drug addiction. In both cases the
relationship to the mother is disturbed.
KEYWORDS:
acne, addiction, bulimia, dog reme-
dies, drug addiction, eating disorder, heroin, Lac
humanum, Lac lupinum, mammals, milk remedies,
sensation method