Interpretation of the Expression into the Rubric Form
“Do Not Give Me Strong Medicines – Thuja”
A gentleman came to the clinic and the first thing he said was, “Doctor, please don’t give me strong medicine because my whole system reacts badly to strong medicine. You know, other people may take it, no problem. But my system cannot take strong medicine. I can only take a little, much less than others, so please don’t give me medicine that is too strong. My system cannot handle it.”
How to understand this? It is the peculiarity of the patient. It’s not directly available as a rubric in the Repertory, but it is an important characteristic of the patient. What to do? Let’s try to understand what he is expressing.
He did not say that the medicine was too strong. He said, “Other people may take a strong medicine but my system cannot handle it.” That meant, “My system is not as strong as other people’s system and that’s why I cannot take medicine that is strong.” It’s like saying, “Be careful with me; I am delicate. I am fragile. Please be cautious. I am not tough. I could break.” This is the exact feeling of Thuja reflected in the rubric ‘Mind: Delusion, body parts, delicate’.
This is a common request from a Thuja patient. He may say, “You know I can’t eat this; this will affect me. I don’t want to eat that, and I don’t want to touch that. I can’t eat spicy food. If I eat yogurt, something will happen.” His perception is that for everybody else it’s okay, but not for him because he is delicate; please, handle him like glass. This is what I see as the main quality of the Conifer family. This is how the Thuja patient expresses the sensation of ‘brittleness’. Sometimes we see a peculiar, characteristic expression from the patient and need to learn how to translate it into a rubric.
Q: In this case, when the patient said, “Don’t give me strong medicines,” it was inferred that the patient was trying to say that his system was delicate and he couldn’t tolerate strong medicines - but the patient himself hadn’t said these words. He didn’t use the word ‘tolerate’ at all. How did the physician come to this understanding? It could have been anything: superstitious, fear of being injured, delusion injured, cautious, or something else. Did the physician think of these? How did he differentiate?
A: When a person says to you, “Don’t give me strong medicines,” what he conveys is that a normal person can stand this, but he cannot. He experiences a heightened sensitivity to his own system. When a person says these words, it generally extends to many areas of his life. For example, he can’t tolerate too much heat or too much cold, or too much noise, or too much garlic, etc.
This is not superstitious; it is how he experiences himself and it is in all the different areas of his life. Through this case, I try to show how one can hear symptoms through a casual exchange with the patient, but great care and thought is needed. Try to interpret as little as possible.
If he says medicines are injurious, then it is a delusion.
If he says that somebody else has said these medicines are strong so do not give it to me, then it’s a superstition.
He says, “Do not give me strong medicines but give me mild ones.” That means he feels a weakness, a fragility and that is Thuja.
But you must be very careful of your interpretations.
“Do Not Give Me Strong Medicines – Thuja”
A gentleman came to the clinic and the first thing he said was, “Doctor, please don’t give me strong medicine because my whole system reacts badly to strong medicine. You know, other people may take it, no problem. But my system cannot take strong medicine. I can only take a little, much less than others, so please don’t give me medicine that is too strong. My system cannot handle it.”
How to understand this? It is the peculiarity of the patient. It’s not directly available as a rubric in the Repertory, but it is an important characteristic of the patient. What to do? Let’s try to understand what he is expressing.
He did not say that the medicine was too strong. He said, “Other people may take a strong medicine but my system cannot handle it.” That meant, “My system is not as strong as other people’s system and that’s why I cannot take medicine that is strong.” It’s like saying, “Be careful with me; I am delicate. I am fragile. Please be cautious. I am not tough. I could break.” This is the exact feeling of Thuja reflected in the rubric ‘Mind: Delusion, body parts, delicate’.
This is a common request from a Thuja patient. He may say, “You know I can’t eat this; this will affect me. I don’t want to eat that, and I don’t want to touch that. I can’t eat spicy food. If I eat yogurt, something will happen.” His perception is that for everybody else it’s okay, but not for him because he is delicate; please, handle him like glass. This is what I see as the main quality of the Conifer family. This is how the Thuja patient expresses the sensation of ‘brittleness’. Sometimes we see a peculiar, characteristic expression from the patient and need to learn how to translate it into a rubric.
Q: In this case, when the patient said, “Don’t give me strong medicines,” it was inferred that the patient was trying to say that his system was delicate and he couldn’t tolerate strong medicines - but the patient himself hadn’t said these words. He didn’t use the word ‘tolerate’ at all. How did the physician come to this understanding? It could have been anything: superstitious, fear of being injured, delusion injured, cautious, or something else. Did the physician think of these? How did he differentiate?
A: When a person says to you, “Don’t give me strong medicines,” what he conveys is that a normal person can stand this, but he cannot. He experiences a heightened sensitivity to his own system. When a person says these words, it generally extends to many areas of his life. For example, he can’t tolerate too much heat or too much cold, or too much noise, or too much garlic, etc.
This is not superstitious; it is how he experiences himself and it is in all the different areas of his life. Through this case, I try to show how one can hear symptoms through a casual exchange with the patient, but great care and thought is needed. Try to interpret as little as possible.
If he says medicines are injurious, then it is a delusion.
If he says that somebody else has said these medicines are strong so do not give it to me, then it’s a superstition.
He says, “Do not give me strong medicines but give me mild ones.” That means he feels a weakness, a fragility and that is Thuja.
But you must be very careful of your interpretations.
Source: From Similia to Synergy
Author: Dr Rajan Sankaran
Author: Dr Rajan Sankaran
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