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The double will
There are stages in the development of the Anacardium image.
All of the symptomatology of this remedy is not apparent from
the outset. For instance, the familiar personified double wills
of Anacardium - an angel sitting on his right shoulder telling
the patient to do one thing and a demon on the other telling him
to do exactly the opposite - arise only in the late stages of
pathology, especially with the begining of schizophrenia. It is
an hallucination. This familiar theme, expressed in the above
manner, which appears in the texts will not be encountered in
the vast majority of Anacardium patients. The conflict will
instead more often manifest itself in different ways and to
varying degrees with such expressions as:
"I hate my sister
and I love her at the same time."
"I am two persons; one criticizes people and the other justifies
them."
"There is a conflict inside me between the love I have and the
feelings of hate that were left inside me after a certain period
in my life."
She fears that she might hurt herself or others, something that
she does not want.
"I have become wild. I cannot tolerate anything. I swear badly
over trite things, or say very bitter things that hurt others
quite deeply."
In a quarrel she had with her brother she wanted to harm him.
She grasped a knife to throw at him, but at the same time she
grabbed the knife she was thinking, " I will harm him and I will
undergo the consequences. I shall hurt him and punish myself
afterwards."
I feel as if my mind is separated from my body."
Disposition to laugh at serious things while he may remain
serious when he should laugh. He laughed during his father's
funeral; he makes jokes when everybody else may be in tears from
a scene in the street or cinema.
All these examples portray, to varying degress, the same idea,
the idea of a schism or a strong internal conflict .
Anxiety about the future
In the first stages of the development of pathology, the
suffering provokes an anxiety about the future. They experience
a constant sense of insecurity. They anticipate that small
problems are going to expand into major ones. This anxiety,
suffering and fatigue generated by perpetual inner conflict lead
to an eventual compromise of mental vitality. They start
suspecting that everything will go wrong and become suspicious
of everything around them.
Memory
Memory loss is another characteristic of Anacardium.
Initially the effect on memory is forgetfulness. They will be
unable to recall what they have read. The mind is rendered empty
from the effort made in trying to prove themselves. It resembles
a form of mental paralysis.
There is one specific arena of life which is especially prone to
evoke the Anacardium picture - school, especially around the
time of examinations. A student, who has perhaps suffered the
indignity of having been criticized by his teacher, will be
determined to prove himself by excelling at his examinations. In
the midst of his studying he will be overcome by a sudden
profound loss of confidence. He will then feel unable to take
the examination. His mind has become a blank; he is unable to
remember what he has studied. There are other remedies that can
similarly correspond to pre-examination difficulties and which,
by way of contrast, we will briefly describe. Again, that which
distinguishes Anacardium is the urge to be first - to prove
oneself - in the face of perceived criticism; e.g. , "My
teachers do not acknowledge my abilities."
In the Anacardium case there will most probably be an underlying
conflict, a strong desire to succeed, and a subsequent sudden
loss of memory. Later, as the case advances into the next stage
of development, peevishness, irritability, and violence may
appear. The pathology develops progressively; it originates
predominantly as anxiety and insecurity; later the aspects of
the inferiority complex, of cruelty and the double will become
more prominent.
In the second stage of development the memory deteriorates
even further. Their memory loss may become so extensive that
they begin to fear the loss of their sanity. This is not a fear
of insanity as such, but rather, because of their profound
decline in memory, a fear that their health is going to take an
ominous turn for the worse, that something very bad is going to
happen. They suddenly realize that they are unable to remember
anything, even from one minute to the next. Some will describe
it as if "someone or something is holding my brain," not
allowing it to work. The mind becomes feeble; he feels as if he
is in a dream and does not have a direct perception of reality.
The mind feels sluggish and dull. It is a state bordering on
imbecility.
It is important again to emphasize that loss of memory is a very
important characteristic of Anacardium, and, as stated, this
memory loss is precipitated by the suffering produced by the
anxieties and insecurities. A businessman whose business has
been doing quite well suddenly begins to encounter one problem
after another. He becomes anxious and subsequently notes that he
can no longer remember anything. He has to make lists of things
to remember. This symptom evolution can occur within a span of
six months to a year in a person only thirty years of age. There
is forgetfulness in the morning, especially on waking.
The irritability and violence
The irritability of Anacardium arises as these people begin
to lose control of themselves. The constant suffering generated
by their inner conflict, their struggle with their sense of
inferiority, gradually erodes their control, allowing
irritability and violence to surface. They may break all the
things around them in a quarrel if they cannot harm the person
involved. The irritability and the feeling of inferiority are
connected; for instance, these people are liable to misinterpret
someone else's behavior as an intended slight against them and
react to it with irritation. Someone enters a room with flowers,
for example, and the Anacardium woman is likely to respond, "Oh,
you're bringing flowers for your daughter." In fact, the flowers
may be for her, but her first reaction is to assume that the
gesture is intended as an offense. Her feelings of inferiority
do not allow her to accept that someone is willing to care for
her, or be nice to her, or show her love and affection.
At this stage in the pathological development of Anacardium
these people have no belief in love; they believe in brutal
force. Anacardium patients who are quite introverted and capable
of introspection will describe themselves in the following
manner, "I have lost my control. I really want to do harm. I
don't care about anything any more." They will report these
symptoms as if they are not natural, integral aspects of
themselves, but as something apart. The more assertive
Anacardium patients are unable to take the least offense without
rapidly flying into a temper. One of the initial expressions of
their irritability is a great tendency to swear. This tendency
may take place in a person who never before even thought of
swearing. For instance, it may happen that after a shock a
headache develops, and with it there arises this peculiar
tendency.
Anacardium
is one of the main remedies for those who have an irresistible
desire to curse (Nitric acid, Hyoscyamus, Nux vomica ).
Subsequently, if the disturbance is left to develop, an
increasing aggressive urge may appear, evoking more hostile
actions; teenagers, for instance, may become juvenile
delinquents, committing mischievous, malicious acts such as
slashing tires, hitting people with chains, etc. They may join
marauding gangs of hooligans. Some Anacardium patients may say
that they experience violent thoughts only (e.g. , shooting or
stabbing people), without ever reaching the point of actually
commiting violence.
Initially the
natural feelings of tenderness, love, and sympathy diminish,
leaving behind a dullness, blankness and hardness of emotions
and thoughts. This torpor of the emotions occurs as a
consequence of the suffering previously described, and this
emotional void allows for the emergence of cruelty. After
constant shocks, disappointments and hardships, they become
insensitive, their emotions stilled, and they find that their
stagnant emotions can only be, in a sense, revived by performing
cruel actions. Their cruelty can almost be a source of
joyfulness for them. The lack of emotional liveliness, the
hardness represents significant pathology. It can be likened to
a hard tumor - a tumor of the emotional body.
Some may see a
similarity between the emotional inertia of Anacardium and that
of Sepia. Sepia, however, will never enjoy doing harm. They will
say, "I have no emotions, and I don't care." Sometimes they may
become so irritable that they hit their children, but as soon as
they do so they will suffer remorse and feel emotionally
exhausted. This state is quite different from that of Anacardium.
Another similarity is that in Anacardium, once the emotions have
become blunted and hardened, there is a lowering of sexual
interest which can develop into an aversion to sex.
Cruel
Anacardium people who harbor malicious feelings toward the
world can eventually develop paranoia. They will begin to
believe that everyone is their enemy, that they are pursued by
enemies. They are afraid of everybody, even those who may
approach to hug them, and become suspicious of everything. As
they progress further, they may enter a delusional state in
which they feel as if they are living in a dream. Reality and
dreams intermingle as their confusion increases. It is at this
point that they will say, "I have an angel on the right who says
to do the correct thing and a demon on the left who says to do
the wrong thing. Someone is telling me to do one thing, and
someone else is telling me to do the opposite." This delusion is
characteristic of a patient who is approaching the final stage
of Anacardium. As we have noted, not all Anacardium patients
will express such a division in this way nor in the way it is
expressed in the texts, but there is a similar idea underlying
their symptomatology. The irresolution, the hesitation, and the
lack of confidence are manifestations of that theme. The
constant second guessing about a course of action, the
questioning of one's capabilities, etc. creates a split that
progressively enlarges until a schizophrenic condition may
develop. Finally there is the appearance of fixed ideas
involving the belief that they are double, that they have a
demonic half. They see devils and angels, etc., the main idea
being that of a schism.
The religious aspect
On examining the lives of most Anacardium patients one would not
be inclined to identify them as religious people. On the
contrary, they are people who believe in human power. As the
pathology progresses, however, there is a tendency to develop a
religious turn of mind. This attitude, though, is not one that
is motivated by a true religious spirit. These are people who
have engaged in much cruelty, who did not care about others;
they have lived a life of hardness and eventually reach a point
where they ask themselves, "Have I done right or wrong?" They
become afraid of God and of angels; they fear the consequences
of their past actions and become preoccupied with their
salvation. Thus, we can see how these people, who had previously
exhibited cruelty, hardness and violence as part of their
sickness, now take on a religious bent. It is pathology, not
spiritual maturity.
There may be some tendency to confuse Anacardium with
Lycopodium. There are several distinguishing points.
Lycopodium will not want to assume responsibility; they will try
to shun it. Even their family can become a burden, and they will
contemplate deserting them. Anacardium, on the other hand, will
attempt to undertake responsibilities to an extreme degree in an
effort to prove themselves. These two attitudes are wholly
dissimilar. Lycopodium persons are not cruel; they are cowardly.
They have anxiety about their health and anxiety about seeing
blood. Anacardium could well enjoy seeing blood. Blood and
violence stimulate them; their stilled emotions are aroused by
violence. Otherwise, in the later stages, they are incapable of
the more usual forms of emotional arousal. They have experienced
a lot of suffering, and, as a consequence, their emotions have
become blunted. This scenario is unlike Lycopodium. Lycopodium
people are selfish; they like to enjoy themselves. They are
often among those who, when attending seminars, conferences, and
the like, will show no restraint. They will be eager to
establish a licentious relationship with any woman to whom they
are attracted. Their pleasure is a priority. This is an aspect
of Lycopodium that serves to illustrate the significant
differences between the two remedies.
An important
point to emphasize in the recognition of Anacardium patients
is that in any given patient there is usually a preponderance of
one of the following pathological states - either the
inferiority complex, the cruelty or the double will. Patients
should exhibit evidence of at least one of these qualities to
justify the prescription of Anacardium on the basis of
psychological symptoms alone.
References:
1. Materia Medica Viva by George Vithoulkas
2. Kent’s Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica
3. A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica by Clarke
4. Farrington’s Clinical materia medica
5. M.L.Tyler’s Homoeopathic drug pictures
6. Boericke’s materia medica
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