Is Your Mind Spinning Out Of Control?

The human condition is a complex interplay of many states or even ‘selves’, as it were, each one blending with the other to produce thought, emotion, action, desire, moods and everything else that puts us squarely at the top of the evolutionary ladder.

But underlying our ‘humanness’ is a physiological, biochemical, anatomical and genetic matrix, where each aspect meshes with the others in ways scientists are still trying to unravel.

 Among these ‘higher’ aspects of every human being is the mind, a powerful influencer of our physiological state. Chronic, repetitive mental patterns leave an impact on our brain and body’s biochemistry just as much as the genetic and biochemical aspect of ourselves determine some of our very basic mental, emotional and behavioural attributes.

Imagine, for a moment, being able to tap into the energy where the physical and mental are nothing but the same, and change not only your health but, who knows, even your destiny? This is what homeopathy is capable of achieving. With a precise and accurate assessment of your constitutional make-up and an insight into what has made your constitution sick, a skilled homeopath cannot only heal you but puts you on a life-sustaining, positive path that has limitless possibilities. This is the ultimate state of balance to which most of us only aspire.

Sustaining this balance and well-being is the vital force, a positive energy that keeps us alive and kicking. However, sometimes, life’s struggles and conflicts prove too much to bear, or one’s constitutional defences are too weak to help us work though our emotional issues. When this happens, our vital force is sometimes twisted and turned into an ‘ugly’ and ‘destructive’ state that classical homeopathy calls the ‘Syphilitic Miasm’.

The hallmark of this state is that one’s thoughts are so far out of balance that they are ’out of control’. In this post, we shall discuss two extremes of behaviour that are but opposite expressions of the Syphilitic Miasm – individuals that are either very dull, listless and apathetic and have almost completely lost interest in life (inertia) or individuals who have turned violent, erratic, volatile and aggressive, and self-destructive or are a threat to other people.

Before I explain further, read the following thumbnail sketches of patients who came to my clinic, presenting the Syphilitic Miasm. Note, also, the link between their emotional conflicts and the physical expression of the same.

Shalini, a 29-year-old up-and-coming executive in a real estate firm, loved the good life. She was bright, smart, personable and enjoyed going out with friends. Only, she loved it a little too much. Almost every evening after work, Shalini would hook up with her friends and paint the town red. They would meet at a local café, discuss their plans for the evening and then hit the pubs.

Shalini’s friends thought she was ‘cool’ and she, in turn, loved the attention she got. She had to be the centre of attention and was jealous if anyone stole the limelight. The problem is, every time Shalini was detained at work and had to cancel her plans for the evening, she grew restless and ill-tempered. She felt compelled – almost driven – to let her hair down every evening. It was like a drug and there was little she could do about it.

There came a point when Shalini started cutting corners at work, absenting and slipping up on projects. She was pulled up on numerous occasions and was potentially looking at a promising future going down the toilet.

But that is not why she came to me. Shalini had developed a condition called lichen planus, a skin disease characterised by lesions that are usually the result of an autoimmune process.

The young woman’s skin disease was the result of an emotional complex, where she was constantly compared with her elder sister, who was smarter and more intelligent. When she was a child, she resented all the attention her sister received and vowed she would turn out to look better and earn more than her sister, when she grew up.

This was the root of Shalini’s physical disease. When her drive to prove she was ‘better than her sister’ spun out of control, Shalini developed a destructive skin disease that mirrored the destructive (out of control) nature of her thought processes.

Then there was 19-year-old Ankur. Instead of a young collegian who should have been exploding with energy, I was looking at a dull teenager staring blankly at me. Virtually expressionless, Ankur had no inclination to speak, and paused for several seconds before he answered each question I asked him. It looked like the life had been vacuumed out of him, leaving only a disembodied shell.

His mother said Ankur was once a happy-go-lucky kid, who loved school and excelled in football. He was once affectionate, sensitive, sincere, and in many ways, a model son. His mother said that after his father developed terminal liver disease seven months ago, Ankur had started becoming withdrawn. The sudden shock was devastating and had pushed the boy beyond the boundaries of his normal psychological defences.

Then, a couple of weeks before Ankur came to my clinic, the youngster had developed convulsions and would sometimes fall unconscious. He also couldn’t sleep at night. This had prompted Ankur’s mother to bring him to me. At the root of the teenager’s physical illness was the inability to absorb the devastating shock of his father’s death.

And finally, there’s Shehnaaz (see video below), who came to me with complaints of rheumatoid arthritis. Shehnaaz had begun to experience pain in her joints about four years before she came to my clinic. Like Ankur, she too was dull and listless and experienced no interest in her surroundings.

 

 The 36-year-old had had a hard life fraught with problems with her husband. She had to raise three children but was constrained by serious financial difficulties. Shehnaaz was once a ‘strong’ woman but the emotional burden had slowly chipped away at her will and whittled her down. Unable to bear the stress any more, Shehnaaz’s mind simply shut down and she grew completely insensitive.

Her destructive energy had turned inward and Shehnaaz developed rheumatoid arthritis. I didn’t need any further clues to her state of mind but the young woman did tell me she felt she had nothing to live for. She said there was only one choice left – to take her own life.

When they came to my clinic, Shalini, Ankur and Shahnaaz were all constitutionally sick. Their clinical conditions – lichen planus, convulsions and rheumatoid arthritis – were bodily manifestations of the same Syphilitic Miasm.

The ultimate expression of this Miasmatic state is death either through extreme inertia or through self-destruction. Correspondingly, we are speaking of two diametrically opposite personalities, who are actually two sides of the same coin.

Let’s take a look at how this destructive state can be recognised.

Looks: Interestingly, an individual in the Syphilitic Miasm can be easily identified through their looks and behaviour. In either extreme, the Syphilitic Miasm is ‘ugly’, repels and is distorted. Accordingly, a Syphilitic face exhibits sharp features that are ‘not quite right’ just like Jayesh’s (see slideshow below). On the other hand, Syphilitic inertia can be identified from its dull and apathetic look, just like Rajesh’s (see slideshow below). Individuals are indifferent to their surroundings are unwilling speak or respond. They look despondent and despairing.

2 Faces Of The Syphilitic Miasm from MindHeal Homeopathy

Behaviour: What types of behaviour do these individuals typically exhibit?

·         Out of control emotions – hysteria, hypochondriasis

·         Mania, insanity

·         Sexual perversions

·         Suicidal, homicidal tendencies

·         Cruelty (rape, murder)

·         Homosexuality

·         Moral afflictions – anti-social, criminal disposition

·         Loss of interest in life / to achieve or work

·         Complete hopelessness and despair

I would like to emphasise that the root cause of disease is almost always emotional, which is why the symptoms one develops mirrors one’s emotional conflicts and the defences one uses to deal with them. Therefore, understanding the patient’s mind provides a clear window to their disease and, by extension, to curing their affliction and relieving them of their suffering.

While assessing a case, there are many clues I gather from simply observing my patients, regardless of the content of their case history. These clues come from the patient’s appearance, facial expression, demeanour, body language, peculiar gestures and the like. These are the most ‘honest’ clues a patient can offer, for they are unconscious and are not subject to manipulation. Taken together with the case history, they provide a composite picture of the patient, which is essential to assessment and accurate prescribing.

Re-awaken the healer in you...

- Dr Anita Salunkhe, MD

MindHeal Homeopathy is an ISO-certified clinic based in Chembur, Mumbai. Call us on: 022-25230530 / +91-9930363981 or write to crm@mindheal.com. Website: www.mindheal.org. We are happy to answer all your queries. Online Consultation via Skype also available