DESTRUCTION & SELF-DESTRUCTION

Presented by Massimo Mangialavori & Giovanni Marotta

This idea is different among homeopathic remedies and families

There are many different ways to express destruction and each remedy has a different manner of expressing this idea. Also the idea of destructiveness can be seen as a theme in many families.

Review of a thematic area

This is a very general idea. For example the idea of insecurity could be an area. It is so large therefore what matters is how it is expressed in the patient. It is most important to determine what kind of compensation they are using to express this insecurity.

Destruction belongs to all human beings

We do have certain issues in our literature that belongs to all humans. For example the theme of loss is unavoidable to escape in life, but we each have our own unique attitude of how we face this loss. Therefore each remedy or family in homeopathy has it’s own way of dealing with certain issues.

STRUCTURE

What is a structure?

Many parts work together = harmony

Generally speaking a structure consists of many pieces that are put together in harmony.

The many parts work together not alone to create this harmony.

How the parts are put together is even more important.

If you take parts of a bike and you don’t put them together right it won’t work.

Man has a complex structure and it consists of many different parts and the organization of the WHOLE system is what matters.

This is extremely important in homeopathy.

Destruction means no structure.

Construction means to put together

Coherent

Co = means to put together in a harmonic way.

The problems starts when there is no more cohesion or glue that holds the pieces together.

Glue like symptoms – needing cohesion

There are many examples of remedies where cohesion is missing.

The main delusion of Baptisia is to be scattered in pieces, but what is important of the dreams of Baptisia is that they talk to all the parts in order to keep them together.

Leguminosae also relate their symptoms in with a reference to glue, and describe their symptoms like glue.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is the most common representation of a fragmented person. It is exactly the opposite of a coherent structure not only from the psychological point of view but also from the physical side. These patients are one of the most destructive people & often easily suicidal.

Some diseases deeply affect our structure

Many diseases allow our system to keep working while others affect the structure of our system deeply and appear very chaotic. Autoimmune diseases are an example of this. They are diseases that affect the collagen.

Meaning of Collagen

Colla - Means glue and collagen is around every cell in our system. It is a broth in which all our cells are in and when we have a disease affecting the collagen it affects the whole system not just one part.

How homeopathy can help

A good remedy is the vehicle to help the system be better organized and act as a kind of glue to help the entire structure to keep in harmony.

DESTRUCTION

Destruction is a normal part of aging in life

Everyday we are building million of cells and from the day we are born we are growing and producing a specific structure. As we grow this structure becomes old and becomes destructive.

Human beings are the result of a complex system that is constantly building and destroying and this process is in accordance with nature.

We build and destroy billions of cells every minute.

What we can see in every human is a dynamic balance of the system.

In living there is the concept of building but then also one of destruction as one approaches death.

Therefore each remedy has destruction.

This idea of destruction exists in each life and is unavoidable.

Integration of CONSTRUCTION VS. DESTRUCTION

What is important is how these 2 processes are integrated in life.

We must study how all themes are related and integrated together in a person’s life.

There are certain families that are more known for destruction and doing differential diagnosis is the main work of these notes.

Death = transformation

When there is an imbalance we lose our health. When the balance is not possible anymore that system ends and dies, but in a larger perspective we can say it transforms.

The biggest change or transformation of our system happens at death.

We don’t like death as humans but from the point of view of nature this transformation works very well and is normal. Nature has a constant process of changing and rebuilding.

Compensation & Decompensation

There is another kind of destruction that is programmed in us too that can have a similar effect as the natural destruction. This destruction is one we learn to use our daily strategies to try to constantly repair it.

Example

The idea of feeding our system or the lack of nourishment in acids is not just about food but also about affection and their relationships.

Overcoming our strengths and weakness are part of our strategy to survive and repair.

Even the less destructive remedies have their own destructive side when they get close to dying.

This is a physiological kind of destructiveness.

Too much of a good thing is destructive too.

When the physiological processes are too extreme or too much it is not good either.

Example:

Wind is fundamental to take pollen to flowers and distribute oxygen, but when it becomes a hurricane it is destroyed.

If our positive emotions cannot be compensated or balanced, then we can also be destroyed. It is all about balance and too much of even a good thing can be destructive.

It makes sense is to possibly understand a remedy through their destruction.

We must try to understand the strategy they use to repair to overcome their situation.

What we do with our prescription is to push their strategies to help, improve and support their structure.

Important:

It is important to define the differences of a concept within homeopathic remedy families AND to understand how each remedy can be different in their compensated and decompensated state.

We need to find the turning point – point of decompensation

When our patients get sick we must consider their most vulnerable side and look for what happened. Every structure has a turning point and according to each structure they compensate in a different way. We must notice that when they can’t repair it and their compensations are beginning not to work anymore, this is the turning point.

It is extremely important to consider

· What is the turning point?

· What is the vulnerable point?

· What is the fragility of the life of the patient?

Compensation is our strategy of surviving and keeping our structure as it is.

Compensation is the strategy one uses to allow their structure to exist as it is now.

When compensation does not work any more we start to see that decompensation begins.

Destruction doesn’t just happen once in your life.

It is always the results of many different capabilities according to ones resources.

There is a normal amount of destructiveness that is physiological and belongs to every remedy. This destructiveness can manifest on our physical body, our emotions, etc., and each part can be affected by this destructiveness.

Knowing what part of the structure is being affected will help us in making a differential diagnosis.

Each part of us (emotions, physical body, or how we relate, etc.) can be affected by the process of destruction. Seeing what part is affected is extremely helpful to make a differential diagnosis through themes. Otherwise destructiveness is not a theme and only a gigantic area that has no specific meaning, like the idea of forsakenness, which can be confusing unless you know how each remedy differs in their forsakenness.

We MUST define what we mean always. Our words mean something different for every remedy.

It is important to understand a certain processes and how they take place for each remedy or person.

Self-destruction can be acted out on many levels, such as our physical body, our corporeal, our mind, and our relations with others.

Slides regarding DESTRUCTION

Note: D stands for destruction

MEANING OF WORDS

Description of physical body

Physical is whatever is transpersonal or not personal and belongs to all humans.

Something organic that belongs to everyone.

Fisico or Physical: Objective symptoms

Corpot or Corporeal: The corporeal is how we perceive our symptoms or the interface where our mind expressing our suffering in our own subjective way.

The dimension of the corpus is in between the mind and the physical body. It is how you express you mind on your physical body or how you express yourself with a specific attitude in your body.

“AS IF” SYMPTOMS ARE CORPOREAL

All the “as if” symptoms and objective symptoms of pains belong to the corpus.

The Corpus is another dimension.

Examples

Spiders are extremely well known for abscesses but so is Silicea and Hepar-s.

We need to know how the abscesses of each of these are different?

We must learn that that it is critical to give importance to the physical symptoms and to the corporeal

When there is a significant loss of tissues you must consider the idea of destructiveness.

An Otitis media is not that unusual, but when one has one that is so stinking and destroying the bones and it goes on and on you must ask what is going on? If you consider this in the context of the possible evolution of your patient you can ask what kind of problem should I consider.

When to consider the idea of destructiveness

When destructive type symptoms become a trend of a person it is important.

An abscess is not the same thing as a carie, but if you move from those pathologies forward you move in the direction of even more destruction and you must begin to think why this must be.

For example; in the beginning you will see Loxosceles less destructive symptoms, but then move from these pathologies to much more destructive ones. It is known for ulcers, caries, tumors, cancer, loss of fluids, emaciation and marasmus,

We must really consider the types of pain the symptoms are producing

If you say burning and you consider Phosphorus you must know that this is not a destructive burning but if you consider the burning that has to do with the Acids, then it is a complete different kind of burning and much more destructive.

When you can take the symptoms from the physical to the corporeal you will see more descriptions of how the pains feel to your patients.

The above slides lists some destructive symptoms

Stinging pains are an early symptom of destruction.

A stinging pain in Cactus is different than the stinging of an Insect or a Rosacea. So whenever it is possible we must try to give space for the patient to tell us how it is for them, even if it is by playing the role of the fool and telling them you don’t understand so can they explain more.

Then next step of destruction is to have NO energy, NO hope, or NO need to be restored. Anger is better than depression because they are at least still fighting.

The final step of destruction is the inability to repair the structure.

In Loxosceles this evident. They feel there is no way to repair and that it is lost forever. They feel they have no tools to repair this. It is as if their existence is senseless and meaningless and so suicide feels better than to continue their suffering forever.

Acids have this end stage too.

Hopelessness is the final state of every remedy.

Massimo on treating depressed patients

Depressed patients are not able to give you good info

It is not that easy to work with depressed patients, as they don’t give you the information you really need to find out important things. In these cases it is much better to forget that you must prescribe the right remedy because you must have enough symptoms to prescribe a good remedy and they are often not able to give you these kinds of symptoms.

Therefore having only depression is like having nothing.

In some case drugs or waiting may be necessary to produce symptoms

Sometimes you have to use an anti-depressant drug just so they can feel better and give you some symptoms, and then you can begin to work to get rid of their symptoms. Another approach without the use of drugs is to wait until clear symptoms come out.

Most likely these patients will need several remedies in their process.

Move them into a direction of talking about their life, their pains as they are still describing themselves when they talk about any idea even their hobbies.

Our society misuses the word depression

It is one thing to be sad and another to have a real depression.

Our society doesn’t let us be sad or let our kids express their emotions.

It doesn’t allow them to cry over death or see a dead pet. We are not allowed to enter into these kind of sad emotions. Not many sad movies make it big now as there is no space for this and mostly they are of people shooting each other or of happy things but rarely sadness.

Emptiness in comparison with destructiveness

Many depressive structures can have a deep sense of emptiness inside.

Often a severe depression is connected with emptiness on the inside.

You will see in the repertory many symptoms of emptiness and fullness.

Congestive symptoms are filling and have an empty feeling inside.

Omnipotence is a sign of someone very weak or empty and is trying to cope by feeling omnipotent.

Emptiness is deeper than weakness

When you are dealing with a strong sense of emptiness, which is very difficult to endure because it is more than weak but of nothing.

It is just a hole and belongs to the final stage of depression where you feel you have no meaning.

This sensation of a hole is not in mind symptoms but in physical symptoms. It is expressed in the corpus or how our body is expressing our mind symptoms.

A deep psychological imbalance can be expressed in symptoms.

Corpus is what we do in homeopathy.

Emptiness is something perceived on your body as something personal and therefore expressed by the corpus. That is why you find these kinds of symptoms in the body sections of the repertory and not the mind.