The times I have used Cactaceae
remedies I am often in the situation where I am helping people face their
death. It is interesting to
consider that there is a group of remedies that can be used near the end of
life. These patients came to me with severe disease where it was almost
impossible to resolve their illness. The best we can do, and often what these
patients came to me for, was to accompany them to their end in the best
possible way: giving a sense to their life and their final weeks of existence.
The concept of destructiveness is
significant in Cactacea and is an important concept to consider anytime we are
treating severely decompensated cases.
It is essential to understand that there are two different issues
related to the idea of destructiveness. There is a physiological
destructiveness that is seen in every person, in every remedy, and in every
family. Every remedy has a destructive phase and life necessarily has a
negative entropy. The self-destructive attitude is an essential component of
this family of remedies, but even a remedy like Pulsatilla can have a
destructive aspect.
In a certain sense we can
consider our homeopathic medicines and our patients according to a systemic
model, a Ômodel of complexityÕ if you will. A system is a complex structure
with many parts, working in harmony. In remedies like Millefolium and Arnica
you may see destructiveness at the level of the personal body. They have a
strong ego and want to show their strength and will do extreme sports. Their heroic
attitude can be considered destructive because of the risks they take. But you
will not see destructiveness in the Arnica-like remedies acted on the physical
plane, creating destructive pathologies such as cancer, or malabsorption of
food where the attitude is to destroy life rather than build life. The halogens
can be considered destructive in the level of their relationships; they are
healthy but live in an awful way because of their relations.
The destructiveness, which is an
essential component in Cactacea, can be perceived on all the human levels: the
physical plane, the personal body, the emotions and relationships. For most of their life Cactacea looks
extremely destructive in terms of their relationships. Little by little they
will become destructive in terms of their body and even in terms of their
soma. The irony of Cactacea is
that at the end of their life as they find themselves with a mortal illness
they will them become calm and wise. It is as if they find their identity when
they become sick. For them it is more difficult to live rather than to die.
For example, if you consider the
paradigm of Cactus grandiflorus, you will see that for the great majority of
their lives they are one of the most hypochondriacal patients that exist. In
the process they destroy their lives and those around them because of their
incessant complaints and demands.
This is different than the hypochondria seen in the salts of Calcium.
Calcarea looks for support and looks for a doctor, a relationship in which they
can trust. The problem for
Cactaceae is that they are unable to trust in any relationships, not even their
doctors. Mainly, they want to show you that they can manage by themselves. They
will place their trust in their medicines, not the doctor and they do not even
totally trust their medicines. You will find they often change their
prescriptions and take more than prescribed.
What is fascinating in Cactaceae
is that they seem to feel relieved when they begin their decompensation even
though their pathology can be quite severe. It is as if more or less they feel they were right all along
and they have been misunderstood for so many years. It is as if they found
their own identity. They can now
truly identify themselves as a sick person, with all the rights and privileges
due this state, and instead of being frightened they are more serene.
Their illness provides another
way to escape and not be in contact with the world around them. They now have
the social recognition of illness. Cactaceae were antisocial, misanthropic with
lots of rage in their relationships years before their actual disease
manifested. With an official diagnosis they now have an excuse for their
behavior. They are allowed to have their space, to rage, to stay on their own,
which is exactly the kind of pattern they had established for a long time. This
is the core of the idea of Cactacea.
The main picture we know of
Cactus grandiflorus is commonly when they reach the point of asking their
doctor for help. Cactaceae is especially destructive in their relationships
including the one with their physician. It is always a critical moment for
these patients to be in the position to ask for help. Having an awful
hypochondria and nothing realistic to base it on is functional to their Ôdestructiveness.Õ
They are just over-complainers; on top of this they do not trust their doctors
and are not compliant patients.
Another issue: when you study how
they get sick, they develop very complicated pathologies. Their disease is not
only serious from the organic point of view, but they have a complicated array
of symptoms that makes it nearly impossible to determine a precise
diagnosis. They undergo lots of
diagnostic procedures to little avail. And so these patients are frustrating
from a diagnostic point of view as well. They are indeed challenging patients
to have in oneÕs practice.
Before Cactaceae develops their
pathology they are well established as one who complains excessively about
their health. Their complaints are not substantiated in their symptoms and they
feel misunderstood. From the relational point of view with their physician,
they do the exact opposite. By the
time they see a doctor they have developed strange physical symptoms; they do
not cooperate with their doctor, and create a situation where it is impossible
to diagnose or treat them.
These are the essential issues of
Cactacea, but in our literature, in our repertories and materia medica symptoms
are presented in one moment. They are flat representations. There is a process
of compensation and decompensation in our patients and our medicines that we
have to understand in order to recognize these patients in an earlier phase,
before they develop their grave illnesses.
In their most compensated state,
they do not really search for help except to confirm their suspicions, and they
will not stay with their doctor. When they become severely decompensated with
illness this then puts them in a position of needing help; but when they come
to their doctor, they are not asking to overcome their pathology, but to die in
a better way.
Patients who need Cactus remedies
are prone to have severe disease, even according to the allopathic definition
of severe. Mostly I have to say that it is unusual for me to have severe cases
of this kind. In Italy it is not common for patients to ask to be treated just
with homeopathy and it is difficult for a doctor to treat these severe
diseases. Even patients with cancer would come to me during chemotherapy or
after, but they were not using homeopathy as their only method of treatment.
The first five cases are cases of
patients who died. These patients had severe terminal illnesses. Through
homeopathic treatment these patients were able to discontinue all the strong
painkillers they were taking. They all came to me with the specific request of
receiving support while they were facing the last moments of their life. They
wanted support to face this passage.
By chance, I used Cactus
Grandiflorus years ago for this type of case, and I developed an idea about
this remedy distinct from what I had previously known about it. I have to say
that my previous idea was wrong. Cactus can be extremely interesting for the
symptomatic use (as Arnica is used for injury) when people come in for the
specific request of being helped with their last passage. It is not only
helpful in psychological terms but from physical point of view as well.
The plants
Cacti are succulent plants.
Succulent conveys the idea of something large and fat, with thick fleshy leaves
and stems that can store water. Succulent plants are divided into different
families, the Cactaceae and the Lilliacea. The main survival strategies of
these plants are the same. Their shape is similar; they live in dry
environments and can be killed from rot if over watered. In comparison to other
plants they live in extreme conditions with little nourishment and water. In a
metaphorical way there is a similitude with the Cactacea patients who are
extremely self-sufficient, managing their poor energy by reducing their
contacts in order to care as best as possible for themselves.
It is important to understand
that my approach to homeopathic families is not strictly according botanical
classifications. The homeopathic
remedy Anhalonium lewinii is such an example. This is peyote. Lewinni is the
person who discovered it. This plant has been re-named Lophophora williamsii.
Lopha means hair and this plant has hair rather than thorns. Botanically it is
a member of the Cactaceae family. However, homeopathically I group it with the
Drug-like remedies. These people have survival strategies that are more typical
of those of Coca, Opium, Cannibus indica where the approach is to escape.
I have also grouped in the
homeopathic Cactaceae family plants that are not cacti such as Agave Americana
and Aloe. Aloe is not strictly in
the cactus family, but is close to that family in many ways. It is a succulent
plant; originally all succulents were considered members of the Cactaceae family.
It is now classified botanically as a member of the Liliaceae family, however
homeopathically it is more aligned with the Cactacae family. Many of the
Liliaceae along with the Cactacea family were once considered belonging to the
succulent plants in the past, because of their appearance, because of having
thorns, and the way they live.
The cacti have a beautiful
flower. Selected cacti and ornamental cacti flower every year. Usually in
nature they very seldom flower. Cacti look hostile because of their thorns and
it is not easy to get close to them. At the same time, they can produce
extremely beautiful and fragrant flowers. Ninety nine percent of cacti have no
leaves. Instead of leaves cacti have thorns. Usually the root is very small and
very dry. In a way, the thorns are a metamorphosis of the stem and leaves of
the plants.
Cactacea originated from a little
spot of United States and at one point that was the only place they were found.
It is very difficult to live in this environment. Cactus and other succulent
plants need a harsh environment in which to live and are unable to adapt to
different climates. They are resistant to the environment but not invasive.
Like sea animals a piece of the cactus can reproduce an entire animal. From
this point of view they are very strong. Even the scar of a cactus can develop
into a plant and then into an entire colony. The thorns are mainly made of
Silicium and some aspect of Silica can be found in the homeopathic medicine.
The thorn has a specific purpose
of preventing anyone to get close to the plant and the fruit. Thorns also
produce a bit of shade, prevent sunburn and prevent the evaporation of water.
The fruit of the cactus plant are extremely sweet. In some cases, Opuntia, for
instance, the entire plant can be eaten and it is extremely sweet.
Cacti cannot tolerate any kind of
humidity especially around the root. They especially cannot tolerate any
decomposing material. So if you water a cactus too much, it will die. The
opposite is true for the majority of plants. For a cactus, there must be no
fertilizer and no water. Phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium are the three most
important elements they need.
The
repertory is a catalogue of symptoms. One of the limitations of the repertory
is that the symptoms do not have the same meaning in every remedy. One symptom
can be confined to a specific area of the body in one remedy and can have a
bigger, more general meaning for another remedy. The following hierarchy is MassimoÕs approach to grouping
symptoms in a homeopathic family or remedy.
Big
Thematic Area
The
themes that you would consider for this are so generic that you can see aspects
in all humans. It is not a fundamental theme because everyone will have this
issue. The theme of loss for instance is a theme that everyone has to face in
his or her life at one time or another. Loss is not a Big Thematic Area for all
remedies but would be considered so in Ignatia where loss plays a central role.
It is essential to explain how it is important and in which specific way. Usually there is one ÒBig Thematic
AreaÓ for one homeopathic family but it needs to be explained in terms of the
remedy or family. You will see the Big Thematic Area reflected in the
fundamental and general themes.
Fundamental
themes
These
themes must be present in order to deeply prescribe the remedy. Even with
treatment these issues never go away, but can be adjusted and managed.
Fundamental themes are more precise to the homeopathic family or remedy and not
found in all patients.
General Themes
These
symptoms can resolve and change with treatment and return with
decompensation. Polarities can
exist within the general themes, for example the numbness and extreme
sensitiveness to pain that you see in Opium. As the patient is successfully
treated there is less of a spike in the polarities.
Coherent group symptoms
These
are similar to modalities and are symptoms that would be found in several
sections of the repertory. Burning pain in Capsicum is an example. Once you
have established that burning is an important symptom it could be represented
in any area.
AVOIDANCE: Difficulty in
living the pleasure of life:
This is a specific kind of
avoidance; there is a difficulty in terms of living. Drug remedies and carbon
remedies also have avoidance mechanisms as a very important strategy, but in
the Cactaceae it is a very specific kind of avoidance. For their entire life
they do their best to avoid any pleasure such as having sex, eating or
drinking. Their feeling is: ÒIf I feel there is a relationship between me
and this person, then this love can cage me in and create a situation where I
cannot easily leave this planet.Ó
Cactus tends to avoid
relationships and anything that is commonly considered pleasant. Their common
strategy is to reduce their interaction with their environment and their
relationship with the world to the minimum. This is opposite of Sulphur which
wants to taste the world.
Avoidance is a general concept
and can be seen in all remedies. Even Phosphorus has a way to avoid others by
being talkative and precluding the formation of deeper friendships, but it is
not a central issue and certainly not considered a Big Thematic Area for
Phosphorus.
Avoidance can be considered a Big
Thematic Area in the Drug-like remedies and the Carbon remedies but it is
necessary to define what type of avoidance in terms of the family. The
avoidance of drugs is different than the avoidance of the Cactacea. The
Drug-like remedies like to escape, expand to another dimension that is less
difficult than real life. Cactacea contracts and minimizes their exposure. The Carbon group of remedies, in which
carbon is prevalent, such as Carbo animalis, Carbo vegetablis, Graphites,
Adamas, Carbolic acid has difficulty in entering life, in incarnating; they
would rather sleep than face their daily life. Carbo vegetablis will faint or
sleep 24 hours a day to avoid life.
More or less all of the Cactacea will give you the impression
of being extremely self-sufficient people in a narcissistic way. They always
put themselves in the center; people have to revolve around them. They do not give to others. They have
such an extreme need to take care of themselves that their needs are the most
important. It is impossible to find a case of Cactacea living with a person who
has a strong ego; they need to stay with someone who can endure them.
Think of Cactus Grandiflorus: in
the first part of their life they are very hypochondriacal. They are probably
the most hypochondriacal in the materia medica. But you have to understand
which kind of hypochondriasis we are dealing with and differentiate this from
other remedies. Calcarea cannot endure
living by themselves and seeks support so that life is easier. In Cactaceae
life is never easier.
Cactacea feels life is so very
difficult to live and they express this through their many symptoms. They
appear hypochondriacal but in an unexpected twist, this fear of disease does
not drive them to request support, but rather to avoid relationships. They love
to express how much they suffer and they complain enormously about their
symptoms, the daily changes in their physical body, and that something is
making them feel sick. Cactaceae
patients enlarge their symptoms. If there is a slight change in their body,
they feel they will die very soon.
What is curious is that they do
not seek for any kind of supportive relationship. They are not interested in
having a close relationship with a practitioner to overcome their extreme fear.
They ONLY seek a medicine and do not even trust the medicine or who suggested
the medicine. This hypothetical support is very artificial (a medicine rather
than a person). It is something that they have to change, double the dose
perhaps, and for them it is something that is not reliable. They donÕt even
trust in the medication in the end.
Their self-sufficiency is
extremely narcissistic. Narcissism
can be expressed in different ways and for these people everybody and
everything has to revolve around them. The entire family and environment has to
move around them because of their hypothetical (and as yet undiagnosed)
disease. Another peculiar attribute of this family is that their
hypochondriasis disappears at the exact moment when they are (finally)
diagnosed with a severe disease.
Even when they are close to death
their interface with their environment and the people that support them, is to
always be the center of attention and that everything has to change to meet
their needs.
Cactus patients are ÒDRYINGÓ
almost any sense of pleasure: it is as if they are cut off from LIFE. They tend
to avoid, to be alone, to neglect any possible contact with life. ÒDRYINGÓ also
refers to their physical symptoms of dryness. They may refer to themselves as
dry inside and that they can live with a very little amount of water. They
describe rather than complain about their dry symptoms as they can live with
them very well. If you investigate a little further you can see that they are
the first actor of this drying: they reduce their water in everything. This is
another mechanism in avoidance: avoiding water/life. They have a dry body and they reduce their intake of food
and water. They avoid anything vital and anything related to life: food, water,
sex, or any pleasure.
You can grasp a huge sense of
anger in these patients. Normally we see fiery anger in someone that is able to
show their anger, a hot anger. But in the Cactus family, the anger manifests in
a cold, more indirect way: in a way that makes it feasible to avoid any
potential contact with the other person. They literally do not recognize the
existence of the person that is the object of their anger. Their outburst of
anger, when they have it, is very impersonal and in the direction of God. They
can curse, they can pray, they can be angry with God and the saints. They curse
the largest person responsible.
This Òcold angerÓ serves to
promote their avoidance. It is one thing not to express anger. It is another
thing when anger is kept in and used in a precise, calculated and well-planned
manner to make their avoidance more effective. In the right moment certain
words and behavior can affect the relationship so deeply that the effect is to
increase the distance between themselves and another. One patient told her husband daily, ÒDonÕt worry, you may
not find me alive in bed tomorrow.Ó This attitude does not do well in promoting
closeness in a relationship.
Lucid in this sense refers to
being bright, precise and sharp in the surveillance of your control. To avoid
relationships, think how much one would need to control. These patients show
the strongest control in our material medica. This requires a well-structured person
who knows exactly what to do and how to act to control his or her self as well
as other people. It is seen primarily in the compensated state as they
manipulate their environment including the many doctors they commonly see
because of their hypochondria. The
lucidity mainly controls a deep sense of anger and the control goes on until
the end of life because they consider that they are the only one who knows
exactly what they need.
This control is mainly acted on
their anger. Rarely will you find any outburst of anger, but in their way of
relating to their doctors, friends, relatives and even the people closest to
them, they can accurately and meticulously express sentences, expressions or
behavior at the correct moment to impart a precise injury in a most vulnerable
spot. Until the last moment of their life, they want to control their therapy.
This is a patient that may be close to death but finds it necessary to tell you
what treatment he wants!
They wake up in the afternoon and
think it is the morning.
They are pretty young but look
very old.
They can have early menopause
They can die at a very young age
and with a severe illness.
They move in life with the
certain perception of time that is very different from the rest of the world.
An example of this theme can be seen in Anhalonium,
another Cactaceae, even though it is in Drug-like family and is a completely
different situation. In Anhalonium there is a disconnection with the real world
and this causes their mind to be unable to perceive even the basic coordinates
of the real world, which is space and time. The limit of space and time does
not exist for the Drug-like remedies.
This is different in the
Cactaceae and is related to their deep sense of self-sufficiency. These people
are so strongly focused on themselves that their internal concept of time and
space is much more important. They
will even impose on others their own pace, their own sense of time: how fast
they move or talk, when it is the right time to do things.
In their decompensation it is
common for them to retreat more and more inside of themselves. Very often they
have mind symptoms where they can confuse time and space. They can wake in the
afternoon and not know what time it is or they can walk and lose their
orientation. This is the result of disinvesting energy outside of themselves.
They watch around, but they are more concerned for preserving their little
energy inside. There is a standard of time for everyone that we observe on our
clocks and watches, upon which we all agree; but your internal time can be slow
or fast depending on what you are doing. If you are just paying attention to
what is going on inside, then you lose the sense of time.
The Cactacea are the most
introspective people in our materia medica. They are extremely capable and
intelligent and this contributes to their superb defense strategy. For them to cope with the world is
painful. They do not escape as do the Drug-like remedies, but they are in
positions that allow them to remain undisturbed as much as possible and
independent as much as possible.
They do a lot of things but they
are uneasy; they do not like to be in the common world. Their inner desire is
to send everyone to hell and be on their own at home creating the time to do
what they want to do and to be who they want to be. Often these people are in
positions of power. If you put yourself in a powerful enough position, in which
no one is telling you what to do, then you are in a better position not to be
disturbed. Arsenicum is in a high position so they can watch their
enemies. Cactus is in a high
position so they can retreat and do what THEY want to do. A Cactacea patient
who was a famous journalist would often leave parties that had been organized
in his honor, extremely rude by anyone elseÕs standards. They cannot cope, and
they leave. Often they are in powerful enough positions that they can do
this.
At first they cannot accept or
trust their body for what it is. Every little symptom signifies a fatal
disease; they are full of fear and convinced they will die at an early
age. Surprisingly their fears
disappear and they accept the vagaries of their body when they are at last
diagnosed with their terminal illness.
Manipulative
From the beginning of life the
Cactacea patient can be quite manipulative. Because of their hypochondria they
oblige their surroundings to bend to their needs. They change their habits and
demand the same of others in order to be as healthy as possible and preserve
what little energy they feel they have. Even in their decompensation, as they
become seriously ill, it is notable that they feel they know best about their
illness and will dictate their needs to their doctor and spouse.
Obsequious / Distant
When you are first introduced to
a Cactacea patient you may note what an extremely intelligent and successful
person they are. The impression you have of them is how courteous this person
seems and how respectful he is of me; but it is as if he says since I am very
respectful of you, you must do the same for me. It is a gentle but poignant way of manipulation to indicate
how they want to be treated and to keep the relationship formal. In effect there is almost too much
esteem or reverence to the point that it seems unnatural or contrived. It is another device they use to keep
their distance and to invite you to nourish their narcissism.
If you try to get closer to them
and break down the barrier, they will kindly say, Òno, you stay there, I stay
here.Ó They can be extremely harsh
and rough in their behavior when they are decompensated. When they are
compensated they can be extremely obsequious in order to clearly emphasize
their wish to be treated in a formal and distant way.
Central symptoms
Cactus is known for heart
symptoms. They have few symptoms in their head but their headache is located
exactly in the center of the forehead. If you listen to what they say, when
they describe the pain, it is something that touches the ÒcenterÓ of my system,
in the core of my system. In their perception, the center is their chest. They
mainly feel their suffering Òin the chestÓ, as if this is the central part of
their entire body. It is as if they are cut off from the periphery of their
body and they can only suffer ÒhereÓ in the chest, because the rest of them is
cut off.
THE PAIN IS CENTRAL AND ALL
THE REST IS CUT OFF.
Transfixing pains
The idea of pain is something
that is not only stinging/sticking but it is TRANSFIXING. You may hear them say
their pain ÒentersÓ their system and they may even describe it as something
LONG that enters and REMAINS with them. ÒIt crosses through my system and
goes through the center.Ó
Spasmodic retraction
The cactus remedies are well
known for cramps but the cramps do not necessarily affect the heart or the
chest. Cramping is similar to the way they deal with the world. They withdraw
themselves from everything in the world.
Dreams
They often describe erotic
dreams. It is important to ask what they felt in their dreams. For most people
sexual dreams involve a sense of pleasure, a relationship with another person.
For the Cactus person there is no relationship and the erotic dream is more or
less a release rather than a connection with another person.
(IÕm sorry, I need help with this
one! No pleasure from their erotic dreams? Or no connection with another
person? Just a release? No pleasure?
What is fascinating is that as the remedy starts to work and
they start to heal they will invariably have dreams of water in which they will
be able to be in contact with water.
In life you will notice that they are coming to appreciate the people
around them and becoming less distant. The dreams of water in a patient who has
been dry and removed are a testimony to how deeply the remedy promotes
self-healing.