26/09/2022
ANOTHER BIG CAT CASE: BEHAVIOR ISSUES IN A YOUNG BOY.
8 year old boy, brought in for very severe behavior problems. He has been physically violent towards other children, and has been expelled from school previously. He is being threatened with expulsion from school again, and the mother is at her wits end as to what to do. From a medical/psychiatric perspective she is being pressured to permanently put him on medication.
Ok tell me about what has been happening
(Mother begins…)
Grew tall just last year. Growing pains in his legs for awhile. He hasn’t complained about them. Not a complainer. He broke bones and he didn’t complain about it
‘I didn’t feel any pain’ he says ‘It just looked different’
Mother says he was pale, white as, laying on his back, one knee up.He was just laying there, no expression on his face
‘I felt like there was a sheep on me, wouldn’t let me get up’
‘My body wasn’t letting me get up’
He is also pulling his own teeth out. He has done two molars – pulled them out himself, permanent teeth
He says ‘it doesn’t hurt’
Does anything hurt you?
(Boy says)
No. Nothing hurts. When the blood comes out, I think I am going to die, but it doesn’t hurt a bit.It is like I am now, just normal like I am now
(Mother says)
He climbed up a tree last week, he was in a rage, lost his temper if he doesn’t get his own way, said he would jump and it wouldn’t hurt him. He goes into a rage if he doesn’t get his own way. He runs away – (he says that story is wrong, that he went to his cubby house). He denies that he pulls the teeth out
He says ‘I am not a dumb climber’
He is very violent, throws things, destroys things, lashes out. He has hit his father (denies he did it – says ‘no I didn’t …when did I do that’).He repeatedly denies things. He destroys things, then he says straight away he didn’t do it, even when he is caught. He says it wasn’t him
He lashes out at his brother, says he annoys him. He can’t distinguish between his 2 year old brother and another 8 year old. It is always someone else’s fault, he says the other children hit him. He harasses them, until they lash out so he will go away. He will grab them by the throat, push them down stairs. This has been going on for 12 months
His teacher last year left, and a new teacher came in – he was moved into a new class. He was moved back to his own class. That calmed him down
(Boy suddenly says)
‘I can howl like a wolf’
(Mother continues after I give him some paper to draw on - I find that drawing is a useful way to draw information out of a child so I get him to do that while the mother and I are talking)
He was a straight A student, then this year he went to D’s and E’s
(he is howling while he draws)
The new teacher was younger, the first teacher was older and more strict. He said he felt he was pushed to the side. He is very outgoing, likes lots of attention. He says he doesn’t like all the new additions to the family. He was really good with his brother until the last 6 months, now he seems to hate him. It is the anger. His father is short tempered, disciplinary, but we don’t smack. He gets into such a rage, kicking and smacking, butt heads
It is normal for him to rage straight away. Mother says if she needs time to herself he will snap, it is not what he wants to do. He snaps. He yells, swears, punches. He stamps his feet. Fists clenched. Face is disgusting, angry, mouth open, eyebrows turned in. He is asked to go to his room, he will be throwing things, or destroying things. He is asked to sit in a quite spot, he screams at the top of his lungs like someone is killing him. He may calm down after 10 minutes or so
He is more or less right then. He still has anger in him
Before the change of teachers?
He was very challenging, high strung, running around. He drowned when he was 2 ½ years old. He jumped into a pond, he came up lifeless. He went to hospital for 24 hours. He stopped talking until he was 4 years old after that. Up until then he was talking again. The doctors said it was shock
Any other changes?
Nothing in his physical behavior. He never slept in the day. He was the same, but he wouldn’t talk. When he started talking again, it was clear as day no problems
Fears?
None. Never had any. No anxiety. When he was 11 months old he fell down steps, grazed the whole side of his face, he didn’t even cry.
He crawled at 5 months old, he walked at 10 months. He ate solid food at 8 weeks. The only thing he wouldn’t eat was red meat. Loved chicken. Still wont eat red meat, completely refuses to. Always vomited from formula milk
(Observation: he is very noisy, running around, making faces, chasing his brother)
He has tried to commit su***de, twice (!!) – 7 yrs old and 8 yrs old
He was put on antidepressants twice. Took him off them
(observing him, he makes strange gestures, hissing and snarling - I ask him what he is doing, and he says it is a tiger or a leopard)
He draws a picture – (I ask him to draw a happy time) – he says it is what was just happening now he is having fun chasing
Mother says he chases a lot, even on his own. He chases his brother, he chases his imaginary friends. The game is called ‘Leopard tiggy’ (he says he plays it)
(I ask him to draw a sad picture)
(Boy says when asked about the picture)
Angry. Helps me climb. Climb in lots of ways
(he is noisy, loud, yells, runs around, cannot focus on things for long)
I like leopards. They are my first favorite meat eaters. They are so scary, fast, they can growl pretty good. Grey, dots on them. They play games. When they get angry, they fight
They are only animals
They don’t understand that they are just animals, they don’t know they shouldn’t fight
Second favorite are tigers. White ones, orange ones. They are really sad. Only 2 types in the world
I like crocodiles too. Rhinos too, they are cool, they do good charges. I fight like a leopard. I am a good fighter.
(Mother says)
He wont stop until that person is hurt. He uses martial arts on other children
What occurred during pregnancy?
I was anxious I was going to be a single mother. Moved back to be with my family
Anything else about pregnancy?
Not really
Oh he also says people have stolen his stuff, at night
(Mother says) he can’t handle too much noise
(Boy says) If someone takes stuff, I will kill them
If I ever find out who did it, I will kill them
How would you kill them?
Punch to the throat, cut off their air, they cannot breathe then.
I like climbing – you can go up high. I like possums they can glide. They are quiet
My favorite book is beast quest. Two people, a wolf, a horse
Why don’t you get hurt?
Because I am strong
What is strong?
I do push ups. If I cant sleep I do push ups. Tough. Hard to be hurt. No-one can hurt me. If they even try, I use my strong-ness to defeat them. They are evil warrior. They are enemies. I try to destroy them
How?
I have destroyed senior students(boys much bigger than him). You just jump and grab them on the neck. Jump grab choke (he shows me a lot of gestures and movements about how he would kill them, he bares his teeth, leaps forward, swipes his hand, shakes his head as if something was in his teeth)
I attack them. They do it every day, even if they are defeated.
Leopards can go really fast, cheetahs are pretty fast. Cheetahs are my third most favorite. Growl, run, jump. They all look different. One is gray, one is orange, one is yellow, stripes, dots
Do you have any nightmares?
Falling from a cloud and dying. Wont tell my baddest one - It is about my mother and my baby brother. They nearly die in it (he goes quiet, holds his mother’s arm)
(he wont talk about it)
I have lots of dreams about roaring, claws - things with claws, jumping, pouncing, jumping on to me - claws and teeth
(Mother says) I had a lot of nightmares when pregnant, lots of fear - I am not sure if they were the same as his nightmares but they were pretty scary
I had lots of thoughts of the past coming back
Being abandoned - that is what I feared most
First step is to decide what needs to be cured in this case. The physicals are poorly represented, the mentals are very prominent. The main problem here is the behavior, and this is what the mother wants cured. It is also hampering his life to the greatest degree, affecting his ability to connect and co-operate with others, and his ability to stay in school so he can be educated. It also may put the safety of others at risk. At the very least he is going to end up on orthodox psychiatric drugs and he might even be institutionalized.
One possibility is to simply look at the symptoms exactly as they appear and repertorize:
Children, Growth too fast - calc, CALC-P, ferr, ferr-ac, iod, irid, kreos, ph-ac, phos.
Indifference, to pain - arn, arund, iod, jatr, op
Suicidal, throwing himself from a height - anac, Arg-n, ars, AUR, BELL, camph, crot-h, gels, glon, hyos, ign, iod, iodof, hydrog, Lach, Lyss, Nux-v, orig, sec, Sel, Sil, staph, Stram, sulph, x-ray
Rage, with suidical disposition - ant-t, sec, stram
Rage, with increased strength - Agar, BELL, hyos, op
Rage, violent - agar, ANAC, bar-c, BELL, canth, cocc, croc, cupr, HYOS, LACH, lyc, nux-v, staph, STRAM, Verat
Rage, tries to kill people - hep, HYOS, lach, sec, Stram
Rage, with screaming - Anac, Bell, canth, cupr, hyos, lach, plb, sec, sol-n, Verat
Rage in paroxysms - acon, camph, canth, chin-b, croc, Cupr, mosch, oena, Puls, Stram, Verat
Food, meat, aversion (too many remedies to list)
Food, chicken, desires - Ferr-i, Graph, Phos
So from this we might consider Belladonna (5), Stramonium (5), Hyoscamus (4). Certainly the behavior is typical for those remedies - my only problem is now understanding the qualities of the Kingdoms and Groups, I was not happy to 1. settle on a plant with so many clear animal themes 2. to not see the fear and terror of the Solanacaea family.
However, by this time I was much more experienced in using the Group/Kingdom classifications to help me to differentiate between remedies.
For me the animal themes of 'me versus them', 'strong versus weak', 'kill or be killed' were far too prevelant in the case to ignore them. By looking at the rubrics above, the only animal remedies that appear at all are Lach, Canth, Crot-c, Mosch - two snakes, an insect and a mammal (deer).
This was one of those rare cases where the patient themselves is so keenly aware of their own state, that they can identify it themselves. This is a very rare situation. Since I have started using this method in the last few years, I have seen this only 1 other time. In most cases where a person identifies with an animal, they are either completely wrong about the group, or they actually need a plant or a mineral. Generally speaking patients perceive both the truth about themselves and a severe distortion of that truth. Our role is to make sense of it. Some of the miasms in fact can create animal-like language (leprosy = loathed and cast out, syphilis = murdered by enemies, tubercular = freedom and trapped, cancer = domination and control).
This is also one of those cases that can create PR problems for those of us using the method. It makes it seem simple, just name an animal and get given that remedy. This is a common criticism based on just a handful of cases where it has happened. This may end up being one of those cases - however it is also a genuine case. Unfortunately things are almost never that easy, and if a practitioner falls prey to that kind of mistake this method will almost never give them results. People are always looking for shortcuts in homoeopathy, in this method and any other method.
The remedy I gave in this case was one made from Tiger's Urine. He had the remedy only twice to get this result.
I was already sure he needed a remedy from the animal kingdom. Solanacaeas can look similar though, lots of violence in them and fighting.
Patients who need animal remedies will describe a whole range of sensations, movements, feelings, activities relating to the life of the animal itself. The patient himself showed me the remedy, in his movements and noises and in his descriptions - tear, swipe, pounce, jump, climb, rip, bite, hiss, growl, chase - clear predator themes. The way in which he describes the attack - to go for the throat and to cut off their air - is typical for the big cats. This is how they bring down prey. There is also a tendency to get up high, to climb. We know that from the experience in clinic of patients needing these remedies these are themes that occur frequently.
If you've read through the two other Big Cat cases I've posted recently, I think you could already see the themes of the family here.
But to decide which cat...that was more difficult. I have had a number of Lac leoninum cases and this one did not resemble them. In my Lion cases it was always about who was in charge, who was the boss, who got to lead. The issues were around fighting the current leader, a struggle for power between two proud people, and only one could lead. Often it was a younger person facing an older more established leader - a parent or other authority figure.
Now my experience with the cats at this time in my practice was not extensive - I had 5 Lac-leo cases that had been successful, one Lac-f (domestic cat) case - that was all. But I remembered Divya Sankaran talking about her experience with proving Tiger - she gave an extensive description of the weeks following her ingestion of the remedy. It was all about strength, it was about using that strength to beat people into submission, the bully who must knock down those bigger than them to prove they can do it, to make sure they won't do it back to you. You get them first, hit them hard and take them out, you use your superior strength to take what you want. Only the strong have a right to take things, strength makes you right.
Something that stuck with me though - I remember in the discussion that it was mentioned the Romans used to put Lions and Tigers together to watch them fight, and the Tigers always won. They are the strongest and they will use that strength to beat you!
Divya’s Notes on the remedy TIGER:
1. EGO, PROVING ONESELF :
- I am the best but don't get a chance to prove it
- Unjustly accused by friends of being proud and egoistic
- Meeting big and influential people
- Arrogant, abrupt, rude
2. PROTECTING, SAVING, CARING FOR OTHERS
3. INJUSTICE, WRONGED. BETRAYED
- everyone is unfair to me, falsely accused, later on I will kill my opponent
- murdered by villains, injured by others
- fear of victimization
- fights against people who have wronged me
- abadoned, left behind by my friend on purpose, persecuted and betrayed
- my privacy is invaded
Dr. Chhabra's notes on Tiger from her personal proving and from clinical cures:
"This is the Battle of sheer raw power, physical power, muscles, brute strength. 'Challenge is to my strength and courage but not to my position, respect, honor or dignity'. Weak people talk of words, people who have strength just go and do what they want. They do this not on the power of their chair (position) but by their own power."
"Impatient, intuitive, hyper, pushy, courageous, competative. The Tiger fearlessly attacks head on. Takes on daredevil challenges for the thrill and excitement. Blunt, straightforward, emotional. The Tiger fears only weakness, heights, being trapped and helpless."
"Not a social animal, stalks isolated and free and does what he wants. He has the final say, is answerable to no-one."
Prescription = Tiger's Urine (Tige-u) 200c
(follow up with mother 3 weeks later)
Up and down since the remedy
Outbursts are shorter now, they would normally they would last a whole day, but now they last a maximum of 10-15 minutes
At school, he normally can be calmed down, has to be sent to a detention room, but now he will calm himself down
Still a little bit angry but nothing as bad as he was. He is not as argumentative, he just walks away now, he used to follow me around arguing
He is sitting next to a child at school now, he is doing fine –he used to get angry if someone touched him or his chair. Now no problems
He is not growling anymore, that happened right away. He is not leaping about now, he is not chasing now
Anything not changed yet?
He still is angry with his dad about not getting enough attention
Prescription = repeat remedy
(First face-to-face follow up, 3 months after initial consultation)
(Patient looks *completely* different – calmer, standing taller, not restless at all, looks more mature, speaks quietly and much more coherently)
Mother reports:
He is calmer
More approachable
Doesn’t lose his temper
The aggression doesn’t come out
He was getting bullied by some older kids and he walked away – normally he would have his hands around their throats.
He adapts with his brothers much more easily – he doesn’t get as frustrated with them
His teachers and the school are very impressed, keep asking if homoeopathy is all we have done for him
He is not so agitated now. He understands more about his brother now being so young. He doesn’t argue with his father as much now
All the hissing and growling and jumping is gone (he is doing none of that now)
If he is asked to do something hard now he will try it where before he would go off the rails, carry on, run away
Not chasing and climbing anymore
The issue around pain?
He hit his knee the other day (*Boy chimes in*)and it hurt really bad, hurt so much!
Mother says he actually cried – that would never have happened before he wouldn’t react to pain in the past - it was very surprising! He cut his finger – complained that it was sore (again he would never have complained before)
On all levels he is better, a normal child, this week a slight reoccurrence of his behavior, first time in 2 months
He hasn’t been grounded once in the last 2 months
(Observation: he is using words like balance, he is balancing toys on things all around the rooms)
He is trying new things now, where he would never have a bar of it normally
He seems to love people a lot more
Prescription = wait and see
Follow-up (7 months after initial consultation)
(Mother has come in with all 3 children - she is intending to have her next youngest child treated but we talk about this child first)
This is now the perfect child!
He has no problems at school anymore - the teachers cannot believe it is the same child
Other parents keep asking me what did I do to him
He is very reasonable, we can discuss any problem we have, he listens and responds appropriately
He is so calm now - he still runs around like a boy his age does, but no more chasing and fighting and climbing up trees
He is not violent anymore - he is actually on teams now at school and works really well with the other kids - he takes directions from his teachers without problem now
There has been no more hissing and growling or talk of animals - in fact his interests have broadened now he is more interested in other things in the world - things about people (like what happens after we die, what are other countries like etc.)
He is getting on quite well with his siblings - they occasionally squabble over toys or what to watch on TV but they don’t really fight anymore, and there is no physical violence at all
So has anything not changed?
Nothing, he is better in all ways
Really, I wouldn’t even need to bring him for any sort of treatment at the moment, he is better than I ever expected
He is the child that he should have been - it is like you have undone everything that has happened to him over the last few years and he has become the boy that he should have turned into.
It is amazing, I hope you can do this for the rest of my family!
