Lepisma saccharina, Silverfish
Психическая картина гомеопатического средства Lepisma saccharina (чешуйница сахарная) формируется из результатов провингов и изучения поведенческих и биологических особенностей этого насекомого. Основные ментальные черты, которые описываются для данного препарата:
- Чувство изоляции и бесполезности. Люди, которым может подойти это средство, часто чувствуют себя ненужными, теряют интерес к взаимодействию с окружающими. Это может быть связано с ощущением внутренней пустоты или отсутствием цели.
- Постоянное беспокойство о физическом и материальном комфорте. Они склонны концентрироваться на создании уюта и сохранении ресурсов, что перекликается с образом жизни чешуйниц, которые живут в скрытых уголках и питаются органическими материалами.
- Страх перемен. Такие пациенты могут испытывать трудности с адаптацией, стремятся сохранить привычный порядок вещей, избегая изменений.
- Чувство уязвимости. Эти люди часто ощущают себя под угрозой, что выражается в повышенной осторожности и подозрительности.
Показания для применения Lepisma saccharina включают ситуации, где психоэмоциональные и физические симптомы перекликаются с описанными состояниями. Препарат может быть полезен людям, переживающим длительный стресс, который приводит к чувству бессмысленности жизни, изоляции и снижению энергии. Также он может помочь тем, кто испытывает навязчивое беспокойство о сохранности своих ресурсов и ощущение хрупкости своего положения, что отражается и на физическом уровне (например, кожные или желудочно-кишечные проблемы).
Использование этого средства основывается на принципе подобия: если чешуйница символизирует скрытую, изолированную жизнь с минимальным взаимодействием, то препарат может помочь человеку выйти из этого состояния, восстановить уверенность и эмоциональное равновесие.
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Описание гомеопатического препарата Lepisma saccharina, Silverfish
The remedy, generally known by its common English name, was proved by the meditation circles in January 1995. Before the meditation each member of the groups was given a single dose of the 30th potency.
The Background
Silverfish - or bristletail as they are sometimes called - are arthropods. They are amongst the very oldest insects in the world having been about on the planet for tens of millions of years. There are some 720 different species of silverfish worldwide, nine of them are indigenous to the British Isles. They differ from other insects in that their abdomens are segmented and they have three highly sensitive bristles fanning out from their rear ends which alert them to the tiniest vibration. Another difference is that the young are born in the form of a miniature adult; instead of following the usual insect metamorphosis of egg to larva to pupa to imago, silverfish progress to maturity by a series of moults. When they are fully grown, silverfish measure up to half an inch. The body is covered in silvery scales that are called setae, the same as those that cover the wings of butterflies. These scales are part of the protective mechanism as they slough off on contact when a predator such as a spider attacks the silverfish. Silverfish require just the right conditions in which to mate (22 to 26°C). Males perform spectacular courtship dances to induce the females to lay their eggs, ready for them to be fertilized. This external copulation is another less than common insect practice. The female can lay up to 100 eggs in her lifetime. The lifecycle of the silverfish may be as short as three to four months or it may be considerably longer. Silverfish are quite capable of living without food for several months. Their favoured habitats are warm, dark, damp places. They shun the light and are active at night. They live off starches or rotting vegetation such as leaf mould. They prefer dried food. They are considered to be pests especially by people who love books as silverfish enjoy a diet of antiquarian bookbinding when they can get it. They have a particular penchant for natural glues and are often to be found in old houses feasting off wallpaper. Their enemies include spiders, ants, light, dry heat and pest controllers who actually despair of ridding human habitation of them as they are such successful insects.
Keynote effects
Silverfish has marked effects on the rate and manner of growth and development; it is a remedy that influences the musculoskeletal structure in general and the spine in particular (especially the thoracic area). It is invaluable in the treatment of children and in those suffering from whiplash, however longstanding the injury might be. It eases tension, both physical and mental, in those who are driven or who are more or less in a perpetual state of tension. In those who repeat old patterns of negative behaviour the remedy is capable of fostering change and enlightenment, so that the patient does not get back on ‘the hamster wheel’ they were on before.
General symptoms
Spine: scoliosis (especially after traumatic birth). Lordosis where the spine is concavely bent forward even to the point of causing a hump. Lack of mobility in the vertebrae; < osteoarthritic conditions after injuries; consider after whiplash. Spinal collapse; difficult to sit up; children and old people who sit hunched and find it too much effort to straighten up and yet are surprisingly nimble when on the move. Joints click and crack. Drying out of synovial spaces between joints; stiffness; arthritic conditions of the major joints and spine. Osteoporosis.
Useful in old age (when it > the process of stiffening and hardening); in early youth (when it > early onset of negative patterns likely to lead to pathology i.e. after birth trauma; after spinal injuries etc.). Children who grow too fast for their frames (complements Calc-phos). Also slowness: slow dentition; slow to walk or talk; slow to think. Silverfish is slow, not stupid. Paradoxically there is hyperactivity. The child runs round the room in circles; hurtles about at bewildering speed (like Tarantula but without the mania). Can become desperate and exhausted but keeps going.
Mental degeneration and paralysis from the base chakra upwards (Complements Conium and Baryta-carb). Ascending paralysis. Parkinsonism; MS; ataxia. Also epilepsy and conditions which display choreic movements. Sudden jerks and spasms. Electric shocks run through the body. Sudden switches of energy state: sleepiness, unawareness and gormlessness and then the polar opposite: acute sensitivity and quickwittedness. Speedy minds that run out of energy. Swings between extremes: high/low energy; slow/fast movement; sleepy/wakeful; dull and torpid/quick and sharp.
Winter < (becomes torpid) and summer < (becomes overheated easily); spring and autumn >. Syphilitic remedy. Taps into the syphilitic miasm; can be given when it is suspected that this miasm is present but not openly revealed and it will encourage the manifestation of the underlying remedy picture if there are other indicating factors.
It is regarded as a remedy that is unlikely to cause aggravations in this miasmatic context. Silverfish is also a sycotic remedy; the creature lives in humid, damp conditions and lives on detritus. Where Psorinum is indicated in skin cases, but fails to work as expected, consider Silverfish as it has an affinity for the psoric miasm. Where a Silverfish patient has become powerless; where time is no longer relevant; where there is no sense of purpose, even though it might be disguised by an impatient attitude; where there is a pattern of constantly repeating the same mistakes, then consider Silverfish’s relationship with the cancer miasm and Carcinosin.
Mental and emotional symptoms
Feels tossed from one wave to another by life. Sense of futility; of speeding along but having to deal with obstacles which seem to frustrate any real progress; fruitless activity which disappoints and frustrates as end results do not justify the considerable energy expended. Difficulty in organizing time; time passes too quickly, not allowing enough to complete set tasks; feeling that there is more time than there really is with a consequent need to rush which <. Easily confused by speed; loses sense of direction when forced to go too quickly; loses control of thought processes, starts off slow but begins to make errors when the pace is forced. Irritation with self for not being quick-minded or clear-thinking; exasperated. Thoughts race round in the mind yet feels slowed down and confused; unable to string a sentence together. Slowness alternating with hurriedness. Child appears to be quick on the uptake but slow to produce results. Also for those who appear to do very well physically but, in spite of obvious intelligence, fail to live up to academic promise. Wants to curl up and be alone. When angry and frustrated becomes irate and dismissive; cannot bear to be with others who may be slower or obtuse. Becomes impatient. Has a strong sense of right and wrong yet can be quite ready to change his mind. Willing to learn by experience but not so good at learning by rote or by being lectured. Will find methods of avoiding the routine or the unpalatable; prefers to set off in search of his own ways of doing things; would rather learn by making mistakes even though this frustrates as he has the tendency to get stuck. Has a strong pull towards hierarchies. They are not natural leaders but they are sticklers for making sure that people keep to their roles. They are disturbed by changes in patterns and routines. (They like patterns in designs.) They can often be found searching for things - even with intensity - but they can become stuck in the ‘search mode’; they are unable to see solutions in front of them. They can refuse to do things in the accepted way or as shown by another, yet might be later found doing those things efficiently as though they had arrived at the solution by themselves. Developmental learning difficulties: dyslexia. Helps to free the spinal column of foetal reflexes which have not been eliminated in the natural course of maturation. For those on the autistic spectrum. For those who find it a struggle to comprehend spiritual matters and their implications. Has an intellectual interest and awareness of spiritual things but finds it hard to embrace them with understanding. People who repeat the same patterns through their lives and cannot get out of the rut; constantly repeating the same mistakes; ever diminishing life force from not recognizing negative patterns of behaviour. For those who have an innate sense that they need to change their lives but have found it difficult to stick to the changes they institute or who make changes that do not alter their basic negative patterns.
Physical symptoms
Head
Head feels too full; feels he or she must stop or else will burst. Bones of the head feel tight and constricting especially around the orbital and cheekbones as well as forehead. Vertigo: must close the eyes to stop seeing things spinning round; > lying on front.
Eyes
Aching on moving them especially after using them for a long time. Feels > for being in the dark.
Nose
Strong sense of smell.
Mouth
Teeth tend to decay quickly; < eating too much sweet stuff or junk food. Stale taste. Bites nails. Chews clothing: cuffs or shirt collars.
Throat
Stale-tasting mucus collects. Congestion and coughs to clear it but it keeps coming back. < drinking. Prefers dry food when throat is bad.
Heart and circulation
Cold extremities: poor circulation in arms and legs. Winter <; wants to hibernate. Sensitive to cold in the heart region; chest pains in cold weather.
Stomach
++ junk food; ++ sweet things. Little thirst except for Coke or other sweet drinks. Or can be in a situation where there is only time for packet foods and snacks.
Abdomen
Stasis of bowels; sigmoid flexure feels full but straining does not >. Ileo-caecal valve: pain or discomfort which causes need to find a comfortable posture while sitting or to rub the area (particularly of small children). Also congestion in the hepatic and splenic flexures causing flatulence and discomfort. Sudden spates of diarrhoea alternating with chronic constipation (often due to not giving enough time to bathroom activities). Dry, crumbly stools.
Female
Delayed menstruation. False menopause: period seems to stop but then comes on again but usually with a different intensity or other symptoms than usual.
Male
Feeble erections and temporary impotence; episodes come on without apparent reason or after a bout of more frequent sexual activity. Normal libido till the propitious moment and then put off easily by either ideas or too much fuss.
Skin
Ichthyosis; scaly skin with pearly coloured flakes. Itching with heavy flaking and peeling. Sensitive skin; is very ticklish.
Bones and muscles
Spine: weakness from too speedy growth or osteoporotic changes or injuries. Spina bifida: is recommended as one of the first remedies to consider. Scoliosis. Pelvis: spinal problems due to tilted pelvis; < after epidurals or lumbar punctures; injuries. Joints: arthritic/rheumatic. Stiffness of muscles and their attachments; causes the chest to feel stiff, and heart and lungs to be restricted.
Sleep
Sleepless or drowsy; in alternation. Anxiety about sleeplessness. ‘Can’t be bothered’ attitude with drowsiness and long sleeps. Sleepless in the night but drowsy in the day. Wakes bright but quickly loses energy and is thoroughly torpid by midday; < bright sunlight. More energy at night.
Considerations for the use of the remedy
- • Tarentula is far more violent than Silverfish which is just as restless but more likely to be similar to Silica.
- • Silica is easily confused with Silverfish as there appears to be the same ‘holding back’ from shyness and timidity with a quick intelligence that can so easily seem to promise more than can be delivered. Both are sensitive; both can be obstinate; both can be irritable. Silverfish has far less ability to sit quietly and work at something with concentration. It is more likely to give up than Silica though the latter might be forced to from weakness or tiredness. Silverfish goes into torpor more than Silica but when it is busy it is far more agile, restless and ‘all over the place’ than Silica would have the energy for. In Silica children with learning difficulties, Silverfish is often required.
- • Salix Fragilis (Crack Willow) is comparable in conditions of the bones. Both remedies share lordosis and scoliosis and there is arthritis in both. There is more potential deformity in Salix which is listed for ankylosing spondylitis. Salix does not have the same degree of restlessness as Silverfish and it is more associated with the heart chakra and grief.
Silverfish precedes or follows all the Calcium remedies, Syphilinum, Tuberculinum, Carcinosin, Silica, and Mercury (and it can closely resemble Mercury). Also complementary to Goldfish, Ayahuasca, Salix Fragilis (in spinal injuries) and Clay. As an injury remedy it is excellent and has proved its worth in cases of whiplash and other spinal injuries.
Esoteric therapeutics
Encourages enlightenment for spiritual development; heals negative Saturn energy especially in the aged (i.e. is good for grounding); heals the spine for the greater potential and flow of the kundalini energy. Heals a sense of spiritual separation; might say ‘It is as if there is something profound missing.’Venus energy is either neglected or lacking - poor self-expression and difficulties with expressing creatively. As with many of the remedies made from creatures and material that comes from an ancient history, Silverfish has the ability to bring forward (for treatment) or release a lot of stuck karmic influences.
Chakras
Crown
There is a sense that something else in life is missing which generally refers to a spiritual awareness. So strongly is Silverfish a base chakra remedy that it is as if any aspiration towards spiritual awareness is too far away to achieve. So much life is spent being busy or tired that there is no time for reflection, meditation or contemplation. Sleep patterns are easily disrupted; sleepless at night, sleepy in the day.
Brow
Confusion may reign in this centre because the left and right sides of the brain do not interact congruently. Though there is no question about intelligence or intellect here, there is a great difficulty in staying focused. Can easily be distracted by the thought of playing a game or food or a television programme; especially one in which there is a lot of action and noise.
Throat
With all the tension in the upper spine, there may well be poor drainage from the ears, sinuses and throat. Self-expression may be limited due to the mind going faster than the body; there may be a delay in saying what they want to say which can lead to considerable frustration in a classroom situation when events may move more quickly than they can cope with.
Solar plexus
Frustration can lead to outbursts of anger as they find it hard to deal with scholastic challenges. In older people, there may be a similar feeling in those who face dealing with new gadgets or technology but cannot ‘come up to speed’. The problem is in the connections between the brain and the body but the effects can be tension and irritation that affects the bowels which may come to a standstill.
Sacral
Problems with the musculoskeletal system may be a root cause of difficulties in the pelvic organs, leading to problems with menstruation and impotence in men. The chakra can become torpid and have weak fluid energy flowing through it.
Base
Silverfish is a profound remedy at this level of the system. Both skin and bone problems originate here in this chakra. Problems in the spinal column, whether caused by injury or from a traumatic birth, lead to a compromised base energy and difficulty with generating kundalini energy. At best, this energy flows in fits and starts as if there were a build-up of it which suddenly needs to be released and which brings on the bouts of excessive restlessness and movement. There is a lack of steadiness in the remedy state which hampers development.
Case studies
- 1 ‘Boy who, at the first appointment, was eight months old. Presenting complaint: restless, disturbed sleep. Would not sleep in his bedroom alone. He was adopted at the age of three months after living with foster-parents. His adodptive parents thought that the biological mother was traumatized for most of the pregnancy which could explain a lot of his problems. He was incredibly fearful during the night; restless, disturbed sleep; needing constant contact with the parents for reassurance. The old fear remedies, which helped in varying degrees, did not hold for any length of time. By two years of age he presented with all the classic signs of autism, namely very limited speech and vocabulary, not wanting physical contact, obsessive about his toys being in a perfect circle around him. On one visit his grandmother mentioned his fascination with the colour yellow and, basing the prescription on the meditative proving, I gave Yellow 12x twice a day for a fortnight. We continued with this prescription for over a year as the mother was very happy with his progress (albeit very slow) especially with his speech; he only needed a few visits to the speech therapist to correct the problem. Unfortunately he was vaccinated with DPT just before starting school after which he presented with lots of catarrhal problems for which he had Thuja 6 twice a day to clear the vaccine damage. After five months at school the problems started again: he was being bullied and he became angry and withdrawn. He was given Black Obsidian 30 twice daily to begin with and then once a day. His mother was very pleased with his school work (always just below average) and he was better behaved. He was given Goldfish 30 for his feeling that he had no friends and for the lack of concentration while reading. When the symptoms of “needing things to be done his way” and “parents always giving in to him” came up, he was given Silverfish 30 twice a day for seven days. This made a great improvement and he was better able to cope with his parents not capitulating to his every wish. This prescription was repeated in the next month with a further good response but eventually he was given a Silverfish 1M when there was a return of the terrible rages that he directed mostly towards his parents. A few months later he was featured in the local newspaper promoting the headmaster’s fitness policy which gave him a tremendous confidence boost. Since then, though he has continued with constitutional treatment, he has continued to do well.’ KM
- 2 ‘A woman of 49 came for her regular three-monthly appointment. She was complaining of pain in her neck. She said that she had had it “crunched” by a chiropractor but that had done no good. The problem was in the cervical spine: C II and C III. She had a sore neck, a permanent headache and felt sick some of the time. She also said that her digestion was very sluggish. She felt that “it’s all stuck to the sides of the bowel.” She was given Silverfish 30 to be taken twice a day for seven days. When she returned she said that her neck was completely better, she had no more headaches and the nausea was gone. Her bowels, though still variable, were much better than they had been.’ CG
- 3 ‘A boy of eight was brought for his regular appointment by his anxious mother. She said that he was being cheeky and cocky a lot of the time. He kept saying that he wanted to play and then switching his mind to wanting to read a book. He did not want his mother to talk about him at all in the interview, but when asked if he wanted to wait in the waiting room he refused to go. He also refused to answer any enquiries; he directed all his monosyllabic replies to his mother in an inaudible voice. His mother said that he had been very confused and was having a hard time making any sense of things. He often gave inappropriate responses to questions, she said, and he tended to lie all the time. He suffered from dyslexia and dyspraxia and had attention deficit disorder. He was undergoing sensory response therapy for this which involved drawing the bristles of a paintbrush along areas of the body where there were still foetal nerve responses that should have gone within the first six months after birth. He was going through a daily exercise of brushing the spine. He was swinging between violent tempers and hysterical tears, anger and torpidity. He had been badly teased at school.“His self-esteem is rock-bottom. He’s such a loving boy but he’s such a Jekyll and Hyde. He just shuts down when things get too difficult.” He was given Silverfish 1M. Eight months later, a time lapse his mother had never been able to leave before, he returned for a check-up. He was now far happier at school and doing well. The teasing had stopped as he was able to cope among his peers and make friends. He was still very sensitive and vulnerable but he was better able to concentrate and the only difficulty he now had with school work was his slow reading. When he had an explosion of temper it was now only when he was admonished for something he thought he had not done. He had grown and put on weight.’ CG
- 4 ‘A teenager who had been given Aurum lodatum 1M for depression, despondency, a laissez-faire attitude and feeling too hot and “glandy” (NBWS using too much cannabis) returned to say that he felt a lot better in himself, that he was no longer so worried about what he was going to do with his life but that since the remedy he had been growing again and his right hip was very painful. This was due to a twist in his spine which was very obvious on examination. He had had a car accident as well; his neck was painful on the left side and the ache extended into his left scapula. He was getting frontal headaches and he was not particularly articulate about how he was feeling or what had happened in the accident. He was given Silverfish 200 once a week for four weeks and Sycamore Seed 30 three times a week for the same period. The result was that all tension left his shoulder, he had no headaches and he was no longer so tired.’ CG
Author’s note
To see a silverfish react to light or touch is to understand how sensitive a patient in need of the remedy has become though, confusingly, that sensitivity is not there all the time. The creature is very speedy and tends to run around in confused circles and then dash off in a straight line; at other times it seems torpid and lacks reaction altogether. This is very like a signature for a child who probably suffers from some form of learning difficulty with a degree of attention deficit. Such children often have quite tense musculature at the top of the spine and across the shoulders which leads them to feel discomfort though they do not mention this; it has to be observed. (Wriggling in a seat may be a sign of this tension.) It is also a characteristic of some children who are growing too rapidly for their frame. The growth spurts make them tired and torpid but, like a Phosphorus, they might suddenly be up and about and rushing everywhere. Silverfish complements Calc-phos very well in such cases.