A blog on homeopathy -- Ruminating on Remedies

Fictional Wounds

8/24/2025

Do you ever watch a movie or read a book and think, that character needs XXX remedy? I do!

I love reading novels. It is without question one of my favorite things to do. I just finished an enjoyable book, My Friends: A Novel by Fredrick Backman. (He wrote another book I liked: A Man Called Ove. In my opinion, read the book, skip the movie.) One line from My Friends keeps playing in my head: “Getting stabbed with a knife is a trauma for the whole body, his leg was probably the part that healed quickest, it was other parts of Ted that were limping” (p 430).

This quote so beautifully relates to homeopathy. One thing happens and we generally think only of the tip of the iceberg effects. We assume (incorrectly) that, as in this case, a stab wound affects only the leg, right where it happened. But that is so not true. That wound reverberates throughout the entire system: mind, body and soul… and may linger long after the actual wound is “healed.”

I have listened to a lot of lectures* by Dr. Robin Murphy. (I highly recommend doing so yourself if you have anything more than a passing interest in homeopathy.) I was reminded the other day of Dr. Murphy’s thoughts on first aid prescribing while reading a blog post from Lisa Strbac, talking about Ian Watson quoting the great late Robin Murphy from “What Heals Podcast”:

The highest form of homeopathy is first aid prescribing. You homeopaths… you think it’s all this fancy miasm stuff and chronic stuff and constitutional? It’s not its first aid [sic]. Almost every chronic case, if you take it back, where did it start? It started as a shock, with a grief, an accident, with a medical procedure that went wrong. It started as a first aid situation and if that had been properly treated in the moment, someone had a home ready kit and they know what to do, this whole chain of health problems would never have needed to happen.

Today, I’m going to have a little fun and see how we can address “Ted’s” stab wound. (For this exercise, I will be focusing only on highly indicated remedies for this type of wound, though, in real life, I would look at all possible remedies. It’s important to note that there is also crossover between these remedies and symptoms. For instance, “anger” is a 4 for Staphysagria and a 2 for Ledum and Apis - therefore the rubric only shows up in my list under Staphysagria.)

Homeopathically, there are a few big remedies to consider. Note: these would be the same remedies which would be useful in the moment, at the time of the stab wound. I have the added benefit of a little insight into Ted after reading this book and will supply relevant quotes when available. (If a symptom shows up in multiple remedies, I will only put the quote in the first instance, unless there are multiple quotes which fit the bill.) Other symptoms I will include simply from the general sense of the character from the book. It’s a little like taking a homeopathic case! Of course, there is so much more to this than I am writing here. People, even fictional characters, are highly nuanced. I have over-simplified this entire process tremendously… but I had fun doing it!

We’re not entirely certain when this stabbing occurred, except we know he was an adult. Did Ted’s history play a part in the ramifications? Probably. All the background of a person will then lead to how a person reacts when such a trauma occurs… miasms, genetics, epi-genetics, environment, experience… it’s all in there in each of us.

Looking up “stab” in Dr. Murphy’s Meta Repertory (found in Similia software**), five remedies show up as highly indicated (but I only included 4 of them): Apis, Calendula, Hypericum and Ledum. Those familiar with homeopathic remedies might be saying, “But what about Staphysagria?” Good question. keep reading to find out what I learned about this.

For this exercise, I focused primarily on the big 3 or 4 point symptoms in MIND and GENERAL and a quick scan through other highly indicated rubrics from things I remembered from the book.

In alphabetical order:

APIS
From Murphy’s Materia Medica, causations (among others): Grief. Fright. Rage.

MIND:

absent minded (while there is one reference to Ted “absentmindently” doing something, we don’t know if this fits well, in general)
alone, mental, ailments from, (see abandoned, neglected)
- He’s thought so many times as an adult that it’s a lie that people are scared of being alone, because what we fear is being abandoned. You can choose to be alone, but no one chooses to be left. (p. 177)
anxiety, general
- He tosses it in the trash can, glances at the mirror, an anxious and overwhelmed man with skin as soft as room temperature cheese glances back. (p. 177)
jealousy, feelings
- Ted felt deeply ashamed that he was jealous of that. (p. 79)
touch, general - agg
- The entrance to the train fills with a slow line of frustrated passengers, the man and the teenager stand on the platform and wait till last, anxious that they might touch or be touched by some stranger in the throng. (p. 184)

PHYSICAL:

bladder, pain; urging to urinate, frequent
- He feels a sudden urge to pee far more often now than he was prepared for, his body has started to wake him at night, he presumes it’s getting its revenge because it’s annoyed he’s keeping it alive. (p. 127)
walking, limping, spontaneous (we don’t know if his limp is consistent or spontaneous, but it’s the only of our remedies in this rubric.)

CALENDULA
is another good remedy for wounds, but unfortunately, it has not been proven very well (in the traditional sense) but let’s see what we can find. Because of the dearth of level 3/4 rubrics, I opened this MIND search up to levels 1 & 2, as well. (Colin Griffith does have more information on Calendula in his “New Materia Medica Vol. 3,” but that’s a whole other topic which I will (happily!) get to one day soon.)
From Murphy’s causations: Cuts. Punctures. Stabs. Surgery. Wounds.

MIND:

abuse, ailments from (all the characters suffered varying levels of abuse)
anxiety, general
depression, sadness - wounds, after
fears, general, phobias - happen, something bad will (there’s a lot of crossover between anxiety and fears but Ted has helped us out with this one…)
- People say that anxiety is fear for no reason, but Ted’s brain is very helpful when it comes to providing suggestions. (p. 278)
fears, phobias, knives of
- He still has nightmares about both knives. (p. 130)
startled, starting - fright, from or fear, after
- Bastard, Ted whispered with his fists clenched, furious with himself for being so easily startled. (p. 311)
wounds, mental ailments from

GENERAL:
Interestingly, those who may benefit from Calendula may be ameliorated by walking.

HYPERICUM
From Murphy’s materia medica: “It is called for in nervous depression following wounds, effects of shock and fright… Pain in old scars.” From Murphy’s causations (among others): ill effects of fright… punctures, lacerations… wounds, stab wounds

Note: Hypericum has only one 3/4 level rubric under the MIND section in Murphy, so I added lower level rubrics for this one, too.

MIND:

sensitive, mental, oversensitive, emotional - pain, to (the only level 4 rubric for Hyper Mind)
anxiety, general
fears, general, phobias
- Because the question presupposes that I stopped being scared. (p. 131)
fright - ailments from
frightened easily
- His brain is so stupid, it can no longer tell the difference between threat and reality, he’s just frightened of everything all the time. (p. 263)
moaning, groaning, pain, from
- Do you always moan this much? Is that why someone stabbed you? (p. 130)
startled, starting
wounds, mental ailments from

Not a lot of the General or Physical rubrics for Hypericum appear to fit Ted well.

LEDUM
From Murphy’s materia medica: “Ledum is for punctured wounds, produced by sharp-pointed instruments or bites, particularly if the wounded parts are cold, this is the remedy… Causations: ill effects punctured wounds, recent or chronic injuries.”

MIND:

fears, general, phobias - men, of
- Throughout his life, Ted has been frightened of men. (p. 253)
serious, disposition
- We are NOT the same age. We might have lived the same number of years, but we sure as hell aren’t the same age. You’ve been eighty years old since we were twelve. (p. 363)

There are other, lesser MIND rubrics which “fit” Ted but I will include only this one:

wearisome, burdened feeling
- He feels like yelling at the box of ashes that he isn’t ready for this responsibility… I can’t even look after shoes, and you’ve left me with a person, he thinks angrily. (p 105)

GENERAL:

walking, general - agg (this could be the other parts of Ted limping, not just his leg wound)

STAPHYSAGRIA
Has a reputation for “clean” wounds, not jagged, just as a knife would create. Dr. N.M. Choudury, senior professor of Materia Medica at Bengal Allen Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital in Kolkota, says: “We use it both internally and externally for injuries caused by sharp cutting instruments such as knife, glass, etc.” Why it’s not this clear in the repertories, I have no idea. I asked Viva (homeopathic) AI*** why Staphysagria doesn’t show up in the “stab wounds” rubric and it says, “Staphysagria is more commonly associated with emotional trauma and conditions resulting from surgical procedures rather than purely physical injuries like stab wounds. While Staphysagria can be useful for wounds, it is particularly indicated when there is a history of emotional trauma (which Ted has in spades) or when the injury is associated with feelings of anger, resentment, or violation.)

To find appropriate rubrics for Staphysagria and knife wounds, one needs to search a little differently for that:

Clinical - cuts (or “wounds,” they’ll both get you to the same remedies — Apis and Ledum are both listed here but not so prominently)
Clinical - cuts, general - incised (Apis is not in this one, but the others are)
Clinical - cuts, general, sharp, instruments, from glass, etc (Calendula and Hyper are included)

From Murphy’s materia medica: “Surgery. Lacerated tissues.” Causations: “Ill effects of anger and insults, anger suppressed or reserved. Humiliation.”

MIND:

abandoned, feelings, forsaken
abuse, ailments from (all the characters suffered varying levels of abuse)
anger
- Angry at himself, angry at the artist, and most of all angry at death for having such good taste. Always taking the best first. (p. 105)
anger, grief, with silent
- The most frightening thing about his dad dying that summer when he was fourteen wasn’t the grief he had felt, but the anger. (p. 247)
  - indignation, with
  - anger with himself
anxiety, exaggerated
- Everyone should be afraid of flying! (p. 69)
cares, full of
- Ted? He had made it his responsibility that none of the people he loved would die. That’s a terrible burden for a person. Your shoulders creak, your skeleton shrinks, in the end you can hardly walk. (p. 85)
domination, by others, ailments from - children in, history, of, a long
- When he was young, his big brother, six years older, used to beat him up like it was a game. (p. 253)
fears, phobias, general (this is not a high level rubric, but…)
- How many phobias do you actually have, Ted? I have just enough! he snaps.” (p. 179)
fears, hurt of being, emotionally
grief, sorrow, general ailments from
- The only thing we can take for granted is that everyone we have ever met and everyone we have ever known and everyone we have ever loved will die. So how great must our imaginations be for us to even summon up the enthusiasm to get out of bed each morning? (p. 39)
grief, sorrow, general - silent
love, disappointed, ailments from
- If you have loved anyone as much as Ted loves the artist, so much that you’re prepared to be mistaken for someone else just to see your friend’s face light up for a couple of seconds, then you know what he feels. (p. 48)
memories, recalls disagreeable
mourning, feelings
suppression, emotions, of, agg
wearisome, burdened feeling
- He feels like yelling at the box of ashes that he isn’t ready for this responsibility… I can’t even look after shoes, and you’ve left me with a person, he thinks angrily. (p 105)

GENERAL:

trembling
- He’s holding his suitcase in one trembling hand, the ashes of his best friend in the other. (p. 87)

PHYSICAL:

bladder, urging to urinate - frequent

Are there crossovers in lesser indicated rubrics between the remedies? Absolutely. Did I miss some rubrics? I most certainly did, but given I did this retroactively (yay e-books!) I had a fun time exorcising that line from this book that keeps running through my head… and, I’m pretty sure I know which remedy I would choose for Ted.

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

* It looks like the Lotus Health Institute† may be moving some of their goodies around — I see a podcast and putting his lectures up for online listening.

** Similia has been kind enough to open up the full use of their software for me to play around with in exchange for any feedback I may have for them. Other than that, I have no affiliation with this company, either.

*** Staphysagria info from Viva ai† cites the following: “These sources collectively contribute to the understanding of how remedies are classified and used in homeopathy, including the rationale behind the presence or absence of specific remedies in particular rubrics.” The sources cited are: Hahnemann’s Organon of Medicine; Materia Medica Pura; Andrew Lockie’s The Complete Homeopathy Handbook; Boericke’s Homeopathic Materia Medica; Clinical experience; Homeopathic repertories such as Synthesis or Kent’s Repertory “categorize remedies based on symptoms and modalities, providing insight into why certain remedies appear in specific rubrics while others do not.”

† I have no affiliation with this or any other company.

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A Calendula Quickie… for inner bits… (and, bites!)

3/30/2024

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I chomped right down on it. It wasn’t nice. I bit my tongue! (If you are an astute Ruminating on Remedies reader, you will know I have written about biting my tongue before. That time, I had other things going on, warranting a different remedy. This one was a simple slip of the tongue with no other issues.)

If you’re like me, you don’t call it quits after biting your tongue — you go back for more and keep biting that sore spot cuz it’s rearranged the terrain of your mouth and that injured bit keeps getting in the way!

That’s what I did.

So, what did I do?

Calendula.

In this instance, I used some Calendula mouthwash*. After having it bother me all day long, I slooshed a bit of this mouthwash before bed (because brushing my teeth irritated my tongue!), I had a good night’s sleep and long before I woke up, all the pain (and the bump!) was completely gone.

Calendula tea works, too. I like this one*. Or, if you want just the basic ingredient, Rebeccas’s Herbal Apothecary* is always amazing

Taking a nibble out of my own tongue got me to thinking about how amazing Calendula truly is. It is the go-to remedy when you have an injury where you need, but are unable, to apply some sort of salve: tongue wounds and cuts… perineum injuries following childbirth… healing surgical wounds, (inside or out)… corneal abrasions… perforated eardrums… phantom pains following amputation…

It may seem there is no way to apply the lovely soothing qualities of calendula to these inner tissues, but there is.

Homeopathy, of course! I could have taken a pellet of homeopathic Calendula and put it in a bit of water and used that instead of the mouthwash. Taking a dose of Calendula in this way allows your body to go and take care of those unreachable ouchies. Of course, you can just pop the allowed dose of pellets directly in your mouth, too -- you do not need to put it in water.

For outside wounds, put a couple pellets of homeopathic Calendula in some clean water and from there you can use that now "medicated" water to soak some cloth or gauze and apply those topically, as needed. And, as the title of this article implies, Calendula is good for insect bites, too!

If your inner bits (or the bits that are not well suited to ointment) are asking for some attention, try some Calendula in a homeopathic dilution (or, even the herbal form** will do)!

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

* I have no affiliation with any of these companies, I just like their products.

** Like all herbs, there are some contraindications. This website, which I found through a quick internet search, has a nice overview of the herb. I see on there about the scalp, too — I used to use a Calendula shampoo on our dog when we first got him and he had so many skin problems — it appeared to be very soothing on the poor, suffering fellow.

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Things that go boom

7/3/2022

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I got hooked on watching videos about how things were made way back when … watching Sesame Street (Anon. 2022). (This video is on crayon making, but it’s a good one!) Then, for a while I enjoyed the Canadian show, “How it’s Made” — here’s a link to their firework segment.

As you can imagine, I enjoyed learning about the firework making process for this article.

What did I learn? Well, not surprisingly, the main ingredient in fireworks is … wait for it … Gunpowder.

Gunpowder originated in China in the 9th century and is made up of three ingredients: saltpeter (potassium nitrate), sulfur and charcoal.

All three of these ingredients are used in both conventional medicine and homeopathy. Saltpeter, known homeopathically as Kalium nitricum; Sulfur, aka Sulphur and charcoal, known as Carbo vegetabilis.

Historically, saltpeter in its crude form (Kali nit) was used in the treatment of asthma (Brown and University of California Libraries 1917) and, today, this ingredient can be found in toothpastes formulated for sensitive teeth. Anecdotally, some people claim this kind of toothpaste has helped their asthma (Graedon and Graedon 2010).

Sulfur, the third most abundant mineral in the human body (Science et al. 2020), is used conventionally in many areas, including: allergic rhinitis, shingles and interstitial cystitis (Mount Sinai 2022).

Charcoal, primarily in the form of “activated charcoal” is used as “a safe, effective, and inexpensive alternative to more invasive treatments for poisoning” (Park 1986). (Note: Before finding homeopathy, I never traveled without activated charcoal and it has proven very useful on many occasions. I still keep it handy, but have not needed it since learning the homeopathic remedies.)

John C. Clarke’s Gunpowder As a War Remedy: A Work of Homeopathy (2016) notes that saltpeter and sulfur both have antiseptic capabilities and that standard black powder (the original gunpowder) can be used on infections, boils, blood poisoning and "other maladies". Additionally, Gunpowder is listed in the homeopathic repertories primarily for: gunshot wounds, wounds that are slow to heal, and anal fistulae.

Knowing the ingredients that make up gunpowder, I’m not surprised people decided to use Gunpowder as a medicine, both crudely and homeopathically.

Gunpowder as a healing agent dates back in literature at least to 1865 with Culpeper’s Last Legacy, in which he wrote, “A little Gun-powder tyed up in a rag, and held in the mouth, that it may touch the aking tooth, instantly easeth the pains of the Teeth” [sic].

John C. Clarke (2016a) talks about soldiers using gunpowder: “taken crude in teaspoonful doses mixed in hot water” and shepherds sprinkling it “on bread and cheese, to cure and prevent wound-poisoning acquired in shearing and handling sheep” as well as using it on the sheep themselves for their ailments.

After experimenting on himself, Clarke used homeopathic Gunpowder in a 3x trituration. The 3x potency* means some of the original substance remains in this version of the remedy but without the taste or smell “and to be in no sort of way explosive” and calls it a “most powerful and efficacious remedy.”

Dr. T. Chatterjee claims Gunpowder in high potencies can cure “obstinate psoriasis” and, in low potency is “an excellent blood purifier” and can be helpful after the extraction of an abscessed tooth.

Gunpowder remains a useful homeopathic remedy today for abscesses, boils and carbuncles and in bold-type, Robin Murphy mentions blood poisoning, also known as sepsis. (Sepsis is a life-threatening condition and needs to be treated immediately by a medical professional.)

Interestingly, historically speaking, the advent of gunpowder on the battlefields was cause for amputations as a result of gunshot wounds and the ensuing sepsis (Stansbury et al. 2007). It appears that gunpowder caused the wounds which, in turn, caused sepsis which, in turn, caused the need for amputation, which, ironically could have been avoided by treating the wound with Gunpowder in the first place and thus avoiding the amputation. A crazy version of not quite “like cures like,” but as "same cures same," which in homeopathy is termed Isopathy.

If you have a pet who has a hard time with the fireworks, try Aconite (rhymes with “fright”) or, put a few drops of Bach Rescue Remedy in their water bowl.

Happy 4th of July and be careful of all those things that go BOOM!

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

* Potency article

Reference list
Anon., 2022. Sesame Street - How Crayons Are Made [online]. www.youtube.com.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia, 2003. Gunpowder summary [online].

Brown, O. H. and University of California Libraries, 1917. Asthma, presenting an exposition of the nonpassive expiration theory [online]. Internet Archive. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby company.

Chatterjee, T., n.d. My Random Notes on some Homeopathic Remedies Reprint. accessed through Radar Opus software.

Clarke, J. C., 2016a. Gunpowder As a War Remedy: A Work of Homeopathy. USA.

Compound Interest, 2015. The Chemistry of Fireworks | Compound Interest [online]. Compound Interest.

Culpeper, N., 1685. Culpeper’s Last Legacy [online]. openlibrary.org.

Graedon, J. and Graedon, T., 2010. ‘Sensitive’ toothpaste may help asthma. Chicago Tribune [online], 15 May 2010.

Mount Sinai, 2022. Sulfur Information | Mount Sinai - New York [online]. Mount Sinai Health System.

Murphy, R., n.d. Repertory, version 3. Accessed through Radar Opus software.

Park, G. D., 1986. Expanded Role of Charcoal Therapy in the Poisoned and Overdosed Patient. Archives of Internal Medicine [online], 146 (5), 969.

Pray, T. J. W., 1849. The Medicinal Properties of Sulphur. The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal [online], 40 (26), 521–523.

Schroyens, F., n.d. Synthesis Adonis. accessed through Radar Opus software.

Science, U. of H. at M. F., Program, H. N. and Program, H. N., 2020. Sulfur. pressbooks.oer.hawaii.edu [online].

Science Channel, 2020. How It’s Made: Fireworks. YouTube [online]. YouTube Video.

Stansbury, L. G., Branstetter, J. G. and Lalliss, S. J., 2007. Amputation in Military Trauma Surgery. The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care [online], 63 (4), 940–944.

Further references — Homeopathy & Medicine
Casey, S., 2011. Gunpowder! Little-Known Remedy Packs a Wallop Against Wounds - Shirley Casey [online]. Hpathy.

Clarke, J. H., 2016b. Gunpowder. from Materia Medica by John Henry Clarke. Homeopathy. [online]. www.materiamedica.info.

Rxlist.com, 2021. Sulfur: Health Benefits, Uses, Side Effects, Dosage & Interactions [online]. RxList.

The Center for Homeopathy, n.d. The Discovery of the Therapeutic Uses of Gunpowder [online]. Center for Homeopathy.

Further reference list — Fireworks & Gunpowder
Foxhall, K., 2017. gunpowder – The Recipes Project [online]. Hypotheses.com.

Jennifer, 2017. Jennifer Evans [online]. Early Modern Medicine.

** This is a fun subscription service of science experiments for kids.
Mel Science, n.d. Magnesium fireworks [online]. MEL Science.

Science Made Fun, n.d. Fireworks and their Colors [online]. Sciencemadefun.net.

United States Geological Survey, 2020. What minerals produce the colors in fireworks? [online]. www.usgs.gov.

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Shame on you!

1/8/2022

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We turned the page into 2022 and suddenly the acknowledgment of the shame that has been foisted upon us for the past 2 years is everywhere.

As I am writing this, a news alert popped up on my phone: “Whoopi Goldberg stunned by testing positive for COVID: ‘I’ve done everything I was supposed to do.’” Earlier this week, a friend shared an article from American Thinker titled, “Shame as a Covid Strategy.” Later that same day, I logged onto Facebook and saw a post from the Autoimmune Protocol Diet talking about shame being at the root of disordered eating (here’s some recent research to go along with that thought — Nechita et al. 2021). Another article in the same day was talking about CNN’s editor-at-large Chris Cillizza saying, “But I do think societally we unknowingly turned having Covid into some sort of judgment on your character.”

We certainly have done exactly that and we don’t yet know what the ramifications are of such a mass, unjustified shaming.

Did you know people are being put in special camps in Australia when they test positive for Covid, (Cave 2021), or have a friend who tested positive (Barkoukis 2021) or where they wait until they can prove they don’t test positive? (Dixon 2021). We, in the US, thankfully, still have the idea of innocent until proven guilty, but we no longer have healthy until proven sick.

Germs are gonna germ. Viruses are gonna virus. There is very little you can do to keep those germs and viruses from getting to you. (There are things you can do to keep those germs and viruses from taking hold of you, but that’s a whole other topic.) We don't segregate people because they may have other contagious diseases (unless they are being treated in a hospital). For the first time, to my knowledge, people are being blamed and shamed for getting cold and flu-like symptoms as a result of having contracted Covid.

Once upon a time, if you were unable to attend a social gathering because you had the flu, the automatic reaction on the other side was sympathy. That automatic reaction is now full of aspersions. I find this very sad.

Frederickson (2020) describes the difference between guilt and shame: guilt refers to a deed; shame to our being — “I am a bad boy” as opposed to “I did a bad thing”. He goes on to talk about shame being triggered in therapy sessions as a result of suffering “crippling shame over possessing universal, human desires or flaws.” This is most likely why shame has been such a useful tool to maneuver the population in regards to Covid — everybody has experienced shame and it is an easy ploy to manipulate behavior. Shame is ubiquitous. Show me someone who has never felt shame — I don’t think it’s possible to find someone who has never felt shame.

What exactly is shame? My then 3-year-old once said to me, "My body feels like it did something wrong." I think that's an excellent description of how shame feels. Technically, though, “shame” has two definitions as a noun in the Oxford Dictionary (Oxford University Press 2021): 1. A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior. 2. A regrettable or unfortunate situation or action. As a verb: make (someone) feel ashamed.

Tell me, what, definitionally, could possibly be shameful about “catching Covid?” The shame and stigma and shunning that people have suffered over the last 2 years simply because they, or a family member, were diagnosed with or tested positive for Covid is simply shocking.

Cândea and Szentagotai-Tăta (2018) found that “external shame (perceived negative evaluations of others) seems to be more strongly associated with social anxiety symptoms than internal shame (negative self-evaluations)”.

Philosopher Jean Paul Sartes points out that a mild embarrassment in one can induce mortification in another (Lyons et al. 2018). If shame is not dealt with, it can have damaging consequences. Deep-seated shame plays an important role in many self-destructive ways. We saw above that it plays a role in eating disorders. Shame is also linked to psychotic experiences, particularly paranoia (Carden et al. 2020).

It is not my intention to equate the societal Covid shaming to the deeper shame which some people carry with them. However, we don’t know how this newest layer of shame may affect the population. When society lays a blanket of shame over huge numbers of people (especially without true justification), many will likely be adversely affected by that shaming. Again, we simply don’t know what the ramifications of these last two years will be but a recent Telegraph article may tell us a little about what may be headed our way: "Number of children admitted to hospital for eating disorders surges 70% since pandemic." Is shame to blame for this increase? We don't yet have that answer but I wouldn't be surprised to see those dots connected at some point in time.

The Lancet’s Stories of Shame notes that doctors don’t talk much about shame (Lyons et al. 2018). Psychiatrist Aaron Lazare said, “it is shameful and humiliating to admit that one has been shamed and humiliated.”

Doctors may not talk about shame, but homeopaths do. Homeopathy recognizes the destructive force that is deep-seated shame.

Referencing Murphy’s repertory (n.d.) shows us the rubric: Mind - SHAME, ailments from. Front and center in the 9 remedies listed is Staphysagria, in bold-type and underlined.

Homeopathic Staphysagria is made from a tincture of the seeds of the Delphinium plant, also known as Larkspur.

We know Larkspur from Greek Mythology. Ajax the Great was unable to live with his shame, and in anger he fell upon his sword and the Larkspur flower sprang from his blood (Greek Legends and Myths; Theoi Greek Mythology).

C.M. Boger (et al. 2008) talks about the morbidly sensitive person who is easily offended in regard to one who could benefit from homeopathic Staphysagria. Which came first? Did that extreme sensitivity result from the shaming or was the sensitive person highly susceptible to the shaming? "Sheepish, sensitive, imagines insults.” The person who could benefit from Staphysagria is worse for emotions, chagrin, vexation, indignation and quarrels. Let’s be fair here. Who is actually better for these? True, but when differentiating homeopathic remedies this person would be markedly worse for experiencing these circumstances. There are plenty of people who can roll with some embarrassment or chagrin, but the person who would most likely benefit from homeopathic Staphysagria is not that person.

Staphysagria is also known as “a great germicide” and it has been used allopathically as well as homeopathically, to treat lice (Vicentini et al. 2018; Choudhuri 2016; Farrington 2018; Tyler 2003), a condition which most certainly can historically be considered “shameful”.

Physically speaking, aside from treating lice, homeopathic Staphysagria is known to help with surgical wounds (Alecu et al. 2007). "Incised wounds, it is the best remedy … where there is a clean cut as after surgical operations" (Tyler 2003, p. 767). "Similarly, after surgery when the tissues have been 'lacerated' there is a great sense of violation … and Staphysagria is one of the first remedies to consider (Pitt 2015, p. 362).

Tying back to shame is the connection of words which can "cut deep." Humiliation, insults, shameful attacks -- they all can cut deep and have a wounding effect on a person and their well-being.

Don’t accept the responsibility of carrying somebody else’s shame because you, through no fault of your own, contracted a highly transmissible virus. Put that silly idea away!

However, if you or someone you know is dealing with deep-seated shame, humiliation or suppressed anger, please consult and work with a professional homeopath.

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

Reference list

Alecu, A., Alecu, M., Marcus, G., Brezeanu, R., and Cojocaru, A., 2007. Effect of the homeopathic remedies Arnica Montana and Staphysagria on the time of healing surgical wounds. Cultura Homeopática, (20), 19–21.

Barkoukis, L., 2021. Australia Is Throwing People Who Don’t Even Have Covid-19 Into Internment Camps [online]. Townhall.

Boger, C. M., Bradford, T. L., and Tiwari, Shashi Kant, 2008. Boenninghausen’s Characteristics Materia Medica & Repertory With Word Index With Corrected & Revised Abbrrevations & Word Index. accessed through Radar Opus software. B Jain Pub Pvt Ltd.

Buck, H., 1997. The Outline of Materia Medica and a Clinical Dictionary. accessed through Radar Opus software. B Jain Publishers.

Cândea, D.-M. and Szentagotai-Tăta, A., 2018. Shame-proneness, guilt-proneness and anxiety symptoms: A meta-analysis. Journal of Anxiety Disorders [online], 58, 78–106.

Carden, L. J., Saini, P., Seddon, C., Watkins, M., and Taylor, P. J., 2020. Shame and the psychosis continuum: A systematic review of the literature. Psychology and Psychotherapy [online], 93 (1), 160–186.

Cave, D., 2021. Australia Is Betting on Remote Quarantine. Here’s What I Learned on the Inside. The New York Times [online], August 20, 2021.

Choudhuri, N. M., 2016. A study on materia medica : an ideal text-book for homoeopathic students. accessed through Radar Opus software. Noida, U.P., India: B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd.

Dixon, R., 2021. I finally made it home to Australia. Washington Post [online], May 22, 2021.

Farrington, E. A., 2018. Lectures on Clinical Materia Medica in Family Order. New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers, LTD.

Frederickson, J., 2020. Shame: The Disavowal of Our Shared Humanity. Psychiatry [online], 83 (1), 33–35.

Greek Legends and Myths, n.d. Ajax the Great in Greek Mythology [online]. Greek Legends and Myths.

Lyons, B., Gibson, M., and Dolezal, L., 2018. Stories of shame. The Lancet [online], 391 (10130), 1568–1569.

Marlee, S., 2022. CNN’s Chris Cillizza just discovering Covid shaming; Twitter reality-checks him hard · American Wire News [online]. American Wire News.

Nechita, D., Bud, S., and David, D., 2021. Shame and eating disorders symptoms: A meta‐analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders [online], 54 (11), 1899–1945.

O’Brien, T., 2022. Shaming as a COVID Strategy [online]. www.americanthinker.com.

Oxford University Press, 2021. Oxford Dictionary of English. 14.1.1.47 ed. Oxford University Press accessed through mobisystems.com app.

Pitt, R., 2015. Comparative materia medica : integrating new and old remedies. San Francisco, California: Lalibela Publishing.

Theoi Greek Mythology, n.d. PLANTS & FLOWERS OF GREEK MYTH 1 [online]. www.theoi.com.

Tyler, M. L., 2003. Homœopathic drug pictures. New Delhi, India: Indian Books & Periodicals Publishers.

Vicentini, C. B., Manfredini, S., and Contini, C., 2018. Ancient treatment for lice: a source of suggestions for carriers of other infectious diseases? Le Infezioni in Medicina[online], 26 (2), 181–192.
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Further reading on shame:

Ellenbogen, S., Colin-Vezina, D., Sinha, V., Chabot, M., and Wells, S. J. R., 2018. Contrasting mental health correlates of physical and sexual abuse-related shame. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health [online], 30 (2), 87–97.

McElvaney, R., Lateef, R., Collin-Vézina, D., Alaggia, R., and Simpson, M., 2021. Bringing Shame Out of the Shadows: Identifying Shame in Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure Processes and Implications for Psychotherapy. Journal of Interpersonal Violence [online], 088626052110374.

Seidler, Z. E., Rice, S. M., Kealy, D., Wilson, M. J., Oliffe, J. L., and Ogrodniczuk, J. S., 2021. Men’s Shame and Anger: Examining the Roles of Alexithymia and Psychological Distress. The Journal of Psychology [online], 1–11.

Shaughnessy, M. J., 2017. Integrative Literature Review on Shame. Nursing Science Quarterly [online], 31 (1), 86–94.

Further reading on Covid death rates:

Berezow, A., 2020. COVID Infection Fatality Rates by Sex and Age [online]. American Council on Science and Health. ‌

Ioannidis, J. P. A., 2020. Infection fatality rate of COVID-19 inferred from seroprevalence data. Bulletin of the World Health Organization [online], 99 (1), 19–33F.‌

Mahase, E., 2020. Covid-19: death rate is 0.66% and increases with age, study estimates. BMJ [online], m1327.
Salzberger, B., Buder, F., Lampl, B., Ehrenstein, B., Hitzenbichler, F., Holzmann, T., Schmidt, B., and Hanses, F., 2020. Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2. Infection [online].
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Shame on you!

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