Magnesium muriaticum [Mag-m]:
- Jan Scholten
Mag-m has been extensively described by Vithoulkas (1991 b, page 177). The mental picture that he describes, is of a pacifist who cannot stand aggression and tries to make peace everywhere, privately as well as politically.
Whitmont (1982, page 128) gives another picture besides this. According to Whitmont, Mag-m is the first remedy for manic depressive states.
The aggressive side is also obvious in his description.
Concepts
Magnesium Muriaticum
Pacifism Self-pity
Aggression Care
Fear of loss Nurturing
Pain Mother
Attention
Self-awareness
Group analysis
From the group analysis we get the following picture as the essence of the remedy: the idea that aggression leads to loss of care from the mother, or that aggression is necessary to ask for care forcefully. From this viewpoint we can understand the pictures painted by Vithoulkas and Whitmont, and bring them together in the essence. We can also find the Magnesium element again: the aggression can be very much held in check, leading to pacifism, or it can be expressed and result in great irritation.
The group analysis tells us why Mag-m has such problems with aggression: it is because he is so afraid of losing his sense of security through aggression, or he is afraid that others will lose it too. In Mag-c we sooner find the fear that he will lose his self worth. In Mag-m it is the fear of losing his sense of being safe and cared for. Mag-m is with this theme the first remedy to consider for children of divorced parents. The quarrelling of the parents made the child lose his sense of security. The repertory indicates this in the rubric 'delusion he is friendless'.
Case
A woman of 20 is very gloomy. She can not bring herself to do anything, she feels tired very quickly. She experiences life as rather pointless. She has been like this for one and a half years, since she ended the relationship with her boyfriend. She does not really know why she finished the relationship, but she felt suffocated and felt he demanded too much of her. Two years ago her father died. She had a love-hate relationship with him. Her parents divorced when she was 5 years old. From the age of 12 to 16 she did not want to see her father anymore. She had the feeling that her father saw her as the daughter of his ex-wife and not as an individual person. He thought she had affected mannerisms, like her mother. Her mother has severe mental problems and regularly has to spend some time in a psychiatric hospital. This 'schizophrenia' started when the daughter was 1 year old. The father could not tolerate the mother's behaviour and ended the marriage. He was gone with no notice.
Two years ago the woman was very concerned about the idea of schizophrenia, afraid that it might be hereditary. Everything revolved around her mother at that time, and that is when her depressive feelings first started.
She has various complaints:
Back and neck pains. Vertigo with a feeling of fainting and a light feeling in her head. Nausea when she gets worked up about something. She also has spells of restlessness: she has to do something then.
General characteristics:
Temperature: she suffers from cold feet; headache (<) sun. (>) rain(2), (>) sea(2); she cannot tolerate heat (2), it makes her very tired.
Perspiration: little.
Time: (<) morning, remains moody for 2 hours, deep inside she says 'no'. Desires: spicy (3), chocolate (2), salt (2), tobacco (3), alcohol. Aversion: thyme (3), fish, coffee (2); nausea after coffee; gloomy after smoking and alcohol. Menses she often has stomach cramps and pain in her calves; the day before the menses she is bad tempered and starts cleaning the house. Sleep: unrefreshed; she sleeps on her stomach. Mind: She has a lot of will power and when she wants something she achieves it. But she often does not know what she wants. There is always something that gets her out of balance. She is easily irritated, but usually keeps this to herself. She is irritated when people are being difficult, when people are coming too close, and when she has to talk for ages to explain something to someone. What irritates her the most is that her mother only ever talks about her own world and her own problems. She is afraid that something terrible will happen to her, that she will go mad. Two years ago she took 'ecstasy ' once and realised that it is very easy to go mad. Too much attention can suddenly make her panic. In the morning she is always bad tempered. Dreams: about dying, corpses and water. As a child she often dreamt of a corpse that was floating in water. She recently had a dream that she was in a cellar where the water was rising, and she couldn't get out. During the consultation she appears reserved and rather bad tempered. She gives you the feeling that she does not like talking about herself. She is good at learning things. Photography is her hobby. Work: she is studying, but she is going to stop soon, as she feels she has come to a dead end. Analysis As she is the child of divorced parents, the first choice, in my experience, is Mag-m. But the theme of Mag-m is also present in other aspects. There is the strong irritation towards her mother, who isn't a real mother to her, who doesn't give her the love and affection that a child expects of a mother. The problems with her father and boyfriend seem to be of secondary importance, more related to her main problem with her mother. We also find other Mag-m symptoms in this case: (<) morning, (>) sea, desire for salt, aversion to fish, dreams about water.
Reaction
The depression gradually disappeared after Mag-m 1 M. A year later she started her studies again, in a new subject and with great enjoyment. Other remedies which helped her later on were Nat-f. (see chapter on Nat-f) and Graphites.
Picture of Magnesium muriaticum
Essence: The idea that their own aggression, or aggression from their mother, leads to loss of care from their mother or parents.
Mind: They crave for attention and nurturing. In the first stages they actually ask for this attention. They might whine, but they might also get very irritated if they don't get the attention. The irritation may be very marked and change into bad temper or fits of anger. At the same time they are afraid of aggression themselves. They are afraid of other people's anger and don't know at all how to handle that. They completely shut off in that case. They can't stand violence on television either. But worst of all is violence amongst their own family or friends. Quarrels between their parents can throw them completely out of balance. They are afraid of a divorce and will start to show all sorts of behaviour to prevent this. They might become even more impossible in their own behaviour than the parents themselves: for instance, manic depressive or hysterical. Or they might act as the pacifier, trying to stop the quarrelling. Or they might give up and get depressed. The depression can be a very marked symptom. They have the feeling of being abandoned by everybody, parents and friends alike. They will withdraw and become very silent. It will be difficult to make contact with them, and as a therapist you will get very few symptoms from them. Their answers are short, even abrupt. It is as if a dark cloud is hanging over them. They feel the world is divided; everything and everyone is divided by rows and violence.
They have strong feelings. These can become so strong that they could overwhelm them. That is when they dream about water that might drown them.
General characteristics:
Temperature: warm, (<) (>) sea. (>) open air.
Time: (<) 7 am. (3) Desires: meat, fruit (2), lemon, vegetables (2), sweet (2). Aversion: milk (3), meat, vegetables. (<) milk (3), salt. Menses: irregular, copious. (<) before menses, irritable. Sleep: unrefreshing (3); fear (<) closing the eyes, (<) beginning of sleep. Physical: (>) lying on left side, (<) lying on right side. (<) noise, talking.
Complaints:
Cramping pains.
Affections of the liver, cancer of the liver.
Constipation. Stools hard, dry and white.
Acne.
Mag-m has been extensively described by Vithoulkas (1991 b, page 177). The mental picture that he describes, is of a pacifist who cannot stand aggression and tries to make peace everywhere, privately as well as politically.
Whitmont (1982, page 128) gives another picture besides this. According to Whitmont, Mag-m is the first remedy for manic depressive states.
The aggressive side is also obvious in his description.
Concepts
Magnesium Muriaticum
Pacifism Self-pity
Aggression Care
Fear of loss Nurturing
Pain Mother
Attention
Self-awareness
Group analysis
From the group analysis we get the following picture as the essence of the remedy: the idea that aggression leads to loss of care from the mother, or that aggression is necessary to ask for care forcefully. From this viewpoint we can understand the pictures painted by Vithoulkas and Whitmont, and bring them together in the essence. We can also find the Magnesium element again: the aggression can be very much held in check, leading to pacifism, or it can be expressed and result in great irritation.
The group analysis tells us why Mag-m has such problems with aggression: it is because he is so afraid of losing his sense of security through aggression, or he is afraid that others will lose it too. In Mag-c we sooner find the fear that he will lose his self worth. In Mag-m it is the fear of losing his sense of being safe and cared for. Mag-m is with this theme the first remedy to consider for children of divorced parents. The quarrelling of the parents made the child lose his sense of security. The repertory indicates this in the rubric 'delusion he is friendless'.
Case
A woman of 20 is very gloomy. She can not bring herself to do anything, she feels tired very quickly. She experiences life as rather pointless. She has been like this for one and a half years, since she ended the relationship with her boyfriend. She does not really know why she finished the relationship, but she felt suffocated and felt he demanded too much of her. Two years ago her father died. She had a love-hate relationship with him. Her parents divorced when she was 5 years old. From the age of 12 to 16 she did not want to see her father anymore. She had the feeling that her father saw her as the daughter of his ex-wife and not as an individual person. He thought she had affected mannerisms, like her mother. Her mother has severe mental problems and regularly has to spend some time in a psychiatric hospital. This 'schizophrenia' started when the daughter was 1 year old. The father could not tolerate the mother's behaviour and ended the marriage. He was gone with no notice.
Two years ago the woman was very concerned about the idea of schizophrenia, afraid that it might be hereditary. Everything revolved around her mother at that time, and that is when her depressive feelings first started.
She has various complaints:
Back and neck pains. Vertigo with a feeling of fainting and a light feeling in her head. Nausea when she gets worked up about something. She also has spells of restlessness: she has to do something then.
General characteristics:
Temperature: she suffers from cold feet; headache (<) sun. (>) rain(2), (>) sea(2); she cannot tolerate heat (2), it makes her very tired.
Perspiration: little.
Time: (<) morning, remains moody for 2 hours, deep inside she says 'no'. Desires: spicy (3), chocolate (2), salt (2), tobacco (3), alcohol. Aversion: thyme (3), fish, coffee (2); nausea after coffee; gloomy after smoking and alcohol. Menses she often has stomach cramps and pain in her calves; the day before the menses she is bad tempered and starts cleaning the house. Sleep: unrefreshed; she sleeps on her stomach. Mind: She has a lot of will power and when she wants something she achieves it. But she often does not know what she wants. There is always something that gets her out of balance. She is easily irritated, but usually keeps this to herself. She is irritated when people are being difficult, when people are coming too close, and when she has to talk for ages to explain something to someone. What irritates her the most is that her mother only ever talks about her own world and her own problems. She is afraid that something terrible will happen to her, that she will go mad. Two years ago she took 'ecstasy ' once and realised that it is very easy to go mad. Too much attention can suddenly make her panic. In the morning she is always bad tempered. Dreams: about dying, corpses and water. As a child she often dreamt of a corpse that was floating in water. She recently had a dream that she was in a cellar where the water was rising, and she couldn't get out. During the consultation she appears reserved and rather bad tempered. She gives you the feeling that she does not like talking about herself. She is good at learning things. Photography is her hobby. Work: she is studying, but she is going to stop soon, as she feels she has come to a dead end. Analysis As she is the child of divorced parents, the first choice, in my experience, is Mag-m. But the theme of Mag-m is also present in other aspects. There is the strong irritation towards her mother, who isn't a real mother to her, who doesn't give her the love and affection that a child expects of a mother. The problems with her father and boyfriend seem to be of secondary importance, more related to her main problem with her mother. We also find other Mag-m symptoms in this case: (<) morning, (>) sea, desire for salt, aversion to fish, dreams about water.
Reaction
The depression gradually disappeared after Mag-m 1 M. A year later she started her studies again, in a new subject and with great enjoyment. Other remedies which helped her later on were Nat-f. (see chapter on Nat-f) and Graphites.
Picture of Magnesium muriaticum
Essence: The idea that their own aggression, or aggression from their mother, leads to loss of care from their mother or parents.
Mind: They crave for attention and nurturing. In the first stages they actually ask for this attention. They might whine, but they might also get very irritated if they don't get the attention. The irritation may be very marked and change into bad temper or fits of anger. At the same time they are afraid of aggression themselves. They are afraid of other people's anger and don't know at all how to handle that. They completely shut off in that case. They can't stand violence on television either. But worst of all is violence amongst their own family or friends. Quarrels between their parents can throw them completely out of balance. They are afraid of a divorce and will start to show all sorts of behaviour to prevent this. They might become even more impossible in their own behaviour than the parents themselves: for instance, manic depressive or hysterical. Or they might act as the pacifier, trying to stop the quarrelling. Or they might give up and get depressed. The depression can be a very marked symptom. They have the feeling of being abandoned by everybody, parents and friends alike. They will withdraw and become very silent. It will be difficult to make contact with them, and as a therapist you will get very few symptoms from them. Their answers are short, even abrupt. It is as if a dark cloud is hanging over them. They feel the world is divided; everything and everyone is divided by rows and violence.
They have strong feelings. These can become so strong that they could overwhelm them. That is when they dream about water that might drown them.
General characteristics:
Temperature: warm, (<) (>) sea. (>) open air.
Time: (<) 7 am. (3) Desires: meat, fruit (2), lemon, vegetables (2), sweet (2). Aversion: milk (3), meat, vegetables. (<) milk (3), salt. Menses: irregular, copious. (<) before menses, irritable. Sleep: unrefreshing (3); fear (<) closing the eyes, (<) beginning of sleep. Physical: (>) lying on left side, (<) lying on right side. (<) noise, talking.
Complaints:
Cramping pains.
Affections of the liver, cancer of the liver.
Constipation. Stools hard, dry and white.
Acne.
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