The Matrix Method Used in a Mercurius Iodatus Flavus Case

The Matrix Method - Springboard in Homeopathy Used in a Mercurius Iodatus Flavus Case  Presented by Dr Mirjana Zivanov:

In this Merc-I-F case, after the classical Homeopathic case taking, the Matrix method has been used to help the patient to open up at the very beginning of the homeopathic treatment, and to include the patient in the process of case analysis, thus making a homeopath even more impartial.
In the MATRIX method the Deep PEAT technique is used after the case taking, because this way the patient gives us the contents - themes, that he/she feels most intensely about, and not just that but also their sequence - the chain of contents.
The new MATRIX Method is explained and described in the book: "The Matrix Method with Tetractys Model", available on Amazon.com.

The patient has chosen the following issue for the starting point in Deep PEAT:
“I feel irritated by some of my family members”
The term irritated corresponds to the irritability rubric in Repertory, the concept connected to concepts of “anger to”, “answer to”, “defy”, “enraged to”, “react to” etc. All these concepts are a reaction of the patient to questioning or undermining her position, or power in the family, and later in the case we will see how significant is the theme of power for her. Therefor, we may associate this starting point with the Offensive aggression because it comes from feeling strength and protecting the position, while the Affective aggression point comes from feeling weak and defensive.
The position on Tetractys of behavioral states that contains the state of offensive aggression is Addiction/Offensive aggression point.
Chain of contents is displayed in regular typeface, the points of tetractys in bold condensed while for the explanations in the italic typeface was used:
1. I feel irritated (irritability rubric in Repertory) by some of my
family members (Addiction/Offensive aggression point)
- Left side of my head hurts, like its burning
2. Burning sensation in my head
- It’s hard for me to breath, it takes an effort to inhale,
(Melancholy - sadness point) Melancholy or dysthymia is, as we
have previously explained, the state of low drive and low
energy, feeling weak sometimes for years, so even ordinary and simple tasks seem hard and take a great effort, like for
lifting something very heavy. When a patient, with no
history of chronic respiratory disorders, talks about an
effort for something easy as breathing, and how hard it is for
her, followed by the sensation of heaviness, we may associate
this state with the low energy melancholy-sadness point.
- I feel heaviness on my chest
3. Heaviness on my chest
- My head feels so heavy it could fall down
- My head feels less heavy, and I’ve buzzing in my head
- I inhale deeply with effort, with buzzing in my head, like
my pressure is rising

4. My pressure is rising
  - my legs and hands are getting cold
- I feel heaviness on my shoulders, pressure in my
head, my hands are chilling, I don’t feel nice, there is no
more harmony
5. I don’t feel nice and in harmony
- I feel heat and pulsating in my head
(Passion/Panic point) The sensation of heat, with cheeks
getting red indicating the rise of noradrenaline, like the
patient’s energy is beginning to rise. As it was concluded
in the earlier chapter, red cheeks and sensation of heat
usually follow the onset of panic, so we may assume
an increase of serotonin levels, too. The general energy on the
rise leads towards the point of high energy equilibrium - the
Peace & Joy point.
6. Heat and pulsating in my head
- it’s the same and my cheeks are getting red
- The pain has moved towards my left ear
- Now it moves to the back of my head, it’s like it travels
around my head. The sensation of movement may be
associated with amelioration of this patient’s symptoms.
- My ear is getting better now, everything goes backwards
- I feel weakness, like I could only lay down to sleep

7. Weakness
- I feel relaxed, lighter, I still feel the left side of my head
(Peace & Joy point) Feeling relaxed, lighter and warm are
the characteristics of the high energy equilibrium point,
as well as sleepiness, while insomnia is often associated with
depressive disorders - the area of melancholy-sadness point.
- I feel circulation in my hands, like they are getting warm
- I feel sleepy, and if I lay down, I would fall asleep
- My head feels heavy, tired, buzzing in my head
(Melancholy - sadness point) Feeling heavy once again tips the
scale and the general energy start to decrease towards the
melancholy-sadness point, as heaviness and lack of will are
getting predominant over the lightness and sleepiness of the
high energy equilibrium point.
8. Buzzing in my head
- Sleepiness, I have no will to do anything, I just want to
lay down
- Now I’ve remembered my duties, as soon as I start thinking
about my duties a headache starts
9. Headache from duties
- I feel misunderstood
10. Misunderstood
- I wish I had a better childhood, I wasn’t treated nice
and good enough, I didn’t get enough love from my mother
11. Not enough love from mother
(she starts crying heavily)
- She was such a person, it couldn’t be changed
- I feel heaviness on my chest, and constriction in my throat,
but I don’t feel my head now
12. Heaviness on my chest
- Still the same
- Like everything is coming down to my stomach and ribs
- I feel nervousness all over my body, I could tremble, not
from anger, because I feel out of strength, but from
tension.
10. Tension (Passion/Panic point)
This is a low serotonergic reaction, a state of lower strength
and self esteem, a tensed sensation with elevated noradrenalin
levels. Tensed sensation is a diffuse reaction typical for
elevated noradrenaline. High NA, moderate serotonin (5-HT)
and low DA is the characteristic of the Passion/Panic point.
- I have a sensation of pressure on my hips, tensed, like if I
would need to go to toilet, but mostly I feel pressure
- Heaviness pulls me downwards (Melancholy - sadness point)
Feeling heaviness, pressure and pulling downwards shows
a further decrease of general energy - the area of melancholy
-sadness point

What is the opposite of heaviness for you?
The sensation of “heaviness” was repeated a number of
times in different contexts during the process, and once
again in the previous content, so we have assumed that this is
the key theme for the patient, and we ask the patient about the
opposite of this content.
- Lightness (Peace & Joy point)
Since the patient has got back to the point of high energy
equilibrium - the point of  peace & joy, after uniting these
two opposites, we may assume that the deepest pair of
opposites, the Primes for this patient is:

HEAVINESS - LIGHTNESS:
The Simillimum for this patient was Mercurius iodatus flavus, so we may also assume that the patient’s contents in the: Addiction/Offensive aggression point, Passion/Panic point, Melancholy - sadness point and Peace & Joy point together with the Primes - Heaviness-Lightness, are the key elements of this remedy’s Tetractys of Simillimum.
The following contents were associated with the four points of Tetractys of behavioral states in this case:

Addiction/ Offensive aggression point: - Irritated
- Burning sensation
Passion/Panic point: - Tension
- Trembling
- Sensation of heat
- Pulsating

Melancholy - sadness point: - Heaviness
- Pressure
- Everything takes an effort
- Coldness
- Buzzing
- Can’t cope with duties
- Feels misunderstood
- Not enough love from mother
- Tired
- No harmony
- Constriction
- Tensed
- Pulling down sensation
- Nothing can be changed

Peace & Joy point: - Light
- Warm
- Relaxed
- Sleepy

The case started with elevated 5-HT and DA Addiction/Offensive aggression point, followed by lowering of the patient’s energy to the Melancholy - sadness point in the next several contents. The energy then started to rise through the Passion/Panic point to the Peace & Joy point of high energy equilibrium, and after that high point the energy started to fall again to the Melancholy - sadness point, and stayed there to the end of the process, with just one more short noradrenergic rise to the Passion/Panic point, that has fall back to the Melancholy - sadness point  after just two contents. Only after uniting the Primes the patient came back to the high energy equilibrium - Peace & Joy point.
When we look at the positions of these four points on our Tetractys model, two of them are in the middle - the zero point (Melancholy - sadness point) and the point of high energy equilibrium, while the Addictive/Offensive aggression point is in the serotonergic Syphilitic miasm, as well as the Passion/Panic point. For finding the patient’s miasm we need to put aside the zero-point and the point of high energy equilibrium, because both are present in all three miasms. In this case, after removing these two, we are left with two points with elevated serotonin levels and also with elevated dopamine - the Addiction/Offensive aggression point , while the other with noradrenaline - the Passion/Panic point.  Since both of them contain elevated serotonin levels we may say the patient’s miasm is syphilitic, but because the dopamine and noradrenaline levels are also elevated, together with the dominant syphilitic miasm, there are elements of psoric and sycotic miasm.
The points and miasms present in this case are presented in black on the Tetractys of this case, while the points that may be associated with this miasm but were not present in this case with dashed line:

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The new MATRIX Method is explained and described in the book: "The Matrix Method with Tetractys Model", available on Amazon.com in kindle and paperback editions:
http://www.amazon.com/Matrix-Method-Tetractys-Model/dp/151475925X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442003725&sr=1-2

About Dr Mirjana Zivanov:

Dr Mirjana Zivanov graduated from Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad (Serbia) and London International College of Homeopathy. Dr Mirjana has 11 years of everyday clinical practice in Classical Homeopathy, at Homeopathic clinic in Novi Sad, Serbia. Dr Mirjana is the author of the books “Homeopathy in Practice”, “Principles of Homeopathy” , “Homeopathy – The Invisible Influences”and "The Matrix Method with Tetractys Model". She is the creator of “Tetractys of Simillimum” and “The Matrix Method”. Dr Mirjana can be contacted at: dr.mirjana.zivanov@gmail.com