Aurum metallicum (2002)
Part 1
Depression following redundancy from a career in finance indicated the remedy Aurum metallicum, writes Marysia Kratimenos
John was referred to me with depression and fatigue. No cause for the exhaustion had been found; it was presumed to be emotionally based. The antidepressants he had been prescribed had not improved his energy level.
Conservative in appearance, dressed in a business suit and wearing polished shoes, John was polite, although quiet and formal in his behaviour. He answered my questions honestly and respectfully.
He had been unwell for two years before he came to see me. His problems had started after he had been made redundant from his job. Initially he had consulted his general practitioner, who had prescribed anti-depressants. These had caused such unpleasant side effects that John had stopped taking them within days. The depression had intensified to the point where John was showing suicidal tendencies, so his GP arranged admission into a psychiatric hospital. Another anti-depressant was found that suited him better, but John was not happy taking the tablets as he felt “numb and drugged”.
He had worked in the finance department of the company for all his working life and was now in his late fifties. The decision to “let him go” had been made as a result of an economic down turn. At his age, he felt it would be nigh on impossible to find another job. He had big financial commitments and would not hear of his wife going to work. He was the breadwinner in the family. He felt humiliated that he had to turn to the state for support. He was riddled with guilt that he had placed his family in a vulnerable financial position because of his health.
Prior to his illness, he described himself as a perfectionist at work. He was extremely hard working and felt great loyalty to his company, so their “betrayal” was all the more difficult to accept. On hearing the news of his dismissal, he had suffered crushing chest pain. He thought he was having a heart attack, but all investigations were normal. Whenever he was “stressed” the pain would return, and it frightened him. Both his parents had died of heart attacks.
John described his childhood as happy, he “wanted for nothing”. He loved his parents dearly and described the day that his father died as the “worst in his life”. He said his parents taught him the importance of honour, hard work, financial security and duty in life.
They attended church regularly, as did he and his wife and children. He was happily married with three teenage children living at home.
His health had always been good and he had enjoyed regular exercise in the past. He had no other medical problems. He ate a good diet and had no marked food preferences.
John was reticent about talking of his depression, blaming it on the redundancy. He felt worse at night and if he managed to sleep, he would have bad nightmares. He would wake early. He was afraid of death although he desired it. His worst fear, which he felt had been realised, was that of poverty.
As John was taking antidepressants, I prescribed Aurum metallicum 6C to be taken daily. Certain medications can interfere with the action of high dose remedies, and in these cases I prefer to use low potencies on a daily basis.
John returned to the clinic six weeks after starting Aurum. There was a dramatic change in his mood – he was beaming! He said that his energy levels had increased so much that he was going to the gym daily. He felt truly happy in himself and was stunned that such tiny tablets could have had such a huge effect. He had agreed for his wife to go back to work to ease the financial problems until he found a new job. This was a major shift; he joked about having old-fashioned chauvinist values. His main objective was to stop the antidepressants as soon as possible and his psychiatrist had agreed to this.
John has remained well over the last two years. He gradually weaned himself off the medication and occasionally has Aurum if his mood or energy dips, which is rare. His chest pain has never returned. He revels in the delicious irony that gold cured him and yet the striving for wealth almost killed him.
It was believed for generations that one could ascertain the medicinal qualities of a substance by close observation of its properties. The modern scientific mind scorns such superstitious nonsense, but in homeopathy many are exploring this avenue. At the very least it acts as an aidememoire and helps to structure the vast materia medica.
The ancient myths and legends also help to glean a deeper understanding of the remedies. Jung regarded these as a reflection of the collective subconscious thought, and commenced work on archetypes, which continues today in homeopathy. The remedy pictures or essences are merely archetypes.