The Theory of Miasms - Personality Types -- George Loukas
After After the discov discovery ery and applic applicati ation on of homeop homeopath athy y for 30 years years (1790-1820), Hahnemann realized that although he had very good results with intense diseases, he did not have drastic results with the treatment of chronic diseases. He noticed that those diseases, after their removal with the use of homeopathic medicines, they always relapsed in a variable form and with new symptoms or reappeared on a yearly basis with an increase of the ailments. Aft After er care carefu full obse observ rvat atio ion n and and stud study, y, Hahn Hahnem eman ann n reac reache hed d the the conclusion that there is an obstacle in the organism that cannot be fought with medicines or the healthiest diet or disappear by itself. He name named d this this obst obstac acle le a “mia “miasm sm”. ”. The The word word mias miasm m mean means s infection, stain, dirtiness, and blotch. Hahnemann thought that the life life powe powerr is infe infect cted ed by cert certai ain n fact factor ors s and and that that this this infe infect ctio ion n creates the disease. He observed three miasms, the psoric, the sycotic and the syphilitic. Acc Accor ordi ding ng to Hahn Hahnem eman ann, n, thos those e thre three e mias miasms ms are are the the base base of every disease. Any disease whatever its external symptoms are, can be “found” in a miasm or in a combination of the above miasms. Although the above miasms are the basis for any disease producing process, the combination of psora and syphilis has been described as the tubercular miasm. Therefore in the homeopathic bibliography there is differentiation. Other authors prefer only the description of the three main miasms and others prefer to describe the tubercular miasm as one of the main miasms. I was taught the theory of miasms from Aristarchos Tsamaslides. Aristarchos had a very good knowledge of the theory of miasms and he used to app apply it systematically in the practice of homeopathy . He used to tell us, in the lessons that he gave us, that if we could not understand it, we would limit our ability to the treatment of chronic diseases. Watching the examination of patients in his office, I had realized this myself many times in practice. On the other hand it is difficult to talk about this theory in our days. Others look at you in a weird way. I remember that when I mentioned it to certain colleagues, most of them treated me as a “co “colo lorf rful ul” ” char charac acte ter. r. A few few were benev enevol olen entt and and want wanted ed to understand it. In order for this theory to be understandable it had to be enriched with modern knowledge. But such a correlation was very difficult for us at the time. Therefore the only thing we could do was to learn the theory of miasms as a method of grouping diseases, which we, homeopathy doctors, could use only among us, avoiding reffering to it in our discussions with other doctors. At this point I must mention an author who helped a lot in the understanding of the theory of miasms. It is P.S. is P.S. Ortega who in his book “ Notes about miasms Notes ” provided a very nice description of the 1
basic psycho synthesis of the three miasms . Fruedian Perspective: Howe Howeve ver, r, the the desi desire re to find find more more info inform rmat atio ion n on the the theo theory ry of miasms through modern scientific opinions was strong. I did not know how to do this. One day I was in the doctors’ office of the neurological clinic of the military hospital. A patient’s escort came in to ask for something. The way he asked for it was very characteristic. This man was very demanding, looked to be very angr angry y and and his his spee speech ch had had a stro strong ng tone tone of aggr aggres essi sive vene ness ss.. I thought that this man was syphilitic. As soon as we helped him one of the psychiatrists present asked us: “colleagues, what do you notice about this man’s behavior? He is angry. He bites. He is orally fixed according to Freud’s theory”. This observation was very useful to me. I made the first correlation that could help in the deeper understanding of the theory of miasms. The syphilitic miasm was related with the oral fixation of o f the Freud’s theory. According to the Freudian thinking, three stages play an important role in the development of a person’s personality. The first first stage stage is the oral which starts starts from from the moment moment of birth birth until the age of one and a half years. The main subject of this stage is lactation and the progressive vacillation of the person from a sit situat uation ion of dep dependen ndence ce from rom the breas reastt to a sit situatio ation n of independence. The second stage is the anal. It succeeds the oral until the age of two and a half to three. The main subject of this stage is the control of the sphincters. The third stage is the oedipal. It succeeds the anal and starts from the age of two and a half until the end of the fifth year. Main subject of this stage is the unfulfilled love of the child to the parent of the opposite sex. A Miasmatic Corelation with Freudian Stages: The person that did not normally go through one of those stages has a fixation to that stage. Therefore, depending on the type of fixa fixati tion on,, thre three e type types s are are obse observ rved ed:: the oral oral,, the the anal anal and and the the oedipal. The oral oral type type is charac character terize ized d by demand demanding ing behavi behavior, or, naggin nagging, g, greed, greed, rush, rush, insul insultin ting g behavi behavior, or, tenden tendency cy to depend dependenc ence, e, strong strong tendency to aggressiveness and disaster. These elements fit the syphilitic type of the homeopathy thinking. The anal type is characterized by neatness, tendency to niceness, perfectionism, and exactitude. He has a tendency to miserliness, is stubborn and dogmatic. He controls all his feelings. These elements fit the sycotic type of the homeopathy thinking. The oedipal type is characterized by the continuous search of an ideal and unfulfilled unfulfilled target and during the effort effort to find it there are many obstacles. The story of the little boy where his father is an obstacle to his erotic desire for his mother is repeated. The oedipal type corresponds to the tubercular type of homeopathy. 2
The psoric type of homeopathy does not have a corresponding type in the Freudian theory. This can be explained by the fact that Freud worked with patient who had a strong psychopathology. The psoric type has the minimum psychopathology. Therefore there was no apparent reason for a psoric to follow psychoanalysis. The above ove correlati ation widened my knowledge for miasms. According to this new thinking certain basic concepts were clarified. In order to define miasms, Hahnemann used certain nosological entities, which may have been well-timed in his time but did not last through the years. Even the term miasm proved unsuccessful. The use of nosological entities for the naming of miasms caused conf confus usio ion. n. Ther Theref efor ore e cert certai ain n auth author ors s got got into into disc discov over erin ing g new new miasms according to various serious diseases. According to the new evidence, a new general typology started to app appear ear. Each Each type ype has has its its own own chara haract cter eriisti stics and its its own own tendencies for a disease. It is not restricted to one disease but may produce a group of diseases. But their understanding needed to be widened through other theoretical systems. Pavlov's Perspective: In one of my trips to India, I met the homeopathy doctor Jawahar Shah who had started a similar study as I but from a different angle, angle, Pavlov’s Pavlov’s psychology psychology . Shah hah was was worki orking ng with ith a tea team of psyc psychi hiat atri rist sts s and and had had intr introd oduc uced ed elem elemen ents ts from from the the Ru Russ ssia ian n Pavlov’s theory to the theory of miasms. Pavlov had developed a typology of his own thus: the active balanced, the weak balanced, the the powe powerf rful ul stim stimul ulat atin ing g and and the the weak weak repr repress essed ed.. He had had also also correlated those types to the Hippocrates typology which included four four type types: s: the the bloo bloody dy,, the the phle phlegm gmat atic ic,, the the chol choler eric ic and and the the melancholic. As I continued the study I could make more correlations relating to the typology of the four types. In the total study for diathesis I pres present ented ed a comm common on model model,, incl includ udin ing g elem elemen ents ts from from diff differ eren entt theoretical systems. The table below provides a scheme of correlations of the various theoretical systems.
CONDITION A HOMEOPATHY PSORIC MIASM
CONDITIO N B
CONDITIO N C
CONDITION D
SYCOTIC
SYPHILITI
TUDERCULA 3
MIASM FREUD There is mo dir direct ANAL correlation. The FIXATION concepts of psychol psychologi ogical cal conflic conflictt and repression are classified here. PARACELSUS SULFUR DISEASES SALT DISEASES PAVLOV ACTIVE BA BALANCED QUIET BALANCE D HIPPOCRATES BLOOD PHLEGM EMPEDOCLES FIRE PLATO FIRE ST. GREGORY NYSSA HEAVEN
C MIASM
R MIASM
ORAL FIXATION
OEDIPAL FIXATION
MERCURY DISEASES WEAK POWERFUL REPRESSE STIMULATIN D G BLACK BILE
YELLOW BILE
WATER
EARTH
AIR
WATER
EARTH
AIR
WATER
EARTH
AIR
OF
After the presentation of the unifying theory of the diathesis the field of the theory of miasms started to be clarified. It was clear that the concept of miasms existed prior to Hahnemann but with different terminology and by different authors. After certain clinical observations Hahnemann used his own terms and he presented it as his his own own theo theory ry.. For For some someon one e that that know knows s home homeop opat athy hy it is obvi obviou ous s that hat Hahne ahnema mann nn was was inf influen luenc ced by the theor heorie ies s of Paracelsus because for Hahnemann, Sulfur is the main anti-psoric medicine and Mercury is the main anti-syphilitic. The unifying theory of diathesis is not a static theoretical model. Its teaching in the University of People’s Friendship in Moscow has helped in its amplification. Certain doctors that were taught this theory are already working towards this direction. As it is obvious, such a subject can not be elaborated on in the framework of this book. Anybody who wants to read more on the subject should refer to my book book “Roo “Roots ts,, princ rincip iple les s for for a unif unific icat atio ion n of the the huma human n sciences”. Some summarized clinical characteristics on the four types of the theory of miasms will be provided below: The Psoric miasm By using the word “psora” Hahnemann meant an original unhealthy condition, whereby after the internal infection of the whole organism 4
is completed, there appears a peculiar skin exanthema. He argued that, “Psora is the oldest, the most universal, the most devastating and most little known miasmatic disease, which has disfigured and tormented nations for thousands of years”. For Hahnemann, psora is a disease or the susceptibility to a disease which has been passed from generation to generation for thousands of years and it is the breeding ground for every sickly condition. At the same time it is the most contagious and infectious disease of all. If one wants to describe the common characteristics of hundreds of symptoms of psora, two properties should be menti ntioned: hype hypers rsen ensi siti tivi vity ty and and lack lack.. Lack Lack is stre stress ssed ed in some some books books and hypersensitivity in others. We can understand the concept of hypersensitivity with a simple example: If we stimulate externally two different individuals they will react differently. The psoric individual reacts more strongly than the supposedly “normal individual”. That is to say there is a fall of limen and there is an excessive reaction. This reaction is towards the right direction but it is strong. This hypersensitivity is present in all aspects of the psoric’s life. He is very observant and aware of his immediate environment. He is sensitive. He also gets angry easily. After he has expressed his anger and has had a good sleep he is not hateful. He also cries easily. After crying he feels better. He is temperamental due to the hypersensitivity. His hypersensitivity com comes with with genu genuin ine e exp express ressiivene veness ss.. He is ver very rich rich in the the expressions of his feelings. He conveys sentiments. The psoric can be a scientist or an artist. He is hypersensitive to light, sound and smell. He gets scared very easily from unimportant causes. The most typical expression of the hypersensitivity in the body is itching. An external or internal itching, like tickling for example, is a sign of psora. psora. The suppr suppressi ession on of the extern external al bodily bodily manife manifesta statio tions ns of psor psora, a, beca becaus use e of the the wron wrong g medi medica call trea treatm tmen ent, t, resu result lts s in the the appearance of an internal or psychic itching, which is even more troublesome to the individual. Such suppressions led Hahnemann to the discovery of the psoric miasma and its description. The other main characteristic of psoric miasma is lack. This lack is expressed as a feeling of inadequacy. There is a deep feeling of inferiority. It can be seen in the successful businessman who is inte intellllig igen entt and and hard hard-w -wor orki king ng but but who who alwa always ys want wants s to rely rely on somebody else. He is always looking for a partner. His partner, if he is a crook, can easily take advantage of him. He always needs support; he always seeks protection. This feeling of inferiority can also be seen in the scientist, who continuously asks for the support of his teacher or his colleagues despite the fact that he knows his subject well. He seeks for care and sympathy in his relationships. This is due to his reticence which is caused by the feeling of inferiority. He has a lot of inhibitions. Each of his actions is stopped by an internal voice. He is anxious and gets scared easily. This sense of inadequacy forces him to live in a world of fantasy 5
which however is not the autistic world of a schizophrenic. It is simply the feeling of inadequacy that stops him from fulfilling his dreams. Thus his rich inner world has to be expressed through fantasy. This can be seen in the individual who goes to a lecture and instead of paying attention he spends most of his time daydrea dreami ming ng.. Ther There e is a loss loss of conta contact ct beca becaus use e of cert certai ain n deep deep emotions due to his hypersensitivity and on the other hand in the non expression of these emotions due to his feeling of inadequacy. Thus, psorics are people with a rich inner world, which is not expr expres esse sed d and and is not not comp comple lete tely ly real realiz ized ed,, beca becaus use e they they lack lack bold boldne ness ss.. Beca Becaus use e of thei theirr feel feelin ing g of infe inferi rior orit ity y they they beco become me stagnant, immobile and reserved. If this feeling of inferiority was absent they would be much happier people and would offer more to soci societ ety. y. The The awar awaren eness ess of thei theirr “hel “helpl ples essn snes ess” s” caus causes es them them sadness. When they feel sad they look far into the future and see happier days ahead. The words of a popular Greek song express very well the psoric sadness: “Be patient and the sky will become bluer...” There is hope in them; it has not been lost. The psoric is particularly concerned with what others think of him, he respects society’s customs and traditions and feels guilty if he does not abide by the rules. This is easily explained by the feeling of inad inadeq equa uacy cy.. It is this this feel feelin ing g of inad inadeq equa uacy cy that that make makes s him him always seek support from someone else. He creates relationships of support, bonds of support and he does not want them to break because he will be left alone without them. Behind the socializing of peop people le lies lies the the need need for for supp suppor ortt from from the the grou group. p. He fear fears s rejection. These needs of his continuously inhibit his desires. “I must” is stronger than “I want”. For example before the psoric acts he asks himself if it is socially acceptable and if it is not, he usually does not act. He is very generous with his relatives. He is easily hurt by the remarks of others. It takes him time to express his anger but once it is expressed the incident is forgotten. The psoric individual has a tendency towards platonic love. Let’s say that a psoric man likes a woman. He thinks: “What a beautiful woman ... What an amiable person ... I wonder if she likes me. Well, so many men are after her, I doubt that she wants me ... What What if she she reje reject cts s me?” me?” Here Here also also ther there e is an inhi inhibi biti tion on.. An inhibition caused by his sense of inadequacy on one hand and on the other his fear that his behavior could be rejected by society. This makes him experience love through fantasy. He is a person who has fallen in love many times but who has very rarely fulfilled his fantasies. He is also emotional, he gets worried easily and he gets hurt easily. His love fantasies are heterosexual. He is pure in his feelings. He falls in love with the whole person not with a breast or a thigh. He sees the personality and does not see his partner as a sex object. The psoric is also religiously inclined. He is religious in a broad 6
sens sense. e. His His fait faith h is of a phil philos osop ophi hizi zing ng natu nature re,, is the the need need for for search, and is the agony of existence. In other words it is the sense of inadequacy towards the vastness of universe. Generally the psoric human has a tendency to comply with the customs and traditions and social laws and has a developed social sense. Thus he believes in concepts like the family, work etc. He wishes to create a family, he likes work, and he patiently fulfills his social obligations as for example the military service. He considers the community service as an honor and does not prioritize his personal interest above all. The lack, characteristic in the body, appears in various ways as for exampl example e by inadequ inadequate ate nouris nourishme hment. nt. He eats eats consta constantl ntly y but but the organism cannot absorb the food. Thus lack appears. Those who mention that the lack of vitamins and trace elements are responsible for the various diseases agree with the homeopathy thinking because they focus in the point that is related to the psoric miasm. For example the lack of vitamin A causes dryness. Dryness is one of the basic symptoms of the psoric miasm. Hahnemann did not know the existence of vitamin A when he wrote about the psoric miasm. Deficiency of minerals causes a disorder to the normal function of the the orga organi nism sm.. Calc Calciu ium m defi defici cien ency cy caus causes es osteo osteoma mala laci cia, a, card cardia iac c diso disord rder ers, s, and and neur neurom omus uscu cula larr exci excita tabi bilility ty.. Pota Potass ssiu ium m defi defici cien ency cy cau causes ses card cardia iac c dysf dysfu unct nction ion and and diso disorrder ders of the the acid acid--base ase equilibrium. Sodium deficiency causes withholding or loss of water of the the orga organi nism sm.. Iodi Iodine ne defi defici cien ency cy caus causes es goit goiter er.. Magn Magnes esiu ium m deficiency causes neuromuscular disorders, cardiac dysfunction and osteom osteomala alacia cia.. Ferrum Ferrum defici deficiency ency causes causes anemia anemia.. Zinc Zinc defici deficienc ency y causes causes dermat dermatolo ologic gical al disord disorders ers,, dysfu dysfunct nction ion of retina retina,, diabet diabetes, es, azoospermia, abortion, senility. Copper deficie ciency causes hepato hepatolen lentic ticul ular ar degene degenerat ration ion,, osteop osteoporo orosis sis,, and anemia anemia.. Cobalt Cobalt def defici iciency ency cau causes ses anemi nemia a and and gene genera rall weakn eaknes ess. s. Sel Seleniu enium m defi defici cienc ency y caus causes es musc muscul ular ar dyst dystro roph phy y and and card cardia iac c dysfu dysfunc ncti tion on.. According to the above Hanhemann’s theory is confirmed, by which he considered psoric miasm to be the basis of the entire human disease. The Sycotic miasm The word sycosis derives from the word “syco” (Greek word for fig). Hahnemann used this word because the sycotic person tends to make warts that may reach to the point of looking like a fig. In other words sycosis means verrucose. Let’s begin with the sycotic person’s mental sphere: The sycotic person has an inclination to show off . A sycotic woman walks in the street and cuts a dash. Heads turn around when she walks by and that is what she seeks, consciously or even unconsciously. A sycotic man walks with a swagger and puffs himself up to show his muscles. Expensive clothes bought at “trendy” shops also have to 7
do with ith syco sycosi sis. s. Buying ying an exp expensi ensive ve car car (thou hough it is not not necessary for professional use) is also related to sycosis. Medi Medici cine ne and and “tre “trend ndy” y” prof profes essi sion ons, s, such such as jour journa nalilist st,, lawy lawyer er,, politician, have much appeal for sycotic persons. The shinny shingle on the the door door,, the the glam glamor orou ous s surf surfac ace, e, the the worl worldw dwid ide e reco recogn gnit itio ion n appeal to the young student. A sycotic scientist thinks of himself to be an exceptional case in his field, even though he is mediocre. He calls himself an expert or an adept in his field. He likes to put many titles on his shingle. As a patient he prefers distinguished and highly qualified doctors, who sound omniscient to him. He has a mistrust of doctors who are simple and straight. This inclination inclination to show off marks every sycotic behavior behavior and most times it is unconscious. When he is sad, for instance, the way he cries, the way he sighs draws everybody’s attention and sympathy tow towards ards him. him. The The way way a syco sycottic person rson gets gets angr ngry is also also flamboyant. The person screams, shouts, and makes a great fuss. It is some kind of “puffing up” that draws other people’s attention. When the sycotic person is happy, he roars with laughter and also makes a great fuss. Another major feature of the sycotic person’s mental sphere is a tendency to keep things to oneself . In general the notion of keeping overweighs that of giving. Therefore the sycotic person is not keen on givi giving ng.. The The syco sycoti tic c teac teache herr is rath rather er unwi unwillllin ing g to give give his his knowledge; he is not the kind of person to communicate knowledge. He will try and keep it to himself. He may even try to mislead other people so long and he does not give it. Most times there is ambivalence about giving-keeping. As for emotions he keeps them inside him as well. Although he himself wants to be the focus of everyone’s attention, he does not open his heart to his partner when he is in trouble. It is the case of a mother who gives her child the cold shoulder. There is no emotion in her caress, which is rather straight-laced. The sycotic lover is reluctant to convey emotion . Passion is not among among his charac character terist istics ics.. Sycosi Sycosis s is secret. The sycotic person tends to keep everything secret, out of sight. This may happen either consciously or unconsciously. For instance, he may keep his aims secret, he acts deviously, he does not reveal much about himself and he hides his real intentions. He also hides his real feel feeliings. ngs. When hen he is sad, ad, he does does not look ook as sad sad as the the circumstances require. That’s why he seems to be strong in other people’s eyes. He may dislike someone and still smile at him and be very friendly with him. When When the the syco sycoti tic c pers person on give gives, s, he cert certai ainl nly y mean means s to rece receiv ive e something in exchange later on. Avarice is an expression of the need to keep things to oneself. An avaricious person is “stingy”, he does not give. Collecting objects is a sycotic manifestation too. In gene genera ral, l, when when a sycot sycotic ic pers person on resp respond onds s to stim stimul ulat atio ion, n, his his reaction is in the right direction but has a reduced intensity. This is 8
due to the fact that he ‘keeps things to himself”, he absorbs only a part of intensity of the given stimulation. This shows that the person is strong in appearance only. For instance, when he is subjected to a sad stimulation, he does not seem to be sad. In fact, however, this sort of strength is weakness and this is due to the fact that this kind of person has a limited width of response. He shows inflexibility in the way of functioning, that is to say. This stif stiffn fnes ess s coex coexis ists ts with with a tend tenden ency cy to have have control. The The syco sycoti tic c person wants to have control over other people and over himself as well well.. He keep keeps s ever every y expr expres essi sion on,, ever every y emot emotio ion n of his his unde under r control. He cannot stand the spontaneity of emotions and acts. Pedantry is another feature of sycotic miasm. The housewife who gets annoyed at finding a speck of dust on the furniture, who sweeps and mops the floor three times a day, who forbids her husband to enter the house with his shoes on, is an example of sycotic pedantry. In genera generall the sycoti sycotic c person person is straig straightht-lac laced ed prim prim and prop proper, er, orderly, he concerns himself too much with schedule, so much that he lays more weight on the schedule that on the essence of things. He wants all the objects on his desk to be in alignment, he wants his car to be perfectly clean, he sees that its color does not fade; he protects it against the rain and the wind. He worries about small details. Reliligi Re gios osit ity y is anoth another er exam exampl ple e of syco sycoti tic c peda pedant ntry ry.. A reli religi gioni onist st focuses his attention not on philosophy and the deeper meaning of religion but on the ritual. It is very important to him that the sign of o f the cross is made three times, not two, that the fasting is observed for exactly forty days, he is very strict on the observance of the schedule. Religiosity, along with the other features of sycotic miasm, were typical of the Scribes and Pharisees, who always abided by the letter of the law but could not understand what purpose the existence of the law served in the first place. The sycotic scientist tends to classify the phenomena. Classi Classific ficati ations ons are sycoti sycotic c expres expressio sions. ns. Excess Excessive ive adhere adherence nce to classifying systems, such as DSM or ICDX is sycosis. The notion of specialty and overspecialization is a sycotic characteristic too. The sycotic person focuses his attention on details but misses the general picture. Therefore we can see the evolution of medicine and science in general and how important it is to have a complete and in depth cure of scientists so that science may evolve. In general the sycotic person is dogmatic. To him it is all black or white. He is inflexible. He is not receptive to new ideas. He rejects a new idea idea with withou outt even even exam examin inin ing g it. it. Re Recl clas assi sifi fica cati tions ons in the the system of knowledge and values fill him with anxiety. He wants knowledge and ideas to be well classified inside his head. He wants everything to be arranged and fixed. That causes him a need for control. He want wants s to keep keep cont contro roll of ever everyt ythi hing ng.. The The comp comple lexi xity ty and and 9
multiformity of nature scare him. The perpetual motion of universe also scares him. Consequently of all this multiformity he picks out what he can classify, what he h e can put in order. That is usually only the surface of phenomena. Once he has classified it, he will try to keep it steady and fixed. He allows only small changes, which he can control. In general, there is a tendency in sycosis for exaggeration of the psoric features. For instance, the psoric person has a vague and unconscious feeling of inferiority. When, however the person thinks that he is not capable of anything, that he is not good-looking, that he is not intelligent, that he is lacking in everything, then we notice an excessive expression of the feeling of inferiority and it is the case of sycotic miasm. As far as the love life of a sycotic person is concerned, he has many fantasies related to the love partner. For example, as soon as a sycotic man sees a woman, he has fantasies about erotic positions. But although he has strong fantasies, he usually does not express himself during love making, does use love talk, is cold and always in control. In the physical sphere hyperplasies and hypertrophies prevail. As previously said, sycosis owes its name to this feature. Sycosis is also also char charac acte teri rize zed d by an incr increa ease se in secr secret etio ions ns.. For For inst instan ance ce,, gonorrhea is a sycotic manifestation. Sycotic eczema shows profuse effusion of fluids. At other times we notice retention of fluids in the organism. Inflammation is a major feature of sycosis as well as formation of cysts. The Syphilitic miasm Syphilitic miasm owes its name to the fact that it shows an innate inclination to destruction, which is a predominant feature in syphilis. It has been tormenting the human race before the outbreak of syphilis. We should consider syphilis as one of the most probable manifestations of the syphilitic miasm. Certainly if Hahnemann was alive today, he would pick another name for this miasm. miasm. But let us begin to describe the syphilitic person’s mental sphere. One of the predominant features in syphilitic miasm is the tendency . He constantly wants to conquer something. After the to conquer conquest the object conquered loses its importance, it may even disgust him. He has set himself a new target; he is a hard person to satisfy, that is to say. The syphilitic is the kind of person to be easily envious. Whatever catches his eye, he wants to have it. Another major feature of syphilitic miasm is the person’s tendency to destruction. Hooligans, for example, destroy everything, whatever they run across. They destroy even when their team wins. They go to sports field not in order to enjoy the game but to destroy. Destruction is a delight to them. Thus, whereas the psoric fan will be modest and will respect the rules and the opponent and whereas the sycotic fan will tend to 10
show off by wearing multi-colored scarves of his team, the syphilitic person seeks destruction at every single moment. The syphilitic religious person also destroys in the name of God in whom he believes. He wants to kill, to eliminate the supporter of a different religion; in contrast to the psoric person who penetrates the deeper meaning of religion and who is a religious philosopher as well as the sycotic person who sticks to ritualism. Another syphilitic expression of religious sentiment is the rites of “Bl “Blac ack k Magi Magic” c”.. The The beli believ ever er invok invokes es the the God God of conq conque uest st and dest destru ruct ctio ion n in orde orderr to achi achiev eve e his his aims aims,, eith either er of conq conque uest st or destruction. Another frequent syphilitic picture is atheism. The “iconoclast” who respects nothing, who believes in nothing, is also another syphilitic expression. Religion is an expression of the law, the syphilitic struggles against the law. Syphilitic persons do not have a developed social consciousness; they cannot offer other people anything of themselves. They are anti-heroes; they do not accept having social obligations. They They refu efuse to do thei heir milit ilitar ary y serv serviice as by law enac enacte ted. d. Indicative of that is Caryotaki’s poem: Michalios Michalios has gone to the army. He started in pride together with Maris and Panayiotis He could learn not even the “slope arms” He always used to mumble: Mr. corporal, let me go back to my village. The next year in the hospital, he was silently looking at the sky. he was pointing his eyes in one point, his look was nostalgic and gentle, as if he was saying, as if he was begging: Let me go home. and Michalios died a soldier. Some soldiers escorted him, Maris and Panayiotis were with them. The hole was covered on top of them, but they left his foot outside: Poor guy he was a little tall…. We can see in this poem certain features of syphilitic person. First we see see the the lack lack of soci social al cons consci ciou ousn snes ess. s. Seco Second ndly ly we noti notice ce dep depende endenc nce e on famil amily. y. This his depen epende denc nce e show shows s a prof rofound ound immaturity. It is a form of dependence that does not correspond to his age but bears elements of infantile dependence. This This is due due to the the fact fact that that the the pers person onal alit ity y is not not adeq adequa uate tely ly formed, so it collapses under the impact of a stress producing stimulation and the person adopts more primitive ways of functioning, in other words he behaves like an infant. This tendency 11
to dependence is the main predisposing factor to dependence on toxi toxic c subs substa tanc nces es and and alco alcoho hol, l, whic which h in thei theirr heav heavy y form forms s are are syphilitic situations. Another feature described above is how easily the syphilitic person becomes disorganized unde underr the the impa impact ct of a stre stress ss produ roduci cing ng stimulation. Even in the case of a stimulation of medium intensity there is a tendency to disorganisation, complete disorganisation, till the person is brought to the verge of the organism’s destruction. So it hap happens pens,, for for exam exampl ple, e, duri during ng a psyc psycho hoti tic c inci incide dent nt.. The The syphilitic reaction to a stimulation, which an ordinary man considers to be of medium intensity, is a complete disorganisation, a complete loss of contact with reality. We will say more on that subject in the following paragraphs. The The syph syphililit itic ic’s ’s pers person on ange angerr is a viol violen ent, t, explosive explosive anger that scares the people present. It is characterized by destructiveness. The The psor psoric ic pers person on is hothot-te temp mper ered ed,, as a resu result lt of his his inte intens nse e over overse sens nsiitivi tivitty. It is, howev owever er,, a supe superf rfic iciial and and temp emporar rary annoyance. After having expressed himself, the annoyance is gone. The sycotic person usually controls his anger but when expressed, is excessive; so excessive that he becomes the focus of attention. In no case, however, will he scare the others, as the syphilitic person will. The syphilitic person’s sadness is marked by destructiveness too. The person thinks there is no sense in living any longer. He is gloo gloomy my,, sad sad and and dism dismal al.. He deni denies es life life comp comple lete tely ly.. He is not not interested in anything; in contrast to the sycotic person, who shows his sadness through face expression, body posture and tears, and contrary to the psoric person, who retires into himself, possessed with feelings of inadequacy. At moments of joy he is characterized by destructiveness as well. He wants to destroy out of joy. This destructiveness may manifest itse itself lf eith either er outw outwar ards ds or inwa inward rds s by driv drivin ing g the the pers person on mad. mad. Some Someon one e losi losing ng his his sens senses es on a happ happy y occa occasi sion on is syph syphililit itic ic mias miasm; m; contr contrar ary y to the the sycot sycotic ic pers person on,, who who want wants s ever everyon yone e to share in his joy, and contrary to the psoric person, who behaves like a child when he becomes emotional. Intense desire to put an end to one’s life is syphilitic miasm as well. Suicide or Murder . It is an expression of the destructiveness typica typicall of the syphil syphiliti itic c perso person. n. Genera Generally lly speaki speaking, ng, the syphil syphiliti itic c person does not experience joy. He cannot feel the simple joys of life. For example, at a child’s birth the syphilitic person will be thinking to himself: “Why have you come to this world? …You’d better not have been born…Troubles and worries await you”. On the other hand the sycotic person will be boasting about his child, trying to point out the new-born’s natural gifts, and he wants ever everyon yone e to admi admire re his his chil child, d, wher whereas eas the the enth enthus usia iast stic ic psor psoric ic person behaves like a child out of joy. Destructiveness is the predominant feature in the physical sphere. A 12
typical physical manifestation of syphilitic miasm is ulcer. Ulcer is a destructive process. There is destruction of shape, destruction of structure at some point of the tissue. Quick metastasis often goes together with the destructiveness of the cancer process as we see in some forms of cancer. The Tubercular miasm What characterizes the tubercular miasm is a constant tendency to change, a tendency to move, to move towards a target which is idealized in the person’s sphere of fantasies, which is far off from the person’s reality. But in case this target is fulfilled, it loses its value and the person loses interest in what used to fascinate him. Another target dominates his fantasy now and it dominates just until it is fulfilled as well, and then it will lose its value. We notice characteristics of the psoric and the syphilitic miasm in the above. This is why many consider it as a complex miasm and do not describe it separately while others consider it as a separate miasm. We will try to describe it as a separate entity. We must stress that tube tuberc rcul ulos osis is is a simp simple le clin clinic ical al mani manife fest stat atio ion n of the the tube tuberc rcul ular ar miasm and that there are other clinical situations except tuberculosis that belong to the tubercular miasm. Let us see some typical examples of what we mentioned above. Let’s presume that a person in whom tubercular miasm is prevalent lives in Athens. His life makes him feel dullness and boredom. He ofte often n goes goes down down to Pira Piraeu eus s and and watc watche hes s the the boat boats s sail sail.. He watches them and visualizes the cities far on the horizon. In his mind, he makes plans for long journeys and beautiful cities. He will try to travel if he is given the opportunity to. Need for travel is a major feature of tubercular miasm. Let us presume that it is feasible for him to leave his city and go to Corfu, for instance. He will be full of enthusiasm for a short while, but soon afterwards he will feel bored and listless again. Over and over again he will be going to the harbor and wonder what is hidden far on the horizon, over and over again he will be making plans for new travels and he will be contemplating heavenly faraway places. This need for motion characterizes his love life too. The tuberculous is an amorous person. He falls in love passionately but often falls in love love with with inac inacce cess ssib ible le or forb forbid idde den n case cases. s. When When he fina finalllly y achieves what he so much desires, then he realizes that in a short while passion is gone, boredom and listlessness have taken its plac place. e. The The inte intens nsit ity y of the the emot emotio ions ns that that a tube tuberc rcul ular ar pers person on expe experi rien ence ces s in a love love affa affair ir is also also rema remark rkab able le.. In case case thes these e feelings are frustrated, the person sinks in sadness. There is a wide known phrase related to that: “I’ll become tuberculous for your love”. Concerning the tuberculous person’s love life we should mention that he often falls in love with cases to which there is an obstacle. 13
Thus he often desires someone else’s wife or falls in love with a person with whom a love affair is not feasible due to the circumstances. The same thing also applies to his interests. He likes to keep himself busy with constantly new things. Daily routine and ordinary life is not for him. He easily gets bored. That is why he constantly wants to take up new activities, new ideas. His spirit is always on the move. Thus he can be witty or have artistic aptitudes especially for music and literature. The tubercular person has constantly new inspirations but he finds it hard to systematize all these new ideas. He has difficult difficulty y in finishing finishing what he has started to do. This is the reason why he always starts something else and then something else again etc. It is very important to keep that in mind regarding the education of tubercular children. A strict educational system and strict parents will only aggravate the state of health of such children and there is serious danger of appearance of one of the diseases that belong to the sphere of tubercular miasm. In the tubercular miasm the rejection of daily routine in fantasy and the pursuit of the elusive ideal, result in conflict with the law. Inside the tubercular person lies the fear of punishment. Many times it is subconscious and expresses his fantasy of being punished because he dared to desire something different, something new. As a result of that the tubercular person avoids open conflict with the law and chooses to run away. This is an intense feature of his. When he is subjected to a stress producing stimulation, he does not respond directly in the same direction but he reacts intensely in the reverse direction. Thus, in order to get over the sadness due to a loss he may show working over activity or he may go to a nightclub to blow off steam and get over over the the sorr sorrow ow of the the inci incide dent nt.. The The Zeib Zeibek ekik iko o dance dance (pop (popul ular ar Greek dance in 7/8) is a typical tubercular symbol. The study of the “rempetika” tubercular songs is of interest. After studying their verses we conclude that the main and more frequent subject of those songs is the mother. In the tubercular miasm we often notice alternations in the mental sphere sphere.. Thus Thus we someti sometimes mes see the tuber tubercul cular ar perso person n seekin seeking g protection and sometimes independence. Sometimes he is inactive and sometimes restless. Sometimes he is depressed and sometimes overly cheerful. Sometimes he is violent and sometimes extremely sensitive. The The physi hysica call chara haract cter eris isti tics cs menti ention oned ed are the tende endenc ncy y to suppuration, fistulas, diverticulums, and scars. Also the tendency to emaciation and feebleness, the tendency to intense perspiration, the sensitivity to cold and to weather changes. George Lukas
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