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Nat-Mur (Natrum Muriaticum)

by Luc De Schepper, MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac
Excerpts from Dr. Luc's upcoming book The Professional Guide for the Homeopathic Practice in April 2008.
Reprinted by permission.

It will pay off in the practice to get to know Nat-m intimately. Looking at the PT, we have a remedy built up from two elements, the Natrum and Chloride. Even in chemistry, these two elements have a high reactivity as they are not found in nature as free elements. Natrum has one electron in her outermost shell that tends to be lost when forming compounds. This “high reactivity” can be translated into homeopathic terms as a need to be part of a relationship in order to exist, in order to feel whole. In other words patients needing these homeopathic remedies will initially look vigorously for a relationship. Without one, they may feel helpless and incomplete, lacking a goal. Their uncertainty makes them struggle, either to form a distinct identity or to find a niche in the work environment and a group they can belong to. We can clearly see from the above that this is a very psoric characteristic, the seeking of support, as we can expect this first phase in almost every remedy of the materia medica. Let us see why Nat-m would want so much a relationship in the first place. This should be found in the formulation of the core delusion and the causality leading to this CD.

Nat-mur’s CD (Core Delusion) is, his mother is dead. This is literally the “mother” of all delusions, or the primal or archaic delusion, which as in all remedies will be the motivation behind the creation of secondary delusions belonging to the three phases of Nat-m, psora, sycosis and syphilis. Coincidence or not, when one of my student’s patients listened to the explanation as how to take the RSB (Remedy Supply Bottle) containing Nat-m, she nodded her head, and said, “Yes, it is like the mother bottle.” I am convinced it was her CD speaking from her unconscious; called a slip of the tongue. It will be interesting to investigate how Nat-m deals with this CD: the CD remains the same in the three different phases, but different secondary delusions and compensations will be created in each successive stage. As long as we keep in mind, that this CD leads to every act and thought in Nat-m, regardless of the phase she is in, we will get a confirmation of this CD because of her motivations as to what she does and how she compensates.

Before I elaborate about the different phases, let’s further investigate the notion of “mother is dead.” In order to gain far reaching insight into dreams, the homeopath must be experienced in the matter of relatively fixed symbols. Such insights have great diagnostic, prognostic and even therapeutic values. We call those symbols, “relative,” because we cannot tell for certain that when they occur in dreams that they have no other meaning. There are a great many of these symbols, and they might differ in individual cases by subtle shifts of meaning. Usually they are a great guideline for dream interpretation. One must study mythology, folklore, religion and language in order to determine their meaning in a scientific way.

As a symbol, mother stands for the place of origin; nature; womb; creation; unconscious; instinctive life! It also stands for a vessel, the hollow form (uterus) that carries and nourishes, and thus stands for the foundations of consciousness. Now the homeopath understands that more than any other remedy Nat-m reflects the intra uterine crime of lack of emotional nourishment, creating an individual that from day one on seems too serious, too lonely and out of sorts. This “not belonging,” a sensation of isolation and estrangement, is the main feeling and true essence of Nat-m from the beginning of its story till the end. One can only shudder and reflect at the notion that so many newborn Nat-m people are traveling on “a road less traveled,” often entirely created by what the Chinese called, “a noble misfortune, the intra uterine crime!” Jung and Hahnemann expressed this misfortune as a mistunement, a deviation of the intended constitution through such trauma.

We must remember that much childhood material (and of course the contents of the intrauterine trauma even more) remains undisposed of and unprocessed in the psyche, not only for its delegation to the unconscious, but also because of the rapid flow of the years and the overwhelming rush of the newly discovered world. But it is also a mistake of Nat-m to think that “he has moved on,” that he “has dealt with it,” and freed himself from this suppressed material. He only has removed himself from it and in many cases, it remains in the unconscious which is the mother of conscious and therefore directly will influence his consciousness. Like A38, new events postpone and suspend but not cure the old events! Even worse, those memory fragments remain in their childhood and primitive state and for that reason are still strong and immediate. Only when they are joined again (through therapy or homeopathy) to the adult consciousness can they lose their infantile and primitive aspect and be corrected. Infantile means childish and therefore will surprise he who is possessed by such memories as well those around him of their brusque, violent and crude nature, as an avalanche surprising them at an opportune moment. The beast was let out of the cage!

The mother can be dead even when mom is alive! All depends if the mother did fulfill her role as a source of emotional support when an appeal was made upon it. For most people, the natural mother remains the lifelong source of emotional nourishment. Let’s take an example. A man had as CC (Chief Complaint) of dull pains in his lower extremities. It started after a contentious divorce that lasted for about five years. He moved to his native country to be close to his family for support. However once he arrived there, his mother and sister did nothing but harassing him with their small problems while at no moment much needed emotional support was given to him. In other words, two female figures that could have been his “mother” at that time failed to give him any emotional nourishment! They never asked him, “How are you? How are you dealing with your grief?” This was for him the straw that broke the camel’s back and exacerbated his CC. This “betrayal” made such a painful impact on him that he moved again out of his native country to start a career somewhere else. But the memory remained alive and well, often present in the unconscious, but also many times manifesting itself and torturing him in his conscious life, when there was a mentioning of his children, whom he missed dearly.

The intra uterine crime of Nat-m is all linked to one theme: “love” or the perceived or real loss of love. The homeopath should therefore not be surprised that it is mainly a remedy for the feeling type with an archaic thinking function; it is mainly a female remedy or a remedy for males with a well developed anima. The black type NWS (Never Well Since) all stand for that lack of emotional nourishment: ailments from grief, disappointed love, deception, mortification, reserved displeasure and old and new disappointments (disappointments always add up in a Nat-mur’s life). Even other NWS reflect the fragility and easily offended nature of Nat-m: rudeness of others, being scorned, discords between chief and subordinates, bad news, death of a child, parents or friends, and anger with silent grief. It is easy to see why Nat-m is a customer, “nice to know but not nice to live with.” It is also easy to observe that when a Nat-m starts in this naïve, impulsive and spontaneous fashion in life, that a repetition of such “ailments from” is bound to be happen over and over again. Only psychoanalysis and preferable the homeopathic Nat-m will allow this unfortunate victim to change course and possible return to the original destined constitution. However the majority, by lack of receiving adequate treatment, will have to go through emotional ups and downs, not connecting to their unconscious and unconscious of what they are doing in their relationships, in spite of mainly being considered introverts. The primitive thinking function is easily overtaken by the dominant feeling function and a “reasonable” approach for Nat-m is speaking through her feelings (Although evidently a well-educated and intelligent woman, her mind seemed hopeless and confused). Other provings expressing this dominant feeling function are, excitable; capriciousness, cheerfulness, passionate at every trifle, and hysteria with fainting. Failed relationships and marriages as well as chronic strong depressive states accompany such Nat-mur states.

Beginning Phase
The main theme of this phase is connecting to others. The cations on the left side of the Periodic Table like Natrum, are very dependent and feel the need for a relationship (it can resemble Pulsatilla) on a more vital level: it is an all-consuming affair, conducted with an abandon of naivety and spontaneity that borders on foolishness. The cations are still trying to form a relationship; the anions on the right side of the Table are trying to hold on to the relationship with great labor and efforts. Phosphorous and Sulphur have already a certain ego or image to keep up, which will require more effort to maintain it in the relationship, while the Natrum is more naive and spontaneous in falling in love, and more passive, letting events happen to her without having much control over them.

The secondary delusions of this phase must also reflect this naivety and spontaneous behavior of the Natrum element. We have:

• Del, of fancy illusions: a false impression, an unreal perception; it means a creation of an ideal fantasy world while disconnecting to some degree from the real world. Other remedies creating such world are Nat-c, Cann-I, Lach, Ign and Hyosc and Stram. With the exception of Cann-I , who driven by his hypochondriasis, divulges in drugs to permanently live in a world full of music, beauty and megalomania, the motivation of all these remedies is trying to establish a relationship to one person, usually a family member or loved one. Stram needs this person for protection (CD, all alone in the wilderness); Hyosc does it out of jealousy created by grief, real or imagined (CD, is being sold); Nat-c flees into another world because she cannot connect to others in the real world in spite of having delusions about a wedding and hearing music; Ignatia has nothing but delusions of being married and pregnant but this is only in her imagination and ends up often with ailments from unrequited love like Tarentula and Hyoscyamus; and Lachesis, with her life unlived, has the fancy illusion and desire that she is as passionately loved by her partner than she expresses her possessive love for him or her.

Nat-m is more like Nat-c in this stage: often born with that sense of loneliness, estrangement and isolation, she will look at any person as a source of nourishing vessel, foolishly falling in love with that person and not understanding why this turns out so badly time after time. But there is no point of return; she persists as she is overcome by feelings of connecting to others…there must be someone out there that fits me! At this point, everyone out there in the world is her possible “mother,” her nourishing vessel! A friendly word, a compassionate gesture, a sympathetic smile, or an unselfish deed are all sure signs that she is loved by that person. So the fancy world Nat-m has created is a world of the birds, the bees, the flowers and the trees and of course…eternal love!

• Del, delirium with conversing: driven by her CD, there is frantic and hysterical behavior (delirium) even in their conversation as they do anything to secure the relationship; this delirious conversation certainly will draw the awareness of the possible target of attention. But such speech is also used in failed relationships to secure the next one. What a contrast with the taciturn Nat-m behavior every homeopath is familiar with. Yet prolonged talking about her complaints aggravate (Nat-m only remedy!) But the provings show the difference in this first phase: Speech incoherent, from disappointed love, a 1, Lach 2; speech, as if intoxicated.
  • Del, head belongs to another, Del of being double and Del, errors of personal identity. Such delusion or similar ones are often present in people that are dominated, an unkind and unfortunate trauma (Alum, Anac, Nit-ac, Viol-tricolor, Hura Braziliensis, Lac-c, etc.). But Natrum at this point wants to give her identity away, this is not a sacrifice or an unfortunate crime. She will do anything to get that relationship even it is to give up most of her personality and own wishes, because there is no greater desire than getting to know and belong to that other person! In the TV program “The Bachelor,” I see some of these girls behaving in such manner that they think the bachelor wants to see in them. They are not themselves, and such unnatural behavior, is always awkward. They are trying to portray the kind of person that will give them the best chance for success! The way Nat-m invites others to come into her world and dictating what they want, regardless of her own wishes. It makes us think of Carcinosin and of course Staphysagria with which Nat-m is often confused (See Achieving and Maintaining Simillimum AMS).

It is also easy for Nat-m in this phase to let other people do the talking for her as she appears rather clueless when engaged in a conversation or asked to give her personal opinion: she is distracted while talking and does not know what she ought to say; she is awkward in talking and easily makes mistakes. This again was obvious in the same show: as the bachelor was asking some of these girls what their aspirations were, what they saw in their future, they were speechless, as they were entirely focusing on him, effectively eliminating themselves from the competition. By trying to forget who you are, you reduce your substance to a small pillar! Not being your natural self, also will create jealousy and hatred towards others who are more successful in securing a relationship. Letting people controlling you sure invites domination, insensitivity and rudeness, all triggers to further deepen Nat-mur’s isolated state and foster the CD. It is a hard fall to come down to earth with the first argument they have with the “dream” person. A dream world is an easily pierced balloon!

• Del, floating in the air: Nat-m is on cloud nine all the time but the dissociation with the real and cruel world does not serve her well. Such delusion again only predicts the misery ahead for the naïve Nat-m as there will come a moment where she will have to abandon this fantasy life!

Dreams (Compensatory), equally confirm her quest for connecting: lascivious dreams; sleep at night disturbed by voluptuous dreams, emissions and long-continued erections.

These secondary delusions reflect and expose her infantile behavior, which borders on an archaic ego and plain foolishness. Nat-m will do anything to attract the attention of others but she is not aware of her often inappropriate and primitive behavior,

The Mental/Emotional symptoms (her compensations) must reflect the same childish spirit in this beginning phase but Nat-m considers them as positive tools to run away from that dreadful CD.

In the provings we see, lively, good-humored and cheerful. She wished only to sing and dance. Remarkable inclination to laugh, constant laughing. She laughed so immoderately at something not ludicrous, that she could not be quieted and tears came into her eyes, so that she looked as though she had been weeping. This does not sound like a Nat-mur but it is!! She does anything, and usually it is peculiar and rare behavior (like laughing when attending a funeral) anything to CONNECT with someone or draw his attention, just like in chemistry! Even her speech is confusing: Absent-minded, unobserving: great distraction of the mind while talking; she says what she does not intend; she had no control over her thoughts. It is the “fell in love on first sight,” (she does this many times over), leading to the classical Nat-mur recurrent heartbreak because her ego is not at all as strong as Phosphorus (who can have a distorted, upgraded view of herself and can therefore jump easily from one relationship to another without losing self confidence and self worth, del, she is a great person) or Sulphur who above all wants recognition and appreciation from a relationship. Nat-m in this phase makes me think of the song of the 60s, “Puppet on a String” (“If you say you love me madly, I gladly will be there like a puppet on a string)”-there is no doubt who pulls the strings, not Nat-m! Typical Nat-mur expressions are at this stage, “I am so in to him,” confirming that she has given up her own identity! She wants to be the other person, thinking it will secure the relationship.

Natrum enters a relationship on an impulse like a teenager at first love and then quickly changes partners (Desire for company, while aggr. when alone). Of course, such behavior is not only the privilege of the naïve teenager! Adults can behave like love-struck teenagers when it comes to falling in love (“I was swept away,” “I could not resist his promises,” “It all sounded so good, his future, his words,” etc.). Little did she realize that she fell for her own undeveloped animus, her weakness, and vice versa, the man usually falls in love with the woman reflecting his primitive anima. It might also be the impulsive entering of a relationship of a grown up into something she is familiar with: an alcoholic, a control freak, or authority figure, a father figure, an abuser, etc. and then quickly leaves the relationship but is bound to repeat it again. Or is it the impossible partner they are looking for, the smooth talker, like the married one (Love, with a married man, Nat-m only remedy, a 2), who promises time and time over again that he is leaving his present wife soon…and it never happens. Or it is the case of the freshly separated person because she can’t see that this new relationship is bound to fail (“the rebound factor”).

So in this phase Nat-m can’t understand he own feelings (unobserving), either because she is too young or too confused from previous bad experiences, leading to morbid sensitivity (Sensitive-to rudeness and music sentimental), not conducive for a stable relationship. Small remarks make them feel unwanted as it feels like putting salt in a wound and they walk away from the relationship, not persevering at all or investigating their own shadow to correct such situation. There are always others, better ones, the prince of their dreams is out there. In this phase they are still easily consoled and improved by sympathy (this is not in our repertories!). Call it naiveté; even sexual encounters make them hopeful (Affectionate; Amorous or amativeness; ailments from sexual excesses (1); ailments from sexual excitement (2); Cheerful and shameless in bed; Nymphomania and libertinism). “Maybe this time it is going to work, I just need to give more of myself (hope and gentleness).” This is the phase where we see people having three heartbreaks in a row because there is such strong desire to form a relationship (make sure to make differential diagnosis in this phase with Causticum and Platina!).

When Nat-m is healthy she is cheerful and full of laughter, willing to take charge in love. But in this phase, imbalance and extremes are rather the normal for Nat-m, reflecting the hysterical behavior of this feeling person (alternatively sad and extremely merry, hysteria): sad when a connection breaks off but exhilarated when a new one is successful. It is unfortunately very rare that a Nat-m personality in this stage will consult as homeopath unless there would be some physical problems, especially menstrual ones.

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