– Jan Scholten
Baryta sulphurica is a remedy which I have prescribed mostly upon the symptom ‘dreams that she is laughed at by her partner’. This symptom can’t be found anywhere in the literature, so initially it is not easy to know what to do with it. Not until we use the group analysis can we throw light on to this dream, because this dream mirrors the essence of Bar-s.
Concepts
Baryta Sulphurica
Ridiculed Clothing
Small, futile Beauty, grace, harmony
Retarded Joy
Hiding Love and relationships
Shyness Jealousy
Group analysis
The theme then becomes the idea that they are ridiculed by their partner. They feel very insecure in their relationship and their attitude is very dependent. They let the other person take all the decisions while they just follow. They don’t feel able to build up a real relationship and take responsibility for their part in it. This makes the relationship very unequal. The partner usually quite likes this in the beginning, but after a while this dependency becomes irritating. The partner will start to get annoyed and when he shows his irritation he will not meet any opposition. Eventually he will just laugh at such a weakling. And that completes the circle, confirming the original delusion.
A variation on this theme could be that Bar-s feels ridiculed because of their partner. They feel that their partner is a ridiculous person. This might be because she is not beautiful or he is not handsome, but also because (s)he is perhaps handicapped or retarded. They are inclined to choose such a person anyway, because they feel themselves to be so weak too. So if they choose a weak partner there will be less chance of being overwhelmed by them. Another subtle way of doing this is to choose a very small partner. The next variation might be that they feel that love itself is ridiculous. Feelings of love, closeness etc. make them feel insignificant and worthless. They will start to hide these feelings for fear of being laughed at. In the end they may have suppressed their feelings of love to such an extent that they can’t find them anymore. They have forgotten that they have any such softness and gentleness inside them. Their outward appearance can become very coarse and blunt. Or they may seem very neutral, like someone who keeps himself strictly under control. A situation that could cause this might be a time during puberty when they are being teased and laughed at for falling in love. A final variation can be that they think they are not beautiful or handsome enough. For instance because of their clothes, or the way they are built. They are afraid that people will laugh at their ‘ridiculous’ appearance. The only symptom in the repertory that comes near this theme is ‘company, unsociable, difficulty making contact’.
Case
A woman, aged 42, comes with bronchial asthma. She gets tonsillitis with bronchitis several times a year and usually gets treated with antibiotics. The pain in the throat radiates to her left ear and is (