Anxiety Attacks in Homeopathy

One of the more common complaints from clients is anxiety attacks. It seems in this hurried modern world we live in more and more people are having anxiety attacks during the course of their day. There might be many reasons for these, especially from the allopathic diagnosis (Hormone imbalance, thyroid deficiency, mental disorder, etc.) but nothing takes the place of simple case-taking and understanding of how the person is responding to their thoughts or environment.

When someone complains of anxiety attacks it is important to ask them to tell you a story about when this happens. From their story, you will glean much about what it is that is triggering them. Sometimes it may be a closed room or the stuffy feeling that they were experiencing. Other times it might be the presence of a crowd or riding in an elevator. It would be important to know if it was the closed areas of the elevator or the movement that frightened them. Sometimes it is the anticipation of an event or thinking about the future that is enough to bring on the anxiety or fear.

The time of day (on waking, evening, nighttime, etc.) as well as where they feel the anxiety in their body will also be very helpful. Ask them to describe what it feels like. Once again, these descriptions should come out of their story. It is best not to ask too many questions and let them speak, let them tell you their story and how it is for them. It is also good to know about any drugs they may be taking for the anxiety. It will help you in the evaluation so you might know what you can expect for them after starting the remedy.

Here is a list of rubrics from the Complete 2005 Repertory that comes up often around Anxiety Attacks;

• Mind; fear, panic attacks, overpowering
• Mind; anticipation, agg
• Mind; fear, high places
• Mind; fear, narrow places
• Mind; fear, crowd, in
• Mind; fear, open spaces, agoraphobia
• Mind; anxiety, future, about
• Mind; anxiety, chest
• Mind; anxiety, heart, region of
• Mind; anxiety, stomach
• Mind; anxiety, anticipating
• Mind; anxiety, of conscience (guilty feelings)
• Mind; anxiety, riding, in a closed carriage (car)
• Mind; fear, control, of losing self
• Mind; anxiety, causeless
• Mind; anxiety, breathing, preventing
• Mind; anxiety, driving him from place to place (Restlessness)

There are many more. I could go on and on. Look for the ways that they suffer and find the rubrics that best describe how they feel and what brings the anxiety attacks on. Choosing good rubrics will help you a lot in coming to a good selection of remedies.

There are a few remedies that come up very often in Anxiety or panic attacks. Two that I have found to be the most common are Argentum Nitricum and Aconite.

Argentum Nitricum has a particular fear of losing self-control. This I have found often in many suffering from anxiety attacks that seem to not have an origin. Many times the most calm and controlled person will benefit from this remedy. Something about how they need to have control in their life and how that translates to the feeling that they must maintain self-control is usually the theme. They may be very responsible people who have a high level of integrity and will always keep their word, but maintaining this level can lead to high anxiety as well. Sometimes they will not relate to themselves with this perspective. For them, they know what is the right way to be and may not see that it is an issue of control for them. Ask about fear of heights to confirm this remedy. They will most often tell you they feel like they are getting pulled over the ledge when standing on a high place.

Aconite is another remedy that comes up often, especially if the anxiety is after a fright or accident. It is usually the first remedy to think of after a sudden unexpected event. When anxiety persists or starts even after some time away from the event, Aconite may be the best remedy.

Other remedies that you might consider and come up more often than others are, Kali Bromatum, Cannabis Indica, Hydrogen, Arsenicum Album, Veratrum Album, Androctonus, Tarantula, and Stramonium. This by no means is a complete list but is meant as a quick guide of remedies to investigate.

The best way to study about anxiety attacks is to ask others how they might feel if they were having one or consider how you might feel during an attack. Then study your repertory and look for ways to describe those feelings. You might want to look up each of the above-mentioned remedies and read about them in your Materia Medica. Look for ways that describe how a person might respond if having an anxiety attack. The next time a person comes to you and explains their anxiety attack you will have a much better understanding of how to help them.