LYCOPODIUM

Author: GEORGE VITHOULKAS, M.I.H and BILL GRAY, M.D.

Lycopodium is one of the deepest and broadest acting polychrests in the entire Materia Medica, potentially affecting all conditions known to mankind. Despite its wide application, however, there is a central thread which runs through the remedy and clarifies its highly interesting image.

The basic theme in Lycopodium has to do with cowardice, not only the fear of taking physical risks, but even more the type of cowardice seen in m0ral and social realms. Inside, the Lycopodium patient is constantly contending with a feeling of weakness and inadequacy; they fear that they will be incapable of fulfilling their responsibilities in life and so they tend to avoid responsibilities whenever possible. Externally, however, they present themselves in a much different fashion. They appear to be extroverted, friendly, courageous, powerful, and capable. And as a matter of fact, they are usually quite intelligent, capable and confident. Still, with their external facade belying their inner feelings of weakness, it can take skillful probing on the part of the homoeopath to discern the true pathological image of the remedy in the patient.

The central area in which Lycopodium shows itself in the early stages is in relationship to sex. The Lycopodium patient seeks situations in which the desire for sexual gratification can be satisfied without having to face the personal responsibilities which go with such intimacy. It is commonly observed in a carefully done homoeopathic interview that such patients may have a long history of one-night stands, in which the patient seeks satisfaction and then walks away withour further responsibility. If a sexual parter begins to show interest in marriage, however, the Lycopodium patient becomes fearful of the responsibilities and whether he will be able to live up to them. Usually, he will leave the relationship before becoming' 'penned in', by the responsibilities of marriage and children.

This relationship to sex is a superficial one. Gratification is the primary motivation; he (or she) wants it quick, easy, effortless, and without consequences. For example, if such a patient meets a secretary who is alone in an office, the first thought on his mind will be that this is a sexual opportunity, and he will be likely to make advances. Such patients may also visit prostitutes frequently, because this contact implies no responsibilities. It is not as if the Lycopodium patient's desire is so intense-as it is in Platina, for example, the Lycopodium constitution is too weak for such intensity, but when the desire does arise, the Lycopodium way of handling it is focussed upon the superficial gratification of the moment and the avoidance of responsibility.

Once married, the Lycopodium man or woman may well experience sexual dysfunction both because of fear of inability to perform and because of being constitutionally too tired for sex after years of dissipation. In the woman, there may be inability to have orgasm or a loss of desire; in the man, therre may be loss of desire or impotence in the form of either premature ejaculation or absence of erection. Internally, the Lycopodium patient feels a deep state of inadequacy and powerlessness, which is challenged most noticeably in the marriage relationship. It is a fear of failure especially in the eyes of others. Sensing this internal cowardice, Lycopodium compensates by presenting an image of being strong, courageous, and competent, but the bluff is called when the moment comes for performance and responsibility, as happens in marriage. At this moment, the Lycopodium fear of inadequacy and internal lack of power come forward and themselves interfere with actual functioning. So it is in the marriage situation where the administration of Lycopodium can have some of the most gratifying results in a patient of this type.

Because Lycopodium is one of the highly intellectual remedies, we see many such patients gravitating to professions calling for public functions such as priests, lawyers, school teachers, and even politicians. The performance of such public functions may be excruiciatingly painful to the Lycopodium patient. A priest may feel perfectly well before giving a semon, but upon reaching the pulpit and realizing that so many eyes are crutinizing him, he may suddenly suffer gastritis pains or severe anxiety. It may be possible for the person to carry out the task satisfactorily, but more often the physical or emotional suffering will seriously interfere with functioning. Again, this situation is a manifestation of anxiety in the face of responsibility, and the patient may well attempt to escape from his or her profession, sometimes seeming to be using the physical illness as an "excuse". Lycopodium is one of the main remedies exhibiting this suffering when in front of an audience, whereas Gelsimium is the primary remedy to remember when a patient complains of anxieties and physical symptoms occurring hours and days before a perfomance.

Eventually, the Lycopodium patient may end up becoming a loner. Again, the desire to avoid responsibility, and also the need to get away from people who are possessive of him or wish to tie him down to restrictive commitments, result in his being alone. Thus, it is not uncommon for Lycopodium to end up being spinsters or bachelors late into life.

Because of the desire to gain power to replace that which appears to be lacking inside, such a patient may become celibate in order to gain some control over the desire for instant sexual gratification. This is a tragile state of celibacy for the Lycopodium patient, however, sexual thoughts bvecome haunting and obsessive. After years of strenuous discipline, such a persone may become very pious and respected by all for purity and moralistic strictness, yet when presented with an opportunity may break down surprisingly quickly-only to immediately return to the disciplined state later with even increased fervor. The pious Lycopodium spiritual seeker can be nearly insufferable to deal with; they can be so extremely moralistic and rigid that no one dares to cross them. It is as if he must overdo the strictness in order to protect his inner weakness.

With time, the desire for gratification in sex may be replaced by the desire for power. Lycopodium is the only remedy listed so far under the rubric Love of Power. This clearly is a further attempt to compensate for the inner sense of weakness. It may manifest as a desire for power in the realm of politics or business, but it can also be seen as the desire for spiritual power in spiritual seekers. Again, it is an attempt to acquire poser from external sources in order to replace the feeling of a lack of inner strength.

In the second stage of development of Lycopodium pathology, the external bluff becomes even more exaggerated. The patient becomes dictatorial with those around who can be controlled. The Lycopodium man may be timid and passive with co-workers on the job who are not under his control, but be becomes a tyrant at home. The mother may be sweet with her neighbors but tyranical with her children. By exerting power over others, the patient attempts to generate a sense of personal power, just as he previously attempted to bolster his sense of power by seeking the admiration of others through lies and exaggerations.

It is also in the second stage that the Lycopodium cowardice becomes more intense and visible in a physical sense. At this stage, we see many fears and anxieties. Lycopodium can become terrified by almost anything-being alone, the dark, ghosts, even unfriendly dogs in short, anything he cannot control. For this reason, such a patient while basically a loner because of the fear of facing responsibility, is said to desire company, but in the next room.

There is a great fear of suffering of any kind in Lycopodium. It is a prime remedy in psychosomatic ailments, particularly those affecting the gastrointestinal tract. There is tremendous anxiety about health to the point that the patient becomes recognized as a hypochondriac. In this regard, a parenthetical remark might be made about the rubrics listed under Anxiety in the Repertory; there is Anxiety about Health, and Hypochondriacal Anxiety. It is not entirely clear what Kent menat when he made this distinction. The anxious hypochondriac is a patient easily recognised by both physician and layman alike; it appears that the most appropriate rubric for this state is Anxiety about Health. The rubric Hypochondriacal Anxiety shares many of the same remedies but also lists others not listed under Anxiety about Health; this may apply to the type of patient whose attention is endlessly focussed on fine details about their body, such as dry patches on the skin or easily breaking nails, but with little manifest anxiety. Ofcourse, the distinction between-these rubrics is a very fine one, and the best one can do is to produce conjecture about the actual truth.

In the third stage of pathology, we see further deterioration of the higher emotional and the mental levels of the patient. There has been a prolonged dissipation of energy either in the search for instant gratification or in the struggle to control it through celibacy; also much energy has been bound up in the tension between the inner state of cowardice and the outer attempt to compensate for it. Initially, there is a deterioration of mental functions noticed as a confusion or poor memory in the morning, and gradually this progresses to more marked memory loss and intellectual weakness. This deterioration or mental functioning is noticed by the patient, who has already experienced much energy loss and a kind of apathy resulting from oversatiation. These factors combined lead to a melancholy, a loss of interest in life, and a gradually deepening depression. Not surprisingly, as the melancholy develops, we see the fears disappear. As the various functions deteriorate even further, the patient degenerates into a state of imbecility or senility, such as we now commonly see populating our rest homes. In Lycopodium, this tragedy is further compounded by the fact that very frequently the senility occurs at a relatively young age.

On the physical level, the Lycopodium appearance is fairly distinctive. There is an emaciation of the face, neck, and upper torso. The tissues seem to waste away in these regions, while an excess of fat accumulates around the abdomen, the hips, and lower limbs. The face tends to the excessively wrinkled, particularly in patterns reflecting the prolonged anxiety and concern over what others think of them. The hair may become gray at an early age, and the person may appear considerably older than his actual age. The flaffing of the alae nasi which is described so frequently in the books is rarely seen in actual practice, because it is mostly limited to acute illness involving dyspnoea.

The primary region of action of Lycopodium centres on the genitals, the urinary tract, the gastrointestinal system, and the liver. Thus we commonly see in Lycopodium such ailments as impotence, frigidity, nephritis, peptic ulcer, colitis, hemorrhoids, liver disorders, etc.

The gastrointestinal tract in particular represents the qualities seen throughout Lycopodium. Just as there is a bloating of the ego-presentation in compensation for the inner sense of weakness, there is also a bloating of the intestines in reaction to weak digestion; the Lycopodium is "full of wind" and suffers severely after eating. There is easy satiety in Lycopodium both in regards to sex and to eating. Indulgence has spoiled the function, there then occurs a state of easy satiation, and finally suffering ensues. The Lycopodium constitution is too weak to handle over indulgence, but the Lycopodium patient desires foods which are pleasing to his taste, such as sweets and oysters, but is made worse by them. This suffering from over-indulgence is different from that in Nux-vomica. Nux vomica suffers because of an excessive degree of tension which releases too much HCI in the stomach and results in immediate suffering during and soon after eating whereas the Lycopodium patient suffers for hours after eating because of the weakened digestion. Just as with food, the Lycopodium patinet seeks instant gratification in sex, and then feels empty and unsatisfied after coition.

Lycopodium patients are constantly trying to control the tendency to over-indulgence, but even that doesn't work for them. In the sexual sphere, celibacy fails because the patient becomes obsessed by sexual thoughts, and eventually resorts to masturbation in order to release the tension. After indulging in the wrong foods over a long time, the gastrointestinal tract becomes disordered and flatulent, so the patient may resort to fasting to cleanse the system. But Lycopodium is worse from fasting, and the patient experiences headaches and mad moods even from skipping a single meal.

Weakness of digestion, of course, is frequently a consequence of liver dysfunction. Lycopodium is often indicated in patients with liver ailments, and it is interesting to note that the liver has been known since ancient times to be associated with headaches and melancholy.

Once the essential image of Lycopodium and the progression of its stages is under stood one need only to know enough Materia Medica to see corroborating symptoms in the patient in order to prescribe it with confidence. A common such symptom is-- complaints occurring on the right side, or progressing from the right to the left side. There is frequent burning of the soles of the feet, so that the patient may stick them out of the covers at night. Often the right foot will be hot and the left cold. Lycopodium patients sleep well on the right side and may not be able to sleep at all on the left side. Also, Lycopodium is one of several remedies which feels unrefreshed after sleeping and may be aggravated bya an afternoon nap as well. Ofcourse there is a strong desire for sweets, and the characteristic Lycopodium 4-8pm time of aggravation. Lycopodium could be compared with a wide varieties of remedies, ofcourse, especially of the purely physical image were considered, Focussing upon the essence as we have in this paper, we can see that Lycopodium is quite distinctive. As mentioned earlier, Gelsimium suffers from anticipation, but this occurs prior to the event and not so much during. Silica is a remedy which has a marked lack of self confidence, but this occurs more in relation to physical weakenss and actual inability to physically cope with too much pressure; it is a lack of confidence which intermittent from over-exertion, whereas the Lycopodium inner state of cowardice is a constant process which is present regardless of the degree of physical weakness. Calcarea carbonica is sometimes compared to Lycopodium, especially on physical symptoms, but there not such a lack of confidence, and overexertion leads to fear of insanity in Calcarea rather than cowardice. Natrum muriaticum is a remedy with a characteristic split between the inner and the outer states, but the Natrum muriaticum inner state is one of emotional and sentimental vulnerability rather than the sense of inadequacy felt by Lycopodium.