Repertory › Remedies in the repertory

Phosphorus (Phos.)

Phosphorus (Phos.) appears in 2,627 rubrics in the Repertory. Of these, 122 are single-remedy rubrics in which only this remedy appears, and 215 are small rubrics with at most two other remedies. The emphasis lies on Delusions, Anxiety, the rubrics on Children and Fear, in addition to Sadness, Biting, desire to, Indifference, Aphonia and Delirium. From these emerges the picture of an open, permeable and warmhearted person who spends himself easily, remains dependent on reciprocity, and is flooded by fear and delusions as soon as protection is lacking.

Openness and lack of demarcation

The basic trait is permeability. The Repertory records an ethereal nature, lack of demarcation and sensitiveness to the atmosphere, to the aura of other persons and to being magnetized. The feeling of knowing the thoughts of others belongs here as well, as does the sense of being cut off from the environment and the flight into a dream world. Whoever is so open gives himself away easily. Single-remedy rubrics record that the person puts aside her own concerns and interests and gives herself up for another, to the point of the feeling of "Devoured – being, by others, feeling of". One can read in this the reverse side of a great capacity for devotion.

Devotion and return

From this devotion arises a claim. The Repertory knows the desire for affection, love and humanity in return, "Desire, wish for – Return, in", a hunger for love that wants to give and to take. If reciprocity fails to come, the attitude tips; the person becomes aggressive, "Aggressive – loved, when not". If love, on the other hand, becomes real, disillusionment follows: "Disillusioned – love becomes real, when". In the relationship to the therapist this imbalance has a particular effect. Recorded are dependence on the doctor, the wish to charm him, alert attention to his every movement and curiosity about his training. A warmth that lays itself bare at once at an embrace meets with sympathy, requited affection and the inclination to kiss and caress children.

Enthusiasm and radiance

The open side is the winning one. Single-remedy rubrics describe the charming, an effervescent radiance, rapid enthusiasm and the ability to express oneself vividly. There is a marked sense for flowers and beautiful things, a tendency to amuse oneself and, among the delusions, the feeling of being perfect oneself or of living on a distant happy island. The anger fits with this: it breaks out and is quickly appeased, easily pacified, stops suddenly.

Fear and anxiety

Opposite the exuberance stand the fears, and they are numerous. Feared are twilight, darkness, being alone, thunderstorms, earthquakes, electricity and bees. Concern is for one's own health, and the fear for others is recorded as a single-remedy rubric: "Fear, phobia – Accidents, of – loved ones". The thoughts themselves also threaten: anxiety and fear when thinking of unpleasant things are assigned to Phosphorus alone. Anxiety of conscience gives no rest day or night, and the tormenting anxiety occurs when alone, in stormy weather and with impending pneumonia. It accompanies hemorrhages and oppression of the chest.

Delusions

The delusions are the largest block among the specific rubrics. From every corner terrible, grotesque faces peer out, creeping things, figures strangle and suffocate, ice-cold hands choke on waking. Flashes of fire and a flame go through the body; the body or the bones fall to pieces that can no longer be put together. Things move, an armchair wants to rise, the world turns. The person considers herself guilty of a murdered person or of an obscene act, sees accidents befalling her relatives and believes she stands on a stage. What these have in common is the loss of the firm boundaries of body and environment.

Indifference and exhaustion

After the overstimulation comes the withdrawal. The indifference extends even to the closest friends, as the rubric "Indifference, apathy – Friends, to best, even" has it; it alternates with weeping and follows anxiety. The dullness makes compliant; the person does what she is told and waits for comments. To this fit the feeling of being burnt out and beside oneself, exhaustion from trifles, stupefaction in a warm room and stupor. Sadness sets in from cooling off, from noises and at twilight, also with involuntary laughing through tears; weeping ameliorates.

Children

The rubrics on Children (320) carry the picture further. The children are watchful and attend to every gesture, as the single-remedy rubric "Alert, vigilant, watchful – Children, watchful, who pay attention to every gesture" records. They have delicate eyelashes, a sense for flowers and beautiful things, are fearful in the dark and at ghost stories and come into the parents' bed. They are easily calmed, alternate between cheerfulness and sadness and tend toward biting, pinching and pulling at the mother's arm, for example out of joy. Also recorded are chorea after too rapid growth and, in girls at puberty, a tall, slender growth with nosebleed.

Sleep, night and rage

At night the openness becomes physical. Delirium and raving break out on waking, the hands grasp in sleep, the biting is directed at the pillow. Recorded are erotic ecstasy in sleep, mania in sleep, sleepwalking up onto roofs and parapets, and muttering during unconsciousness. The voice also suffers; aphonia occurs from long talking, from overheating and painlessly.

Summary

Phosphorus is distinguished in the Repertory as a remedy whose strength and whose vulnerability lie in the same capacity: to open oneself. The openness gives warmth and attraction but demands an answer, and when it is lacking, anger, disillusionment, indifference or fear follow. The delusions and the fears read as what intrudes where no boundary stands any longer.

A reference work for professionals; it does not replace diagnosis or treatment.