Repertory › Remedies in the repertory

Valeriana officinalis (Valer.)

Valeriana officinalis (Valer.) appears in 400 rubrics in the Repertory. Of these, 13 are single-remedy rubrics in which only this remedy is listed, and 19 are small rubrics with at most two other remedies. The emphasis lies on Delusions, Children, Fear and Delirium; Restlessness and Excitement are also strongly represented. The picture is of a person to whom the surroundings become strange and uncanny, and who senses restlessly into them.

The strange surroundings

The Delusions carry the picture. Everything seems strange, odd and at the same time unpleasant; so read the single-remedy rubrics that name these two sensations together. The room seems desolate and uncanny, and a small rubric adds: dreary. At the same time things press close to the person: objects seem near when looked at, and the person feels that near things are near even when not looking at them. The opposite is also recorded, namely the delusion that objects have been taken away from the surroundings. To this belongs the delusion of animals creeping nearby. Here perception presses in on the body.

Fear and restlessness

The fear remains indefinite. Small rubrics record unaccountable apprehension and the state of being filled with apprehension, as well as fear of being injured in the dark and fear of the warm room. The fear improves in the open air, which is also where the restlessness begins: the person drifts about and wants to wander around the house.

Thoughts and delirium

Thinking is accelerated. One single-remedy rubric describes the rush of thoughts as in drunkenness, another a wild delirium in typhus, and a third a delirium with trembling and excitement. As a gesture the Repertory records a twisting, writhing motion. During sweat thinking becomes clear and brings many ideas, but erroneous ideas are also recorded.

Children and the mother's mood

The rubrics on Children show a peculiarity: the child vomits the mother's milk when the mother has been angry. Two single-remedy rubrics describe crying of children during stool with curdled stool. The child thus takes in the mother's state physically.

Summary

Valeriana officinalis appears as a remedy of overwrought, estranged perception. A restless, vaguely anxious person experiences the world as uncanny and close at the same time, and comes to rest more readily in the open air than in the room.

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