A STUDY ON THE PSYCHISM OF HYOSCYAMUS NIGER

George Loukas, Helen Spiranti
Athens, Greece
International Medical Homeopathic Society “Hippokrat”

Исследование психизма препарата белены чёрной. Г. Лукас, Е. Спиранти (Афины, Греция)
Представлены результаты изучения психизма Hyosciamus niger – характерные картины психологической сферы его действия. Отмечено, что белена – одно из основных лекарственных средств как при биполярных психотических состояниях, так и шизофрении. Гиосциамус часто показан для лечения психоорганических расстройств (острых или хронических), эпилептических и прочих состояний.

The following symptoms help us to understand the Hyoscyamus’ psychological state:
* Delusions, driving peacocks.
* Delusions, chasing peacocks.
* Delusions, peacocks frightening away.
* Delusions, sees geese.
* Delusions, he is picking feathers from birds.
* Delusions, hens bound with chains.
* Delusions, men are swine.
* Delusions, is going to be married.
* Delusions, of a wedding.
* Propensity to handle organs (Boericke).
The peacock is a symbol of beauty. It is the most beautiful bird and has a very impressive appearance. Here it represents a very beautiful woman or a very handsome man.

The goose is a symbol of a sexy person. There are many expressions and folks referring to that. The hen is a symbol of a subdued woman. She is the good housewife, the woman who has renounced her sexual nature and is absorbed in her maternal duties and in her housework. Such a woman has closed her ears to the sirens-men that try to flirt with her. Such men hate this type of women and among their circle the title of hen is an insult.

The pig is a symbol of earthy sexuality. It represents a person who has great success with women despite the fact that he lives in squalor. It is said that pork induces sexual urge. The pig differs from the goose in being more rough and earthy. The goose is playful, has a slender figure and walks proudly.

Feathers is bird’s most beautiful feature. Picking feathers is like collecting pictures of beautiful lovers. It is an act of self-justification. Such a person feels self-assured, he is a success with the opposite sex.
The psychological sphere of Hyoscyamus is understood in this way. They are persons who have big problems in their relations with the opposite sex. They always think about sex. So, everywhere they go, they think women are flirting with them. They imagine themselves taking out pretty women. Any woman that resists them is considered a “hen”. The external conditions that can induce an Hyoscyamus state usually have to do with a rejection, mainly sexual.

Of course the reasons are deeper. These people have anxiety about punishment. They usually feel they will be punished. A very strict family environment induces anxiety about punishment and so the Hyoscyamus picture. This feeling is not usually conscious and the patient will not mention it. However he may mention that somebody from his work environment slanders about him, that there is a conspiracy against him. It is also very interesting that one of the physical symptoms of Hyoscyamus is holding his genitals while coughing. This gesture can be interpreted as an attempt to protect the sexual organs from possible danger.

The Hyoscyamus picture is common in boys during adolescence. It is then that they develop their interest for sex but also experience strong insecurity relating to the fact that they have not make love yet. They always think about sex. In this phase they often use obscene words and they are work on watching sex films and porno magazines. They gossip about anything they might notice. They like showing of their naked body. Fear of punishment takes the form of fear of syphilis or, in our times, of aids.

A girl, after an unsuccessful love affair can develop the Hyoscyamus picture. She starts dressing up, has brief affairs, she always thinks about sex, she is continuously flirting. She is jealous and suspicious. She adopts a negative attitude towards others whom she often slanders about. However, deep down she feels deserted and has a fear of men. The above can be seen in the following symptoms:
* Ailments, from love disappointed.
* Ailments, from being scorned.
* Ailments, from anger.
* Ailments, from excitement emotional.
* Ailments, from anticipation.
* Anxiety, as if pursued.
* Delusions, is deserted.
* Delusions, being doomed.
* Delusions, is persecuted.
* Delusions, as if seized.
* Delusions, has lost the affection of a friend.
* Fear of men.
* Gossiping.
* Jealousy.
* Suspicious.
* Nymphomania.
* Obscene songs.
* Offended easily.
* Rudeness.
* Slander, disposition to.


Hyoscyamus is one of the main remedies for psychotic states whether it is bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. In bipolar disorder it is used mainly for the mania phases or phases where the patient switches easily between the manic and the depressive symptoms. The appearance of pure depressive symptoms in a phase of a bipolar disorder lead us away from Hyoscyamus. In such cases the patient is pleasant, talkative and hyperactive. He (or she) may appear generous, buying drinks to strangers or giving money to the poor. Other times, due to his impulsiveness, he may kiss strangers in the street. He is big headed, mainly about his success with women. Or he is irritable, jealous and suspicious. He thinks his wife is unfaithful. Then he is aggressive with women and considers them as “whores”. He cannot tolerate contradiction and he wants other to obey him. He may talk about fighting and he likes setting things on fire. Other times he may dress indecently, or he may go completely naked. He may recite obscene songs or swear. When depressive symptoms appear there might be a suicidal tendency. Although he refuses medication fearing that he might be poisoned (not always), he is a general an easy to handle patient.
The symptoms are:
* Battles, talks about.
* Contradict, disposition to.
* Contradiction is intolerable.
* Cursing.
* Delusions, he has neglected his duty.
* Delusions, he has done wrong.
* Introspection.
* Jealousy.
* Delusions, wife is faithless.
* Destructiveness, of clothes.
* Dress, indecently dresses.
* Escape, attempts forum away.
* Fur, wraps up in summer.
* Kisses, everyone.
* Laughing immoderately.
* Loathing at life.
* Loathing at work.
* Loquacity.
* Mania.
* Mood alternating.
* Naked, wants to be.
* Reproaches himself.
* Speech, prattling, lies naked in bed and prattles.
* Striking himself, knocking his head against wall and things.
* Suicidal disposition, by drowning.
* Suicidal disposition, with knife.
* Suicidal disposition, throwing himself from a high.
* Weeping alternating with laughter.
* Well, says he is, when very sick.


In schizophrenia too, the picture may vary. Some times symptoms related to decrease of inhibitions are the most prominent symptoms. Contact at school or at home is indecent, there is a tendency to demonstrative masturbation or other indecent demonstrations and obscene talk. Some other times there is a general decrease of activity, attributed to a disappointment in love. This love is unrealistic, the object of love is just a friend or even a distant twinkle and the person usually makes up fictional love stories. In other occasions he is the teaser of the team. He makes untimely jokes and has rough manners. His behaviour annoys others, despite the fact that he is not a bad person. He likes telling “dirty” jokes, “dirty” rimes, his mind always thinks of jokes with sexual implications. Other times he thinks there is some conspiracy against him, that other people want to harm him, that his wife is unfaithful, that people call him homosexual e.t.c. In such cases he becomes aggressive to the point of wanting to kill and he is very dangerous. The Hyoscyamus patient can delude us seeming quite and timid in his relationships. There are deep-rooted paranoid ideas and at some point he may kill the person who happens to get involved in his paranoid thinking. Other times there are catatonic symptoms. The patient remains still for hours and refuses food. Of course in all the above pictures there exist the characteristic symptoms of Hyoscyamus the way they have been described. The above can be seen in the following symptoms:
* Amativeness.
* Contradiction is intolerable.
* Cursing.
* Jealousy.
* Delusion, is about to receive injury by his surroundings.
* Delusions, he will be murdered.
* Delusions, he has to murder someone.
* Delusions, converses with absent people.
* Delusions, he is persecuted.
* Delusions, he is about to be poisoned.
* Delusions, he sees policeman come into house.
* Delusions, he was pursued by enemies.
* Delusions, as if seized.
* Delusions, being at war.
* Delusions, wife is faithless.
* Destructiveness of clothes.
* Dress, indecently dresses.
* Eat, refuses to.
* Escape, attempts to, as if surrounded and captured from men.
* Fear of being injured.
* Fear of knives.
* Fear of being poisoned.
* Fight, wants to.
* Fire, wants to set things on.
* Gestures, strange attitudes and positions.
* Insanity, immobile as a statue.
* Insanity, puerperal.
* Insanity, with increased strength.
* Kill, desire to.
* Kill, impulse to injure with a knife.
* Kill, thought he ought to kill somebody.
* Lascivious, uncovers sexual parts.
* Laughing, immoderately.
* Loathing, at work.
* Sits still.
* Sits erect.
* Sits, quite stiff.
* Shrieking, puerperal.
* Speech, prattling, lies naked in bed and prattles.
* Striking himself, knocking his head against wall and things.
* Violent, rage leading to deeds of violence.


Hyoscyamus is indicated frequently for the treatment of the organic mental disorders, acute or chronic, for delirium tremens, epileptic states e.t.c.

During delirium, the patient’s consciousness is disturbed. Confused states alternate with lucid ones. Psychokinetic activity follows the same pattern with passive behavior and inertia may alternate with excitement and exertion. The patient thinks that someone wants to poison him, to harm him. Perception and conceptualization of surrounding events are also affected. Sometimes they undress in front of strangers. Attention is also disturbed, thoughts are incoherent. He whispers or shouts incoherent words or phrases. Sometimes they insist on using some words. They may answer “no” to every question. In other cases they are over-talkative. They speak to fictional people about past events and whisper words or phrases related to them. They imagine that someone has asked them a question, so they continually talk answering imaginary questions. They swear towards people they are angry with. Often delusions occur (in the beginning) and then illusions. These are mainly optical and so vivid that the patient seems to live in an imaginary reality. In this context he re-lives his usual activities, as we mentioned previously. Other times he seeps animals, demons, perceives the things growing smaller or larger e.t.c. For example, he imagines things are worms, bugs, rats, cats, mice and himself leading them, or he imagines little demons appearing in the corner and laughing at him or sees little creatures running up the wall. This state can last hours or days. When the patient wakes up he remembers nothing except some events that occurred during lucid breaks.

In epileptic convulsions the picture is more acute, consciousness disturbance is superficial, the patient believes there is a conspiracy against him and people want to poison him. Then he becomes outraged, he may get out of bed and attack the people around him.

In dementia the patient has silly, childish behaviour, makes silly jokes and there is generally an euphoric state. There is decrease of inhibitions, he starts undressing, swearing e.t.c. Other times the paranoid symptoms occur, as they have been described previously.
The above can be seen in the following symptoms:
* Answers abruptly, shortly, curtly.
* Aversion, to answer.
* Answers, incoherently.
* Answers “no” to all questions.
* Answers, irrelevantly.
* Answers, slowly.
* Antics, plays, during delirium.
* Anxiety, with fits.
* Bed, get out of, wants to.
* Bites objects.
* Concentration, difficult.
* Confusion of mind, mixes subjective and objective.
* Delirium, answers correctly when spoken to, but delirium and unconsciousness return at once.
* Delirium, attacks people with knife.
* Delirium, talks of business.
* Delirium, busy.
* Delirium, comical.
* Delirium, embraces the store.
* Delirium, erotic.
* Delirium, foolish.
* Delirium, after injuries to head.
* Delirium, laughing.
* Delirium, loquacious.
* Delirium, muttering.
* Delirium, wants to be naked, in.
* Delirium, delusions of persecution in delirium.
* Delirium, raging.
* Delirium, rambling.
* Delirium, recognises no one.
* Delirium, prepares from wedding.
* Delirium, wild.
* Delirium, wraps up in fur during summer.
* Delirium, tremens.
* Delusions, of animals.
* Delusions, letters are ants.
* Delusions, sees devils.
* Delusions, is possessed of a devil.
* Delusions, had been devoured by animals.
* Delusions, parts of body enlarged.
* Delusions, objects are enlarged.
* Delusions, things appear small.
* Delusions, sees insects.
* Delusions, sees mice.
* Delusions, he is about to be poisoned.
* Delusions, sees rats.
* Delusions, religious.
* Dementia.
* Dream, as if in a dream.
* Exertion agg., from mental.
* Gestures, grasping or reaching at something, picks at bedclothes.
* Indifference, to everything.
* Indifference, to remain naked.
* Memory, weakness of, for recent facts.
* Naked, wants to be in delirium.
* Shrieking, during epileptic convulsions.
* Striking, about him at imaginary objects.
* Striking during drunkenness.
* Stupefaction, between convulsions.
* Unconsciousness, coma, stupor.
* Unconsciousness, alcoholic.

ЛИТЕРАТУРА:
1. Heudens-Mast H. Hyoscyamus // The Homoeopath. – 1994. V. XI, No 3.
2. Holcombe A.W. Spasms and Convulsions, an Abridged Repertory. - New Delhi, 1982.
3. Loukas G. Mind Materia Medica. – Athens, 2000. – V.1.
4. Santee E.M. Repertory of convulsions. - New York, 1890.

Дослідження психизму препарату Hyoscyamus niger. Г. Лукас, О. Спиранті (Афіни, Греція)
Надані результати вивчення психізму Hyosciamus niger – характерні психологічні картини, що відповідають його дії. Зазначено, что гіосциамус – одна з головних лікарських речовин для вжиття як під час біполярних психотичних станів, так і у хворих на шизофренію. Гиосциамус часто є показаним щодо лікування психоорганічних розладів (гострих або хронічних), епилептичних та інших станів.