over masturbation

Masturbation does not cause those symptoms. Those symptoms are part of a deeper problem. The desire to masturbate a lot might be caused by the same thing that is causing those symptoms however.

A healthy, unmarried male will often choose to masturbate as this is normal behaviour. In fact, it can also keep them healthy in a variety of ways. Some individuals do seem to suffer from masturbation, but this is unusual and results from an internal weakness, not from masturbation.

Your other symptoms can be treated though. It is clear that your health is not good and this needs to be corrected. The source of your problem needs to be found.

HOW TO DESCRIBE YOUR COMPLAINTS

In homoeopathy, prescription is based on precise details of various symptoms from which you suffer. To tell or write to a homoeopathic physician 'I have a headache ', ' an eruption ' or “a cough” would not be enough. If you inform him 'I have headache with sharp shooting pains in the left side of the head and temple, these pains always come on when the slightest cold air strikes the head. I feel better by pressing the head very hard.” Then only you have given all the information required for making a good homoeopathic prescription. The success of the prescription depends; largely on how detailed your description of the symptoms is.
We require the following details about your symptoms.

LOCATION: Please give the exact location of sensation, pain or eruption. Also describe where the pain or sensation spreads.

SENSATION: Express the type of sensation or the pain that you get in your own words however simple or funny it may seem. You may have a sensation that a mouse is crawling or the heart was grasped by an iron hand or you may have a pain that is cutting, burning jerking, pressing. Express the sensation or pain as it feels to you. Try to explain the whole sensation in the exact way it is happening and not just the word. We need to understand the whole process of the sensation as it is happening to you.

WHAT MAKES YOU WORSE OR BETTER:

Many factors are likely to influence your complaint. Some factors may intensify it and some factors may relieve the trouble. A detailed list of the factors is given at the end. Please refer it while describing each of your troubles and indicate which factors make the complaint better or worse.

DISCHARGES: You may have a discharge from nose, ears, mouth, eyes, ulcers, fistula, eruptions on skin, private parts, etc. Please describe your discharge under the following aspects.

•The quantity and the time or condition under which the quantity varies i.e. when is it better or worse, when does it increase or decrease?
•The consistency: Is it thin or thick, stringy or clotted?
•Is it like jelly, white of an egg, like water, sticky forming a scab etc.?
•The odour, what does it remind you of?
•Does it make the parts sore, and in what way?

1] Your Complaint:

(Use your own words as far as possible, but if you have recognized or diagnosed the condition, give this information also.) By answering as many of these questions as fully as possible, you are helping me to understand what your body and unconscious mind is conveying. This can help me find a remedy for you.)

•What is your complaint?
• When did the complaint begin?
•Where is it located?
•What sort of sensations (and emotions) do you associate with it?

•Does anything make it better or worse?
•How does it bother you? How is it coming in way of your day-to-day life?
•How does it feel like to have this/these problem/s?
•What is the effect of this/these problem/s on you?
•Did any event happen which caused the complaint? Describe the emotion associated with it.
•What are the other symptoms started with it, esp. mental and physical symptoms, which are not directly related to the main complaint.
•What are your reactions with it?

DO THIS SEPARATELY FOR EACH COMPLAINT. DO NOT PUT ALL YOUR COMPLAINTS TOGETHER. THEY MUST BE CONSIDERED ONE AT A TIME.


MIND
________________________________________
1] What are the issues which are bothering you the most?
How does it feel to have these issues?
What about these issues bothering you the most and why?

2] What are the emotions that you are going through?
What are the factors to which you are sensitive?
What about these factors bother you the most?
How does it feel to have these factors and how you react during such time?

3] Any incident which had a deep impact on you? Describe in detail.
What are the thoughts/feelings/sensations associated with it?
At that moment of time what were your feelings/thoughts, sensations and reactions associated with it?
(Note: Incidents might have happened long ago and now it has no impact on you but at that moment of time if it had any impact on you, describe.)

4] What are your anxieties/fears/phobias real or imaginary? Describe them in detail. What about them is bothering you the most?
What are the feelings associated with it?
What could be the worst form of fear/phobia/anxiety according to you?

5] What are your interests and hobbies?
What about them do you like the most and why?

6] What are the thoughts which are coming in your mind again and again?
What about them bothers you the most?

7] Any unusual sensation/vibration or movements have you experienced? If yes, describe them in detail. Describe the whole process of that sensation without adding or subtracting a word from it.

8] What is/are the bodily sensation/s you experience with all your fears/ feelings and thoughts. Please describe the complete picture of it.

9] Please close your eyes and bring that incident, feelings, fears, thoughts which had/having a deep impact on you/bothering you the most and see what is happening deep within your body right now. If you perceive any bodily sensation, vibration or movements please feel it completely and then right the whole experience as it is without adding or subtracting a word from it.

10] What according to you will be best moment of your life?
How does it feel to be in that moment?
What will be opposite feeling of this moment or feeling?

11] How do/did you react in situations which have/had a deep impact on you?
What is your first reaction when you face your worst fear/situations?
Describe your reaction as it is?
How do you react when you are faced with stressful situations?

12] What you feel/feel like doing when you are alone and free of all your work?

13] How is your relation with your near and dear ones, at your work place?
Anything in the relationship that is bothering you the most?
If yes, describe that in detail? How does that feel like? How do you experience that?

14] Describe five negative and positive points in you?
Which out of it you would put first and why?
How does it feel to have that?

Please answer the following:

1] Tell about the dreams that had a deep impact on you.

2] Tell about the dreams that are repetitive, strange and weird that are not related to you at all.
3] Any dreams from childhood till today that you remember the most?
4] Any dream from childhood till today that had a deep impact on you?
5] Any dreams, just before your problem started?
6] Any particular part of your life where you had some recurrent dreams? If yes, describe in detail.

CHILDHOOD HISTORY
1] Any incidents from your childhood which had a deep impact on you, which touched you the most. Describe in detail about that incident/s and the feelings/thoughts/perception and sensations associated with it. What was your reaction to these incidents?
2] Describe your fears during childhood in detail.
3] Any imagination/fantasies/imaginary fears which you remember the most?
4] What you wanted to become as a child and why?

S L E E P

1] Describe your posture in sleep. (On the back, side, abdomen etc.) Are you able to sleep in any position? In which position you can’t sleep?

2] During sleep do you:
a) Snore?
b) grind teeth?
c) Dribble saliva?
d) Sweat?
e) Keep eyes or mouth open?
f) Walk? Talk?
g) Moan? Weep?
h) Become restless? Wake up with a jerk?

3] Describe if anything else is unusual about your sleep: (sleepy, sleeplessness, etc. if so when?) ________________________________________

APPETITE AND THIRST

1] How is your appetite?
2] When are you hungry?
3] What happens if you have to remain hungry for long?
4] How fast do you eat?
5] How much thirst do you have?
6] Any particular time are you especially thirsty?
7] Do you feel any change in your taste and feeling in your mouth?________________________________________

Food/Drink likes and dislikes, and how strongly

STOOL
1] Do you have any problem regarding your stools?
2] When and how many times a day do you pass stools?
3] When is it urgent?
4] Do you have any problem about bowel movements?
5] Do you have to strain for stool? Even if soft?
6] Do you have belching or passing gas? Describe its character.
7] How do you feel after passing gas up or down? ________________________________________



URINATION & URINE
1] Any problem about urine?
2] Any strong smell? Like what?
3] Do you have any trouble before, during and after passing urine?
4] Any difficulty about the flow? Slow to start, interrupted, feeble dribbling etc.?
5] Any involuntary urination? When?



SWEAT/PERSPIRATION-FEVER-CHILL
1] How much do you sweat?
2] Where and on what part do you sweat the most?
3] Do you perspire on the palms or soles?
4] Is the sweat warm, cold, clammy, sticky, musty, greasy, stiffens the linen etc.?
5] What is the smell like? E.g. foul, pungent, sour, and urinous.
6] What color does it stain the clothing?
7] Is the stain easy to wash off or difficult?
8] Any symptoms after sweating?
9] When do you get fever or chill?
10] What brings it on?
11] Do you experience any sense of heat or cold in any part of your body at any particular time? ________________________________________

CHEST-HEART – COLD – COUGH
1] Do you catch cold often? If so, how often?
2] Describe the symptoms, nature of discharge etc.
3] Is there any trouble with your CHEST or HEART?
4] Is there any trouble with your voice or speech?
5] Is there any difficulty in breathing?
6] Do you have cough?
7] Is it more at any particular time? ________________________________________


SEXUAL SPHERE (GENERAL)
1] Any excessive indulgence in sex in past and present ? Any effect on your health?
2] How do you feel after sexual intercourse?
3] Any particular feeling or symptoms appear before, during and after sexual intercourse?
4] Do you suffer from any sexual disturbance?
(Homosexual inclination etc.?)
5] Any habit like (masturbation etc.) in past as well as present? How often?
6] Did you suffer from any venereal disease?
Syphilis? Gonorrhoea?
7] Do you have increased desire or decreased desire for sex?
8] What is the method you use for family planning?________________________________________


FOR MEN
1] Any difficulty in erection?
2] Wanted erection? Unwanted erection?
3] Weak erection? Failing erection? Describe.
4] Any other trouble in sex? Describe in detail.
________________________________________

FOR WOMEN
1] Menses: How are the periods; regular or irregular?
2] At what age did it start?
3] Was there any trouble then?
4] Mention number of days of flow.
5] Menstrual flow: Is there any change in quantity, color, smell or consistency?
6] Are the stains difficult to wash?
7] Have you noticed any variation in quality and quantity of flow during menses?
8] How and when?
9] Do you suffer in any way before, during or after menses? If so, describe.
10] What symptoms did you suffer during menopause?
11] Do you feel the internal parts coming down?
12] Is there any white discharge?
13] If so, mention the nature, color, consistency and smell of discharge.
14] When and under what circumstances is it more or less?
15] Has the discharge any relation to menses?
16] What is the effect of this discharge on your general feeling? Or any of your symptoms?
17] Any itching, excoriation etc. due to discharge?
18] Do you pass any gas from vagina?
19] Any trouble with breasts?


Aggravated or Ameliorated by various Factors


Affected by the Environment in any way, and how does it affect you?

Affected by position in any way?

Affected by some physical activity?

Affected by some mental activity?

Anything else you are sensitive to?

I have given you a list of questions to answer. Please provide answers so that I can begin looking at a suitable treatment plan.

I cannot help unless you answer all of the questions. If you do not wish to do this, someone else here may be able to help you.

Arunrai,

You are not understanding this form.

Better if you post again- list all your problems - and ask for Dr. Kashif or Dr. Mohla
in your headline to help you out.

By chance I happened upon the forum today. With all due respect, masturbation does cause these symptoms. And the gentleman has answered most of the questions indicated very succinctly. The answers needed are already there. This seems a perfect picture of Phosphoric Acid, including his inability to answer your query appropriately. (Kent: He is averse to speaking or answering questions; he merely looks...He cannot think what he wishes to say cannot frame his answers to questions.)
From the Materia Medica:
Another cause is sexual excesses in young men or in those guilty of secret vice.
Weakness; lack of reaction; state of stupor with impotency...
Phosphoric acid has also great physical weakness; so tired in the back; so tired in the muscles; so tired all over; a paralytic weakness.
Later there is sexual impotence; aversion to coition; loss of sexual desire; no erections; penis becomes relaxed in the midst of an embrace and he cannot finish the act.
The remedy runs from the mental to the physical from the brain to the muscles.
Best suited to persons of originally strong constitutions, who have become debilitated BY LOSS OF VITAL FLUIDS, sexual excesses.

Masturbation; when patient is greatly distressed by the culpability of the act.

Emissions: Frequent, Profuse, Debilitating; after coitus; most desire, after; several in one night; Abashed, Sad, Despair of Cure.
Bad effects from masturbation or sexual excesses, frequent, involuntary and very debilitating emissions.
SEXUAL WEAKNESS: indifference (2), impotency (2), ejaculatio praecox (2) shortly after erection (2)
Sexual weakness, prolonged exhaustion, impotency; masturbators; nightly pollutions with great exhaustion.
Prostatorrhea; immediately after every erection discharge of prostatic fluid.
Erections, without sexual desire; during coition sudden relaxation of penis preventing emission; weakness after coition or pollution; frequent and debilitating emissions from weakness of the parts, with masturbation and very little sexual excitement, causing hypochondriasis; masturbation when the patient is distressed by the culpability of his indulgence;
Bad effects from masturbation and sexual excesses; great despondency; great debility; loss of memory; and copious, clammy night sweats.

Falling out of the hair is a striking feature.

Since I no longer practice homeopathy, I hope some kind forum member will instruct this unfortunate gentleman on how to take the remedy.

There is a language issue on this forum - many people can speak or write
some English, but when there are long sentences they get lost.

There is a particular point Fitness and I have been trying to make on this forum. We certainly are not trying to say many of these people are not sick - they are. But the reason they are sick is being identified as the fact that they masturbate, which is an assumption based on a number of misconceptions and prejudices. While it might not seem clear if you have only stepped into this post, it is an ongoing discussion across many posts with different patients, as part of a education process.

First up, I do want to say that I am not implying masturbation cannot be a problem in a person's life. It can, just like anything can if it is done excessively, just as Laughing can, just as Joy can, just as Coition can. However, we do not attempt to eliminate laughing, joy or sexual intercourse out of people's lives do we?

This patient says 'I try to quit masturbation and I fail every time'. And I have simply pointed out that this is not the way to solve his problems, by focusing on this particular behaviour (and eliminating it), and that the true source of his problems must be uncovered.

Masturbation is a HEALTHY sexual activity that does not, and should not, cause symptoms in and of itself. Naming masturbation as a cause of disease creates a variety of problems which we try to avoid in homoeopathy.

Using words like 'secret vice' and 'guilty' just makes this problem worse. Of course our literature shows that kind of bias - homoeopathy arose in a time when sex was seen in a particular social context, one which (hopefully) has changed as we have become more enlightened as a society.

Firstly, just as a basic issue, we know that the true cause of disease is a disordered vital force. The only reason a healthy function begins to become problematic for any patient is because the vital force is unbalanced. Return it to balance will allow the person to once again experience such a function in a healthy way again.

Identifying the result as a cause, is the way of the allopaths, and it leads to palliation and suppression, the very things we strive to avoid in homoeopathy.

Secondly, we do not treat something that is healthy. Many people come on to this site saying that they masturbate only moderately, or in fact they masturbated in the past and not anymore, and are then told (either here or elsewhere) that THIS is the reason they are sick. It is rubbish, pure rubbish, and it is unethical for a homoeopath to be continuing to promote this belief. Masturbation is not in and of itself unhealthy, and stopping it does not promote health. In fact, it will almost certain do the opposite. Homoeopaths are well aware of the dangers of repression or suppression of sexual activity, or in fact of any healthy normal activity.

Using homoeopathy to suppress sexual activity or desire is an inappropriate use of our medicines. This is the point we have been trying to make. If a patient is distressed, of course we look at this as part of the case, but removing this behaviour should not be our goal. In fact we should not be trying to do anything so specific, but simply following the true disease symptoms to a remedy and allowing the vital force to decide for itself how to rebalance.

Finally, a final issue is that despite the fact that many remedies are indicated for these common sexual problems, the same old ones are trotted out all the time without any concern for the rest of the case, for the totality, for the genuinely peculiar characteristics. Everyone gets Ph-ac, Selenium, Agnus castus and a few other remedies, often in various illogical combinations and sequences. In another post I pointed out the main remedies for some of these sexual problems, and how you rarely, if ever, see any of them being suggested. There is a kind of rote prescribing done around these sexual issues which conflicts with homoeopathic philosophy.

Now the other problem for me personally as a practitioner is that I require the whole case before I will prescribe, and I need certain questions answered to be sure that I have it. That is my prerogative and I find that any person not willing to give that kind of effort or detail is not the kind of patient that I will be able to manage effectively.

If this patient needs Ph-ac then it will be born out in the rest of the case. Others here may be willing to prescribe on fewer details, but I insist on having as much of a full case as I can get to avoid making poorly informed decisions.

If a person does not want to engage on that level, this is fine. I am sure someone else will be willing to.

I concur wholeheartedly with your assessment of masturbation as a normal activity that can be a healthy expression. Nowhere did I state or imply the goal of the remedy is to cease the activity. However, in this case, the activity has certainly become excessive and the patient himself declared it as causing him to feel unwell. Drinking wine can also be healthy in moderation but when it becomes excessive and uncontrollable and causes physical and mental/emotional symptoms, it then becomes unhealthy. If the case fits and we give Nux Vomica to both assist the patient with reducing their inclination to indulge to excess and improve the ill effects from doing so, we are not suppressing.

In terms of the language of the materia medica, I cannot help that but that is our job as homeopaths to interpret in today's modern language. He himself expressed guilt. He was practically speaking in the rubrics for Phos Acid. He said he wanted to return to a healthy sex life. He said he has tried to 'overcome the ill effects of habit' - the ill effects, not the habit. Just as no one refers to a miscarriage as an abortion, or menopause as the climacteric, we match the language of the materia medica to our terms of today. This by no means assumes we believe or adhere to the sentiment of the text. But the patient himself is telling us it is a secret vice in so many words. The implication or assumption of guilt in relation to that is inherent in the one doing the interpreting but in this case he flat out states he feels guilty.

In terms of the same old remedies - if the remedy fits, I give the remedy. Search the materia medica and show me another remedy which fits his description so well. In my opinion, it isn't rote if it is such a blatant match.

However, I completely understand your practice of requiring a full case before prescribing. This is a wise approach. Unfortunately, in this case, it appears his symptoms preclude his ability to respond. Although that may be an erroneous judgment on my part. Your earnest efforts are admirable.

I hope the OP will respond to your questions so he can get the relief he seeks.

I realise you have not actually made the kind of statements or suggestions I was referring to. I just wanted to let you know what has been happening on this board, and why I have been trying to encourage patients to give full cases rather than just focusing on the general sexual symptoms.

I am extremely hesitant to take a patient's word when it comes to masturbation, because many people have been informed erroneously that it is the cause of their problems. Many men come to this site declaring that they must stop this terrible habit as they have ruined their health because of it - and it is almost certainly not true at all. I would point this out to a client who tried to tell me that drinking a glass of wine once a month had also ruined his health - people need to be given honest and valid information about health, rather than helping them to perpetuate certain myths. Most of these ideas come from outside the patient - religious, cultural, family pressures of various sorts. They are not related to the remedy the patient needs since they do not come from within.

This is true of many things - patients come with all sorts of ideas, weird ideas with no real basis in reality. Homoeopathy is in a unique position to determine the validity of many of these beliefs - the change a medicine brings about also brings out the truth. Homosexuality is another issue that is subject to a similar prejudiced attitude often seen even on this forum unfortunately, and the truth of that is seen in the patients who are cured of their disease - and remain homosexual (happily instead of unhappily).

I am not saying this attitude might not also represent the internal state of the patient - to some degree our sensitivity certainly can predispose us to certain external influences as well. But in my experience culture, background and upbringing can produce a kind of obscurement to the real state of the patient, and you need to penetrate that to see what lies beneath.

I have a background in counselling, so for me as a practitioner, not reinforcing those kinds of negative attitudes is important. I think we can look at the feeling of guilt in a non-judgmental way, without further increasing it by implying we believe masturbation is a vice. I try always to be non-judgemental with all my patients regardless of their actions, and the language we use can affect them. Masturbation is not a vice - we shouldn't be calling it such or acting as if it is (by trying to or implying we can eliminate it through our medicines).

The reality is the most men are 'chronic masturbators' and 'quitting the habit' neither promotes health nor cures disease. I feel it is important to focus patients on to the genuine health problems they have.

I have no opinion on whether Phos-ac is right or wrong for him, but I don't make the decision on any prescription without a more complete description of the problem, including generals, history, and mental aspects unrelated to the specific problem.

Looking at the initial symptoms - premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, leaking penis, weakness in penis, performance anxiety (and then the classic 'etc' as if we can just guess everything else) there is no remedy choice to be made from that. Then we have hair loss, low energy, tiredness, disturbed sleep - all general symptoms with no modalities (save one for sleep).

Then he goes on to describe the completely normal experience of a young boy discovering sexual pleasure. It has no relevance at all to the case as it is a common and healthy experience. What we have is Pain on ejaculation - not a lot as yet.

Then we have more descriptions of common symptoms - he describes what erectile dysfunction is. He gives a general emotion of guilt. He describes seminal emission. He describes sweating when it is hot. He describes the normal colour of urine. Either the symptoms are not actual disease ones, or they are too common and generalised to lead to a remedy.

So we have the following peculiar symptoms to work with:

Sleep disturbed by noise
Pain in penis on ejaculation

He hasn't given many of the modalities and sensations you quote in the description of Ph-ac. If he does, then I would agree with you that this remedy may help him. It is the modalities, the qualifiers, that help us to make use of those generalised symptoms (like poor erection, tiredness, weakness etc). He has given almost no modalities at all, just general common symptoms. The mental state is also very poorly described, with just some general emotions. Homoeopathy is about individualisation of the symptoms, which must come directly from the patient and not from us.
[message edited by Evocationer on Wed, 14 May 2014 04:32:19 BST]