Traumatic Beginnings - Causing Hyperactivity and Fears

Libby is 2 1/2 years old and her parents brought her along for treatment of a cough that had been lingering for almost 3 months. The family doctor had prescribed an antihistamine, that the mother decided not to give her. During the process of taking her case it became apparent that Libby was a very active, inquisitive and social child, borderline to being hyperactive, restless and having difficulties focusing her attention.

The parents reported: “She is adventurous and loves climbing, can’t go high enough. She also suffers from night frights, has major tantrums with biting, throwing and pulling, and she hates having a shower, or having her hair washed. Her drawings are black and she doesn’t like bright light, she loves dancing and animals. When she is in a tantrum it is like two different people. She has a high pain tolerance and constipation since birth.”

Her medical history showed a lot of emotional stresses in her young life. There was a threat to the pregnancy early on, with intense abdominal pain, and strong fear of losing the baby. Later on in pregnancy her mum was diagnosed with a serious health condition, which meant a risk to her own health. Libby’s birth was a very drawn out process, full of medical complications and drugs, and overall an extremely traumatic experiences for mother, father and child.

“She looked stunned when she was born. She couldn’t breathe properly because of the mucous and needed suction, and was not with us at first.”

“After her DPT vaccination she was different, like the way she related to us had changed and she had very restless legs, kicking her legs when she was put to bed, until she went to sleep. This continued until she started walking. She has no other vaccinations.”

The first remedy improved the cough a little but it didn’t hold. After the second remedy Libby’s cough was gone within days and with it the night frights. She was ok with showering and tried to wash her hair, she was more cooperative with her parents and actively showing affection, wanting cuddles, saying “I love you”. Her constipation had also improved. Something I noticed in Libby’s follow up was her eyes, they were looking back at me, alive. Her mother confirmed that she also felt that ‘someone was home’ now. Before her eyes were like the beautiful eyes of a soft toy animal.

A month later she was still better in regards to the tantrums etc., but she now had new symptoms, bad sleep, waking early, separation anxiety, fear of insects, bees and even butterflies, which she loved before.

What happened?

Libby’s grandparents had been visiting for a few weeks from overseas and she was the center of her grandparents’ attention and love. Granddad was especially protective of her. Then they left to go back home, which meant sudden separation from them for her and a big ocean between them. Libby’s new remedy caused a big turnaround in her behaviour and fears, after the remedy she had previously failed to help this time.

After a few days: “Libby is doing so well I can’t believe it... she was chasing butterflies in the garden yesterday wanting to play with them (what a change from running away screaming), wants lots of cuddles and tells me she loves me about every five minutes. She didn’t have a great appetite for a few days but made up for it today. She even sat perfectly still on a chair at the market with a fluffy in one hand and a piece of bread in the other... long may it last.”

“Overall and since the first remedy Libby’s condition has improved a lot. She only had a snotty nose twice within six months, and had only one day when she complained about earache, which resolved quickly. This is a big achievement I think, because before she had frequent colds and ear infections.”

This case is not a cured case. It is more like a snapshot of part of a young person’s healing journey that has begun a few months ago.

Libby’s story nevertheless is a success story. The success is in the fact that Libby returned to better health, physically and emotionally with the support of a homeopathic remedy every time her health got knocked of track. Life does deliver situations to us that challenge our equilibrium. That’s ok. This way we learn to get stronger and fine tune our capacities in all aspects of our being, e.g. in our body, our immune system, and our mental, emotional, and spiritual wisdom.

Health is not the absence of disease but the ability to find balance after falling ill, and becoming more resourceful on the way. Sometimes we might need help with bouncing back. Homeopathy can offer that ‘little helper’ in form of a remedy that is specific for the person and their symptoms, and that works alongside the body intelligence, and optimizes it’s innate self-healing powers.