“Neat freak”, “anal” are just some of the words that are used to describe people that can not rest until everything is “just right”. Unfortunately, these people never rest because it is impossible to have everything just right. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a medical term that is frequently used to describe this particular type of behavior. OCD is a medical condition that encompasses a wide variety of things.
When I first saw Jackie a year ago she came in complaining of severe panic attacks that sent her to the emergency department at least once a month because she feared she was going to die from a heart attack. Although, we were able to cure her of her panic attacks she still had a lot of underlying anxiety. It was not until two months ago that she confided in me as to just how bad she felt. In her words,” I am driving my family nuts. I am constantly thinking that everything has to be perfect. Plus, I constantly worry that something horrible has happened. I am continually worrying”.
After some further questioning I decided that the first constitutional remedy did not really treat her core fears that was causing her anxiety. I gave her a different constitutional remedy – Pulsatilla.
When I saw last week she commented that, “I am not obsessing at all. We had my husband family -which I can not stand- and I was not crazy. I am not always freaking out about things being spotless. Another example is I took my kids to see Hana Montana. Normally, I would have to prepare myself for weeks to go see it. Plus it would have been hard to stay in a hotel. I would imagine that it is going to catch on fire or that there was going to be a shooting. I would worry about dumb non-realistic stuff.
Because I was not preoccupied with all these fears we had a great time. I Can feel a huge difference. My husband wants to hug you.
Two months into the remedy Jackie is not completely cured – yet. I know because as I was walking by the acupuncture room she was tidying it up folding the scarf and straightening the sheets on the table. No one does that!
Terry Pfau DO, HMD