Betrayal
There is no shortage of books and movies about betrayal. These are the plots that make us gasp out loud at the audacity of the baddies or weep for the wrong that has been done to someone. The Fugitive, Oppenheimer, The Beach (the book was much better), Au Revoir les Enfants, The Kite Runner, Julius Caesar (and many other Shakespeare plays)… spy movies and gangster movies all seem to have some level of betrayal in them. Heck, probably most popular fiction and movies portray disloyalty, backstabbing, treachery, treason and unfaithfulness.
There is a reason why betrayals make for great novels and movie plots and that’s because we have all experienced it at some point in time and we can all empathize with what we’re seeing/reading.
In a movie or book, sometimes we can see it coming. In real life… Boom! We never see it coming; even if we saw it coming in hindsight, we never see it before it’s there.
Betrayals are sometimes big and clear cut, like an extramarital affair and sometimes they are little, like promises broken to a child. Even if it seems like “nothing” from the outside, it can sit heavily on the one who feels they were betrayed. It's not unusual to carry that heavy weight along with them for years.
How can homeopathy help? Well, let’s look at the results for someone who feels betrayed.
Children may display their effects through anxiety, depression, anger, nightmares or even physical pain like stomach aches.
Betrayed adults may suffer from intrusive thoughts or anger or sadness, even deep depression, and, adults, too, may find their feelings translated into physical symptoms like stomach pain or insomnia.
The long and the short of it is, however, these effects can stick around for a long time and homeopathy can help clear out this unpleasantness. (Since the reaction to a betrayal is so individual, I highly suggest working with a professional homeopath so your specific symptoms can be addressed properly.)
Nat mur comes to mind because ultimately what is often experienced after such an experience is sadness. I’ve written a few times about Nat mur and sadness: Happy Pills, Musical Resonance, The Big Goodbye.
Pulsatilla is another remedy that sounds about right. Pulsatilla is known for feeling forsaken and being betrayed certainly falls under the definition of forsaken: to be or feel abandoned.
Calvin Knerr’s Repertory of Hering’s Guiding Symptoms lists: "as if slapped in the face." That sounds about right, too. Pulsatilla is the only remedy listed in that rubric.
Ailments from being alone. Exaggerated anxiety with palpitations or anxiety felt in the stomach. Depression and apathy. Beside oneself. Desires to be carried or caressed. Clinging behavior. A strong need for company and if that company offers consolation, they find that very helpful. (This desire for consolation and company is the opposite to Nat mur, fyi.) Crying makes them feel better and they may feel like crying all the time. Loneliness. Feelings of mourning.
Ailments from being deceived and feeling dejected.
Ailments from disappointments.
Ailments from grief.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross talks about the five stages of grief, DABDA: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance. Pulsatilla is a bold-type remedy for bargaining.
The betrayal doesn’t have to be fresh. Homeopathic remedies can help clear out old icky feelings, too.
Life is too short to stay focused on the bad. Try homeopathy and see if it can help you re-focus on the good.
Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath
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