He felt a great deal of buried hostility toward her. He felt she had abandoned him and his daughter. "She made me feel like there was something wrong with me." His anger was turned inward. It was hard for George to realize that he was angry and what he was mad about. He blamed himself for everything.

George also felt guilty during his teens about masturbation-which he considered to be "secret sin" at the time. He masturbated from an early age. At times he had been very religious, or had rebelled, but he had always sought a spiritual connection and a loving relationship.

George was angry at his birth father, who had abandoned him soon after he was born. He felt that his father didn't love him, and he was never able to bond with his stepfather. He felt lonely as a teen, never quite fitting in.

When asked about dreams, George related one about a "rat man" growing out of his groin from an embryro. This was related to a movie he had seen in which a man had to face his deep fear of rats. George's deepest fear was castration or genital mutilation. It was the worst thing he could imagine.

George's scrotum was still inflamed, dry and flaky (2). His penis was discolored in a ring behind the glans. Whether sex would make his symptoms worse was a big issue for George, and he mostly avoided it, or used a condom to prevent excess irritation. His sexual anxieties were eased somewhat by his girlfriend's supportive stance.

George desired salty food (1), and had an aversion to eating too much meat.. He avoided red meat. Alcohol made his nose and penis numb. His hands and feet were chilly. He slept on his back or left side. He also complained of anal itching (2), at night or in the morning.

Study the case. Then turn to page __ for the follow-up and case discussion.

The focus in George's case is more on the emotional level than on his actual physical symptoms. Although his scrotal irritation was not so severe at the time of the first visit, his anxiety about his symptoms was. The significant inflammation in the past made him worry about having sex in the present. He feared that his symptoms would only become worse.

We gave George a single dose of Staphysagria 200C. We assessed that his main issues were anxiety, guilt and suppressed anger, with a strong genital focus. His genitals seemed to respond like a red flag, his body waving it at him to alert him to the anger, guilt and self-reproach within. George was mild and soft-spoken, and it was difficult for him to express what he really felt inside. He tended to hold it all in. The state of his genitals reflected the intensity of his inner state.

The Staphysagria state centers on the issues of humiliation, indignation and suppressed anger, often with a relationship or sexual focus. People who need this remedy often have strong sexual desire from childhood, resulting in early masturbation. It is difficult for them to express their sexuality, resulting in a submissive approach to sex or using fantasies as a substitute for sex. Staphysagria patients have a lot of difficulty with emotional expression in general, presenting a sweet or pleasing demeanor outwardly, but inwardly feeling anger, grief and indignation. It is difficult for them to stand up for themselves and confront someone who has angered or insulted them. There is a tendency to turn anger inward, feeling guilt or self-criticism instead.