The Anxiety Attacks
Picturing an Aconitum individual with the intense fears, pounding tachycardias, arrhythmias, or other intense symptoms, one might expect to see a plethoric and intensely communicative patient in the consulting room, but this is not the case. When he is not in a crisis situation, he will be calm and quiet. He will appear fairly normal. Even his descriptions of the crises will not be very intense. However when the crisis comes, the violent intensity, panic, and fear surface to an unbelievable degree.
These sudden attacks of anxiety are of such an intensity and so overwhelming that they normally cannot be controlled at all. They are like a storm coming on, a storm which overcomes the psyche and produces a terrible state of panic-stricken fear. But despite their anxiety these patients will still try to control their fears, and if their efforts are successful a kind of internal trembling and shaking occurs sometimes, invisible to others. In this situation, even during the crisis, it is not necessary to see the patient restlessly running around or tossing about – it may be enough to perceive the sense of agony and despair exuding from such patients to prescribe this remedy.
Chronic Aconitum conditions are typified by intense exacerbations interspersed with completely normal intervals. It is as if Aconitum cannot go on having attacks all the time because the attacks are too strong, too terrifying for the patient to survive a constant onslaught.
The anxiety state of Aconitum can be reflected in many symptoms/syndromes. Here are some examples:
Flickering before vision makes him anxious on the street, he thinks he constantly jostles the passersby.
He needs to press his heart and at the same time breathe deeply because he is afraid his heart will explode.
Inconsolable anxiety, sad wailing; peevish and impatient.
Anxiety is transiently ameliorated by drinking cold water; followed by apathy; with cold sweat.
Anxiety as though a great misfortune would happen to him.
Increased anxiety, followed by total apathy.
Anxiety which does not allow him to remain in one place, he must constantly walk about.