Abstract: Aggression in adolescents are a cause of concern in many families since managing them becomes difficult is such situations. This article aims at describing aggression and how to manage it effectively. Since homoeopathy is a system where person as a whole is considered for treating a condition and not just symptomatic relief is sought for, effective management of aggression can be done with the help of it.
Introduction
Aggression is defined as a range of behavior which results in both physical and psychological harm to oneself, others or objects in the environment1.
Aggression is an act committed, with harm as intention. So any harm caused accidentally is not considered as an act of aggression.
Aggression has to be differentiated from anger. Anger is an emotion felt by an individual in response to an unfavorable situation to them. An individual, while being angry, can stay angry without acting out. If the individual acts out, it leads to aggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior can range from least harmful to most harmful. When the behavior is most harmful, it is labelled as violence. Violence is manifested by extreme physical harm, such as injury or death.
Adolescence is the phase of human life ranging from 10 to 19 years of age. During this phase, they go through a lot of changes in physical and psychological level. Along with the changes, they are also confused about their role and as to where they stand in the society and trying to make a place for themselves in the society. All these factors leads to outburst of aggression in some adolescents, not knowing exactly how to vent or channelize their confusion. They exhibit aggression along with their rebellious behavior.
Sometimes aggression in adolescents can turn into violence. Hence it is better to give them their space until they have calmed down, it is better to talk to them about what has happened.
Aggression stems from interplay of various factors including- cognition, situational factors and personal characteristics. This can be prevented or reduced through some useful techniques which include following:
- Punishment: Even as a part of legislature, aggression leading to a social behaviors with aversive consequences are subjected to various punishments so that people are discouraged to perform such actions with fear of punishment. Hence if the fear of punishment can be instilled in an appropriate ways in adolescents, aggressive behaviors can be brought under control.
- Self regulation: Self-regulation is really important in order to stop doing things, we believe are not right for us. Similarly, it takes self-control to stop oneself from causing harm towards a person who has wronged them. Aggression is a result of loss of capacity of self-regulation. Adolescents should be helped in building self regulation in such situations.
- Positive self talk: The words we say to ourselves are really powerful and it can influence the way we think and feel about things and situations. If they learn to use the help of positive self talks such as “you can over cone this”, “lets calm down” etc., can be really helpful.
- Forgiveness: Learning to forgive people who have angered them can help them give up the impulse of behaving in an aggressive manner.
Homoeopathic Management:
Aggression leading to violence is grouped under syco- syphilitic miasm
Sycosis:
- Cruelty, mostly in the form of mental tortures, lack of affection, rudeness and vexation are all present in sycosis.
- Anger from trifles may lead to physical assault.
- The sycosis patient tries to hurt others emotionally.
- Behaviour- Quarrelsome, rude, mean- minded
Syphilitic:
- Urge for destruction
- Behaviour- destructive and voilent in behaviour
Aggression has been represented in rubrics in various repertories too. Below are examples of rubrics which can be included for repertorisation are taken from J T Kent’s Repertory of the homoeopathic materia medica and Synthetic Repertory
J T Kent. Repertory of the homoeopathic materia medica:
Anger- Voilent
- Acon, Anac, Aur, Cham, Hep, Nit-ac, Nux-v, Staph, Tarent
- Apis, Ars, Bry, Calc, Carb-v, Graph, Lyc, Petr
- Bar-c, Bell, Cahin, Carb- s, Coff, Ferr, Ferr-p, Grat, Hyos, Ign, Kali-I, Nat-m, Pall, Phos, Sep, Sulph, Verat, Zinc
Rage, fury:
3- Agar, Bell, Canth, Hyos, Lac-c, Lyc, Mosch, Op, Stram, Verat
2- Acon, Aeth, Anac, Arn, Ars, Camph, Carb-s, Colch, Cupr, Hell, Lach, Merc, Nat-m, Nit-ac, Phos, Puls, Sec, Sol-n, Sulph, Tab
1- Alumn, Ant-t, Arg-n, Bar-c, Bry, Bufo, Calc, Cann-i, Cann-s, Cham, Chel, Chin, Chin-s, Cic, Cimic, Cina, Coloc, Cori-I, Coroc, Crot-h, Dig, Dros, Dulc, Fl-ac, Glon, Graph, Hep, Hyper, Jatr, Kali-c, Lob, Nux-m, Oena, Par, Plb, Ruta, Sabad, Seneg, Sul-ac, Tarent, Vip, Zinc
Voilent
3- Aur, Bell, Cic, Hyos, Nux-v, Stram
2- Anac, Bry, Carb-s, Carb-v, Cham, Kali-p, Led, Lyc, Nat-m, Petr, Phos, Sep, Sulph, Tarent, Verat, Visc
1- Abro, Acon, Aesc, Ambr, Am-c, Ang, Apis, Arn, Ars, Bar-c, Bor, Calc, Calc-p, Camph, Canth, Caust, Coloc, Corn, Coroc, Croc, Cupr, Dros, Dulc, Ferrr, Graph, Hep, KAli-c, Lach, Mang, Merc, MErl, Mez, Mosch, Nat-c, Nit-ac, Olnd, Plat, Ran-b, Sabad, Seneg, Stann, Stront
Other rubrics whenever these symptoms are present, can be helpful in repertorisation include:
Cursing
3- Anac, Nit ac
2- Ars, Hyos, Lac-c, Lil-t, Lyc, Nux-v, Tub, Verat
1 Aloe, Am-c, Bell, Bor, Bov, Cann-I, Canth, Cor-r, Gal-ac, Ip, Lyss, Nat-m, Oena, Op, Pall, Petr. Plb, Puls, Stram
Destructiveness
- Bell, Camph, Cupr, Hyos, Stram, Tarent, Tub, Verat
- Agar, Anan, Apis, Bufo, Calc, Canth, Carb-s, Cur, Hura, Lach, Laur, Merc-I-f, Mosch, Op, Phos, Plat, Plb, Sol-t-ae, Staph, Stront, Sulph,
Fights wants to
- Bell, Bov, Hipp, Hyos, Merc, SEc
Quarrelsome:
3- Aur, Ign, Nux-v, Petr, Sulph, Tarent
2- Anac, Arn, Ars, Bell, Bov, Brom, Bry, Camph, Caust, Cham, Con, Croc, Cupr, Dulc, Hyos, Kali-c, Lach, Lyc, Merc, Mosch, Nat-c, Nat-m, Nit-ac, Ph-ac, Phos, Plat, Psor, Ran-b, Sep, Staph, Stram, Thuj, Verat, Verat-v
1- Acon, Agar, Alum, Ambr, Am-c, Anan, Ant-t, Aster, Bar-c, Bor, Calc, Calc-s, Canth, Caps, Cench, Chel, Chin, Cor-r, Crot-h, Dig, Elaps, Ferr, Ferr-ar, Fl-ac, Hipp, Ip, Kali-ar, Kali-I, Lepi, Lyss, Merl, Mez, Nat-a, Nat-s, Nicc, Olnd, Pall, Plb, Rat, Rheum, Ruta, Seneg, Spong, Stann, Stront, Sul-ac, Thea, Til, Viol-t, Zinc
Rashness
2- Aur
1- Caps, Meny, Puls
Synthetic Repertory:
Anger, Voilent
4- ACON, ANAC, AUR, CHAM, HEP, NIT-AC, STAPH, TARENT
3- Apis, Bry, calc, carb-v, caust, chel, croc, graph, hyos, kali-c, lyc, m-aust, meli, nat-m, petr, plat, sep, stann,
- Ambr, ars, aur-s, bar-c, bell, bor, cain, cann-s, carbn-s, cere-s, coff, cypr, dros, ferr, ferr-p, grat, ictod, ign, kali-chl, kali-I, led, lyss, mag-c, mag-s, mez, mosc, nat-s, olnd, pall, ph-ac, phos, seneg, sil, stram, strot-c, sulph, tell, verat, zinc, zinc-p
Rage, Fury
4- AGAR, BELL, CANTH, HYOS, LAC-C, LYC, MOSCH, OP, STRAM, VERAT
3- Acon, aeth, anac, arn, ars, atro, camph, carbn-s, colch, cupr, hell, lach, lol, merc, nat-m, nit-ac, phos, puls, sec, sol-n, sulph, tab
1- Bell, Canth, Hyos, Lac-c, Lyc, Mosch, Op, Stram, Verat
Acon-c, Agn, Alco, Alumn, Ant-t, Arg-m, Arg-n, Ars-s-f, Bar-c, Bufo, Calc, Cann-I, Cann-s, Cham, Chel, Chin, Chin-s, Cic, Cimic, Cina, Cocc, Colch, Coloc, Cori-r,
Croc, Crot-h, Cupr, Cyn-d, Dig, Dros, dulc, Eupi, Fl-ac, Glon, Graph, Hep, Hyper, Ign, Jatr, KAli-c, Lob, Meli, Nux-m, Nux-v, Oena, PAr, Petr, Ph-ac, Plb, Raja-s, Raphh, Ruta, Sabad, Seneg, Sep, Staph, Stry, Sul-ac, Sulo-ac, Tarent, Vip, Zinc
Some of the remedies which can be helpfull in effective management of aggression of adolescents include:
- Aurum met
- Becomes extremely irritable, easily angered, is worried about trifles and easily excited, Every little things rouses them to anger and turmoil
- Melancholy, with inquietude and desire to die, suicidal
- Ill- humour and aversion to conversation
- Grumbling, quarrelsome
- Least contradiction excites the wrath
- Belladonna
- Furious, rages, bites, strikes, disinclined to talk
- Voilence runs all through the mental symptoms
- Patient is wild, striking, striking, biting, tearing things
- Mental states take the form of acute mania, when pateint will bite the spoon, bark like a dog, will do all sorts of voient things, even jump out of the window.
- Has to be restrained. Wants to do voilence.
- Chamomilla
- Impatient, intollerant of being spoken to. Spiteful, snappish. Complaints from anger, vexation
- They are sensitive to every impression, surroundings and persons
- Sensitiveness of mind. Great irritability
- Loss of generosity has no consideration for the feelings of anybody.
- Complaints come from contradiction, anger.
- Nux vomica
- Nervous, irritable, sensitive to all impressions, Does not want to be touched,
- Faultfinding
- Oversensitiveness, irritable
- They are never contended, never satisfied, disturbed by their surroundings, and they become irritable, so that they want to tear things, to scold
- Impulses are strongly marked sometimes which is intermingeled with voilent temper, and cannot be contradicted.
- Driven by impulses to commit acts that verge upon insanity- the destruction of others
- Staphysagria
- Very sensitive about what others say about them
- Excitible, easily aroused to anger, but seldom irascible, that is, easily disturbed and excited, but seldom manifests it.
- Suitable in cases where complaints come from pent up wrath, suppressed anger, suppressed feelings.
- Person becomes speechless from suppressed indignation, anger with indignation
- Needs the thrill of reckless and dangerpus antics to purge the tension that resulted from suppressing their anger. If they do not have this release, they are liable to lose their temper
- Tarentula
- Great irritability
- Frequently imagines that they have been insulted
- Constantly complaining and threatening
- Strikes head with hands, strikes own body, attenders, friends
- Voilence is the strong feature of this remedy
- Voilence with anger, tears clothing. Consolation causes weeping
- Desire to lie down in the dark and not to be talked to.
- Angered from contradiction
Summary:
Since homoeopathy is a natural, homlistic method of treatment, it aims at treating the person as a whole and hence the system is enriched with various medicines which can help in effective management of aggression in adolescents as evident from this article.
References:
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About Author:
Author:
Dr Archana Shetty
Assistant Professor
Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Yenepoya Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital
Yenepoya (Deemed to be University)
Manglore, Karnataka, India
