REPERTORISING EXAMPLES - MENTALS GENERALS PARTICULARS = MGP (TOTALITY)

Here is a short imaginary case to illustrate repertorising ('totality' using MGP)

A man working as an executive in a large insurance company wants treatment because he is stressed out about forthcoming industry exams he has to take and it's affecting his health. Despite his position in the company he struggles to maintain his targets and wishes he could find something he likes better. He doesn't feel his life is fulfilling, in fact despite being financially secure he feels he is a failure and hasn't achieved what he imagined he would in life, and that he's in the wrong job and thinks it's too late to change. He's worried about his exams because he knows he tends to make more mistakes the more stressed he is; he gets words wrong, misspells them and muddles them up.

He is a sensitive person, was always ill as a child, gets irritable and upset easily, is generally anxious about his performance and feels the anxiety in his stomach and body. His doctor has told him his cholesterol is high so he's has to stop having eggs for breakfast which he had liked because he felt better after his usual breakfast. He feels full after eating very little, is worse from tight clothing, as is his stomach problem he now has.

Since worrying about his exams he has a trembly feeling in his stomach with lots of noises which he describes as swashing and churning. He gets heartburn and a lump sensation in his stomach after eating and a taste of rotten eggs and he sweats a lot, especially after eating. He finds that his stomach pains that extend down to his abdomen are helped by sitting in the armchair with his legs up to his chest. He does very little exercise and spends most of his working life sitting at a desk and rest time sitting in front of the TV, but finds that a good walk improves his digestion

When repertorising (using the repertory) to work out the remedy, one of the most common methods is to differentiate symptoms into the categories: Mentals / Generals / Particulars

Mentals are all those symptoms pertaining to the mind; emotions, thoughts, dreams, delusions etc.

Generals are all those symptoms that are general, e.g. nature of pains, sides, environmental influences, times etc.

Particulars are the remaining symptoms that are specific and not in the other categories.

Looking in the repertory we can find the following headings (rubrics) relating to the case above. After each heading are the number of remedies found to have that symptom (remedies not included below to save space;see here for the same rubrics with remedies).

MENTALS

MIND; ANTICIPATION; general; examination, before (SRI-53) (12)
MIND; CONFIDENCE; want of self; failure, feels himself a (SRI-159) (6)
MIND; MISTAKES, makes; calculating, in (K66, SRI-745, G52) (23)
MIND; MISTAKES, makes; spelling, in (K66, SRI-748, G53) (30)
MIND; MISTAKES, makes; writing, in (K67, SRI-750, G53) (106)
MIND; MISTAKES, makes; writing, in; confounding letters (K67, SRI-751, G53) (3)
MIND; MISTAKES, makes; writing, in; repeating words (K67, SRI-752, G53) (6)
MIND; MISTAKES, makes; writing, in; transposing; letters (K67, SRI-752, G53) (12)

GENERALS

GENERALITIES; ANXIETY, general physical (K1345, SRII-35, G1110) (104)
GENERALITIES; BREAKFAST; amel. after (K1346, SRII-49, G1111) (61)
GENERALITIES; CHOLESTEROL increased (10)
GENERALITIES; CLOTHING; pressure of; agg. (44)
GENERALITIES; DELICATE, tender, sickly, easily enervated (31)
GENERALITIES; DOUBLING up the body (SRII-157) (32)
GENERALITIES; PAIN; general; extending; downward (SRII-403) (113)
GENERALITIES; SEDENTARY habits agg. (SRII-572) (25)

PARTICULARS

STOMACH; TREMBLING (K530, G452) (52)
STOMACH; NOISES; churning (1)
STOMACH; NOISES; swashing (K527, G449) (9)
STOMACH; FULLNESS; eating; agg.; after; ever so little (K498, G425) (39)
STOMACH; HEARTBURN; eating; agg.; after (K500, G426) (30)
STOMACH; LUMP sensation (K504, G429) (64)
TASTE; EGGS, like rotten (K423, G359) (39)
PERSPIRATION; EATING; agg.; after (K1297, G1070) (43)

By cross referencing the above rubrics with each other we find that some remedies are represented more often than others. Using a computer to repertorise (speeds the process up) reveals the graph below. Those remedies that come out highest are then further studied in the Matera Medica, although the homeopath will already have a good knowledge of most remedies, especially the polychrests.