Belladonna Personality
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 2003 Jan / Feb VOL V NO 1.
Dr Ajit Kulkarni
'Bell

(Editor: This is a letter written by Dr.Ajit Kulkarni to Dr Pevnay Marina, Israel who asked for an Introduction to the personality of Bell. It is included here as it may prove useful to all of us. Bell is often used in the first stage and then Merc follows it well in some acute conditions. It is also a natural acute of Merc. Its relationshipo with Mercury is well known. This study may help us to understand how this close relationship came about and how the Bell personality can flow on quite easily to the Merc personality.)

While giving you some of my comments on Bell, as not only an acute drug useful in ‘stormy’ conditions, but a constitutional drug having chronicity, having a typical personality of its own, I would like to start at the outset what my preceptor/teacher Dr Tarkas (with whom I presented "A Select Homoeopathic MM" to the fraternity) said about range or plane of the medicines. He wrote "The concept of ‘range’ or ‘plane’ of the medicines is fictitious and does not exist in the medicines in essence, at least not in all medicines. At best it is ‘go-cart’ for the novice; for the adept there are no such restrictions. Witness: Aco has cured chronic gallstone colic. Bell has cured renal calculi and inveterate eczema. Ars is as much an acute of Lach as Lach itself is of Ars. Acute and chronic are in many cases convenient symbols meant as crutches for our lame thought. But there should be no foisting them on medicines. Who are we to handicap the absolute sway of our medicines? Remember that the power of disease to derange is limited, while that of drug to cure is unlimited."
To add to above statements "It is the degree and level of similarity which determines the acute or chronic range of the remedy. If the essence of a case is well covered, a remedy can even cure a chronic case."

Bell Personality
There are two distinct personalities, but polar opposites. Bell presents a phase of
I) Stimulation/Constructive/Sweet Bell and
II) The opposite one: depression/destructive/wild Bell
The causes, which lead Bell to go from a normal phase to abnormal one, are:
Ambition, A F deceived
A F Grief
A F Love, disappointed.

We should study Bell with some original dispositions which it characterizes, so that we can understand how these causes lead towards furious/insane/wild behavior, causing a polar opposite. "Angel when well, devil when sick" as presented by several authors is reflective of dichotomy. Categorization of depressive phase can also be presented separately.
If we focus on some symptoms or rubrics, we get a clear portrait of both phases.

Rubrics concerning phase I:

Mirth		Active memory		Cheerful
	Exhilaration		Passionate
Singing		Active ideas		Happy
	Fantasies,		exaltation of ideas,
abundant		Desires light	Whistling
	Hyper acuteness of senses
Quiet disposition				Intellectual
Sensitive

Rubrics concerning phase-II:
Deceitful Extravagance Foolish behavior Hurried feelings Imbecility Idiocy. Bite, desire to. Kleptomania Irritability Laughing sardonic Eccentric Impulse set on fire to Insanity Obstinate Stubborn Offended easily, takes everything in bad part Rage, fury Restlessness Nymphomania Talk excessive Violent behavior Abusive Moral feelings, want of Tears things

The phase of depression can be categorized separately.
Rubrics Concerning The Phase of Depression:
Apathy, Taciturnity with desire for solitude and quietness, Anxiety with desire to flee, Timid, Absent minded, Gloomy, trifles about, Homesickness, Insanity, grief from, Loss of memory, Mistakes speaking in, < Moaning, Groaning, Quiet disposition, Suicidal depression, drowning by, hanging by, poisoning by, throwing himself from a height. Tranquility, serenity, Weary of life, Brooding. Confidence lack of Confusion, No self- esteem, Company loathing, Morose and serious.

Transitional phases and evolution:
Childhood
Born oversensitive
There is hyper acuteness of senses.
Intelligent, yet credulous.
The child is hence aware of the surroundings and takes an active role. Attention seeking, cheerful, mirthful.
Also fearful, hence hides.
Hyperactive child; hurried in movements, while eating or drinking
Healthy state: Child presents a normal pattern, but a discernible physician recognizes obstinacy and potential of destruction.
When sick: Tossing, restless, agitated, violent, vehement, rage, rudeness, cursing, striking himself, knocking his head against the wall and things. Disposition to bite, kick and tear things
Bell child enjoys school, extra-curricular activities and study. Being intelligent and active, he ranks in various activities. He likes dancing more. Some Bell children are timid and get easily frightened. Some Bell children can’t mix for long and they produce some problems like quarrelling, beating etc. They become violent and hit others. If the matter reaches home, Bell child is punished. This develops rage in his mind.

Adolescence Phase
The child retains the characters of childhood, but in addition we come across kleptomania and sexual indulgence. Deceitfulness, bad habits stamp. He uses his intelligence and energy in wrong direction. A ‘bad boy’. Uses techniques of manipulation. Can’t pull on with good people, with good advice. Childish behaviour. Capricious, eccentric and chaotic. < Consolation. Wants to behave independently. He will go by his own way. Irrelevant, incoherent, but pushing. Always doing something. Hurried; restless. Will not tolerate domination by others. May get influenced by others; credulous. Will follow a magnetic person without giving a thought; impractical. Mood changeable, at times cheerful or depressed, alternating states of mind; unpredictable; wants company or company aversion to. In school, he retains his rank owing to intelligence, but behavior eccentric. Dancing, music, art attract him and he is skilled in them. Interested in sports but can’t tolerate failure. Soon goes into rage, may be abusive against winners, friends or referees (like John Machenro) has proclivity for boxing or wrestling. Sees WWF like programmes, like to see violent movies.
Some Bell adolescents become criminal. If they are kept in jail, or in remand homes, instead of improving morally, they become amoral (moral feelings, want of: Bell3). Create a lot of problems for others.
Bell adolescents attract girls owing to their mirthful nature, intelligence and manipulation or deceitfulness. They speak a lie soon and if a girl doesn’t behave according to his wishes, she has to face the rage of Bell A girl has to deal with/adjust to mood swings. Bell love is not stable; it doesn’t last for long and soon ruptures. Bell searches for others, but sustains disappointment in love.
The expressions here more resemble Staph. Sensuality is a strong feature of Bell (as of Staph).
Inflammation at the level of mind expresses at body level through skin and other organs: congestion, hyperemia, redness, pains and swelling- all depict the theme of INFLAMMATION. Nerves on edge.

Adulthood
Bell has instability throughout life. He hurts others and invites failures. He has a lot of problems in work area. He can’t tolerate opposition and can’t control his anger. At the same time, he is ambitious and wants quick results (like Lach). His grasping is good, because of acuteness of senses and intelligence. We can term Bell as clever (sharp acute focus), but not mature (broad vision); hence he can’t take a proper decision; often the decisions are impulsive and not well grounded. This results in failures and he suffers from AF ambition, deceived. He is hurried in activities and does everything excessively; with this he shows anxiety, irritability and garrulity. Bell may engage in criminal activities.
Bell family life is usually unsuccessful. For others, difficult to pull on. Often quarrels occur. Extravagance adds to the fire. He will continue spending money even after failure in business. Mistrustful nature; can’t keep a stable inter-personal relationship.
Bell social life is a complex one. The psychopathic Bell deals aggressively in society. A man of fantastic ideas, jovial and entertaining, but with imaginations running fantastically. They are the good actors, but patchy in character ie they will act a role for a stipulated period. They are the best jokers like Cann-i. They can present the laughing as well as the weeping in a remarkable way, getting an applause from the others. Some Bell people are good outside, but at home they are problematic. Bell likes to play the antics and hence they are good at mimicry like Taren-h.

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