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Pulsatilla: Neediness for Attention
Copyright by Luc De Schepper, MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac
from his book, "The People's Repertory". Reprinted by permission.

Have you ever seen a windflower in your garden? I remember seeing one in the yard of one of my students. It was a calm, windless day. Nothing moved except the little windflower: it was swaying from one side to another, like a pendulum. Keep that image in your mind and you will know what a Pulsatilla person stands for. Indeed, changeability is Pulsatilla's great characteristic.

You can also call it irresolution: Pulsatilla can't make up her mind, whether choosing from a menu (more than one waiter has thought about committing hara-kiri· because that sweet little Pulsatilla keeps on changing her main course) or when confronted with the 31 different flavors at a Baskin Robbins ice cream store. When a Pulsatilla buys some apples, she has to handle thirty of them before choosing the two she needs.

Note: I have referred mainly to she in talking about Phos­phorus, Pulsatilla, Nat mur and Sepia, and mainly to he in discussing Sulphur, based on the predominance of the gender for each type. But this does not exclude the opposite sex from being any of these types. A Calc. carbo is equally likely to be male or female. We rarely see adult men who are Pulsatillas, but little boys who cling to their mothers can be.

And talk about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-there is no better example than Pulsatilla. She has the uncanny ability to switch from one mood to the complete opposite within five minutes. Tears al­ways seem to be present when needed for sympathy or attention, but the rainbow of smile and laughter always follows the rain.

It is hard to be angry at a little Pulsatilla child.

She is sweet, always ready to help mummy in the kitchen, and constantly asking for approval from her mother. This is easily seen on a visit to the doctor. Ask her a question directly, and she will turn her head to mummy to make sure she gives the right answer. Or she may say, "You tell the doctor, mummy."

There is a sweetness and shyness about them, but don't be fooled. They have figured out at a very young age that you catch more flies with sugar than vinegar. Looking pretty, with such sweet behavior, dressed in their little dresses and sailor costumes, they can put a spell on you when you meet them. Hugs and kisses are demanded and given in equal amounts: who could ever say no to such a little princess?

Behind this smoke screen, though, there is a great hidden motive. They want constant attention; in fact there is no amount of love sufficient to fill the bottomless pit. Pulsatillas constantly demand proof of love. Comes the first day of school, they are a terror. They break their mother's heart with their piercing screams as they absolutely refuse to let go of mummy's hand, and the tortured mother is haunted by the screams of her sweet little princess as she leaves the school building.

For a Pulsatilla, this is sheer abandonment. "You don't love me anymore," they say. But once they adjust· to the class, and especially if the teacher is gentle and pays attention to them, they love school. They become the teacher's pet, always ready to help. To the dismay of the Sulphurs and Phos­phoruses, they are the ones reminding the teacher that she forgot to give homework.

Imagine how upset a Pulsatilla is when a younger sibling is born. This is the greatest threat to their source of love: mom. All of a sudden their mother must pay attention to a little creature and Pulsatilla feels so abandoned. She refuses to visit mom in the hospital and does not want to kiss the new baby. If she can, she will pinch or hit the baby when no one is looking, or simply smack the door in the face of a younger sibling when he toddles innocently into the room. And of course, Pulsatilla will deny all of this.

If that does not work, there is the ultimate revenge. If mummy pays attention to a baby, she will resort to baby behavior. All of a sudden she wets her bed again, after being potty trained for the last three years. All of a sudden she loses her ability to dress herself. "Mummy, you help me put on this dress." No other child sucks on their thumb Ionger than a PulsatIlla. And if the baby's diaper gets changed, she wants something to be done for her, too. This jealous behavior is always towards the younger sibling, not the older one.

When a Pulsatilla gets angry at mummy and storms into her room, she makes sure not to lock that door. She expects that mom is going to run after her, to take her into her arms and profess her deep love for her. Attention, attention-that's all she wants. When mom and dad are involved in a conversation, she keeps interrupting because she feels so excluded, and therefore abandoned. It is as if all the energy of a Pulsatilla is aimed at conquering love and attention.

Not all Pulsatillas are little girls. A little four­year-old boy told me in the office that "I sold my bed to my Dad, so I can sleep with Mummy." I will never forget that little smile on his face: triumphant and sweet as he had finally achieved his biggest victory. Indeed Dad slept in his bed surrounded by the teddy bears, while my Pulsatilla boy was holding Mom's hand in bed.

This refusal to grow up is easily seen at puberty when Pulsatilla is a great remedy to help the moody, insecure girl to grow up. If your teenager has been grumpy, confused, hostile and insecure since her first menstrual cycle she needs Pulsatilla.

As Pulsatillas finally decide to grow up, though, they make excellent partners. A Pulsatilla person is not an intellectual or very cerebral person. Their prettiness and non-threatening behavior lets the husband feel strong, as if he is always in command. "You decide for us, sweetheart," she says, when it comes to going on vacation. The poor husband thinks he is always in control-yet upon reflection, at the end of his life, he would see that his Pulsatilla wife always got her little wish in her own subtle way.

But she brings much happiness to her husband as she does not need an exciting life. Pulsatillas just adore babies, who they consider their little dolls, fussing over them and running to the doctor at the first sign of a cough. They always keep a certain childish image, easily seen in the way they dress or the way they talk to their dog or baby.

A Pulsatilla is not shy about discussing her medical history in front of people; in fact she is the first one in a homeopathy class to volunteer to come forward. And she loves group counseling rather than a one-on-one session, as she prefers to get consolation from many people. One of my patients complained about woman (a Pulsatilla!) who kept interrupting a group session by constantly bursting into tears, so that everyone .had to come and hug her. Twenty-some interruptions later, the sympathy of the other patients was watered down quite a bit, which Mrs. Pulsatilla could not understand.

If you succeed in giving Pulsatilla to your young Pulsatilla child, you will do yourself and your child a great favor. You will find peace of mind, since not every moment of your life will have to be dedicated to her, and she will accept attention and love in a more balanced way. Good luck!

A Pulsatilla person is likely to need these acute remedies:

• Children with a Pulsatilla personality are likely to come down with ailments that respond well to Pulsatilla acutely: ear infections, fever without thirst, hay fever.

• A typical Pulsatilla ear infection can be right or left-sided, or both; acute pains starting and stopping; and a variable discharge of yellow or white pus.

• A little Pulsatilla girl may have a vaginal discharge that is creamy or constantly changing. (Changeability of symptoms is typical of Pulsatilla on the physical plane as are moodiness and indecisiveness on the emotional and mental planes.)

In their needy emotional state, Pulsatillas are likely to suffer from real or imaginary ailments to get attention, like the little Pulsatilla girl who complains of a tummy ache so she can stay home with mommy instead of going to school. Since Pulsatilla is a great remedy for digestive disorders, Pulsatilla will relieve her tummy ache, if it indeed exists, and in any case will help her to grow a little more independent of her mother.

Another wonderful acute remedy associated with Pulsatilla is Kali bich, stuffed up noses. Remember, 'If it sticks, it's Kali bich!'" referring to the thick, ropy, green, stringy mucus. Pulsatilla itself can be a great remedy for sinusitis and sinus headaches, especially when the sense of smell is totally gone because of stuffiness.

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