The Girl who Swore, Spat, and Barked

Tornadoes terrified Janie, and, during storm season, she asked her mother every night if one was about to occur. Rain scared her, too; if it was raining, she called her mom from school to tell her to drive slowly. Janie also feared animals and had been bitten on the face by a dog at the age of three. Loud noises bothered Janie much more than the average child. She covered her ears if a loud truck rolled by and was wigged out by school fire drills, owing to the loudness of the bell. Her mother even had to provide her with earplugs when she went to a movie. She also had a habit of twisting her hair and chewing on furry clothing, such as velour. Janie’s mother also complained that she had never been a good sleeper. Her main physical problem was recurrent headaches.

Shortly after we began treating Janie, her parents decided to take her off the Wellbutrin and Imipramine, at which time her symptom picture became much clearer. Prior to taking the medications, she had manifested a strange phobia of reflections of shiny objects. Now it was much more extreme. Janie avoided eating at the dinner table unless all the lights were turned off because of the reflection of light off several pictures on a nearby coffee table. Her parents noticed that all of the other pictures they had placed on their coffee table had been turned around so that they were not reflective of light.

Several other habits were more intensified without the medications. Janie swore and spit with great frequency. She spat all over the floor and at her baby-sitter. Another strange quirk was Janie’s tendency to lick other people’s feet and arms. Her fear of dogs was even greater, and she had started to make a weird, barking sound if her mother became upset with her. She avoided holding cats for fear they might scratch her. Also more exaggerated was her dread of taking a bath. And now, when the lights in their swimming pool were illuminated, Janie ran out screaming, fearing that she would be sucked down the drain.

You may recall this little girl’s habit of feeling quite remorseful after her angry outbursts. Now she began to write letters of apology to her mom, perhaps twenty after each incident, in addition to her verbal apology. If her mother had not discouraged the excessive making up for these episodes, she surmised that the letters would be even more numerous. One last detail: Since we were certain which homeopathic medicine Janie needed, we inquired as to whether there had been any history of fascination with knives or with cutting herself or others. Her mom reported a wrestling match with a knife when she was three during which her mother was cut. There had been no more recurrences of this behavior.

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