HOMEOPATHY FOR CONDUCT DISORDER

Conduct disorder refers to a group of repetitive and persistent behavioral and emotional problems in youngsters. Children and adolescents with this disorder have great difficulty following rules, respecting the rights of others, showing empathy, and behaving in a socially acceptable way. They are often viewed by other children, adults and social agencies as ‘bad’ or delinquent, rather than mentally ill. Many factors may lead to a child developing conduct disorder, including brain damage, child abuse or neglect, genetic vulnerability, school failure, and traumatic life experiences.

Conduct disorder is characterized by a persistent and significant pattern of conduct, in which the basic rights of others are violated or rules of society are not followed. The diagnosis is only made when the conduct is far in excess of the routine mischief of children and adolescents. The onset occurs much before 18 years of age, usually even before puberty.

The disorder is much more (about 5-10 times) common in males. In United States of America, about 10% of all male children under the age of 18 have conduct disorder.

According to ICD-10, there are four types of conduct disorder.

·       Conduct disorder confined to the family context.

·       Unsocialized conduct disorder.

·       Socialized conduct disorder.

·       Oppositional defiant disorder.

Causes

The exact cause of conduct disorder is not known, but it is believed that a combination of biological, genetic, environmental, psychological, and social factors plays a role.

·       Biological: Some studies suggests that defects or injuries to certain areas of the brain can lead to behavior disorders. Conduct disorder has been linked to particular brain regions involved in regulating behavior, impulse control, and emotion. Conduct disorder symptoms may occur if nerve cell circuits along these brain regions do not work properly. Further, many children and teens with conduct disorder also have other mental illness, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disorders, depression, substance abuse, or an anxiety disorder, which may contribute to the symptoms of conduct disorder

·       Genetics: Many children and teens with conduct disorder have close family members with mental illness, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders and personality disorders. This suggests that a vulnerability to conduct disorder may be at least partially inherited.

·       Environmental: Factors such as dysfunctional family life, childhood abuse, traumatic experiences, a family history of substance abuse, and inconsistent discipline by parents may contribute to the development of conduct disorder.

·       Psychological: Some experts believe that conduct disorders can reflect problems with moral awareness (notably, lack of guilt and remorse) and deficits in cognitive processing.

·       Social: Low socioeconomic status and not being accepted by their peers appear to be risk factors for the development of conduct disorder.

Some of the factors that increase a child’s risk of developing conduct disorder include:

·       Parents who do not set limits on a child’s behavior

·       Parents who do not follow through with consequences for unacceptable behavior (for example, a parent may threaten to withdraw television for a night but then not follow through when the child’s behavior doesn’t change)

·       Lack of parental monitoring of a child’s or adolescent’s whereabouts

·       Unhappy family life with many arguments

·       Poverty

·       Large family

·       Aggressive parenting, particularly from the father

·       Marital conflict

·       Domestic violence

·       Parents with a mental health problem

·       Parents who are involved in law-breaking behavior

·       Child abuse

·       Living in an institutional care

Symptoms

·       Frequent lying

·       Stealing or robbery

·       Running away from home and school

·       Physical violence such as rape, fire-setting, assault or breaking-in, use of weapons.

·       Cruelty towards other people and animals

·       Refusal to obey parents and other authority figures

·       Tendency to use drugs, including tobacco and alcohol, at a very early age

·       Lack of empathy for others

·       Tendency to hang out in gangs

·       Learning difficulties

·       Low self-esteem

·       Suicidal tendencies

In the more common socialized type of conduct disorder, the person claims loyalty to his or her group. The unsocialized type is more serious disorder with usually a severe underlying psychopathology. Earlier, the patients with conduct disorder were called as juvenile delinquents.

Many patients of conduct disorder, especially socialized type, go on to improve markedly and may lead well adjusted lives. Some others, especially those with severe symptomatology, have a more chronic course and may be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder after 18 years of age.

In addition to the typical symptoms of conduct disorder, secondary complications often develop such as substance misuse or dependence, unwanted pregnancies, criminal record, suicidal or homicidal behavior.

Management

The treatment of conduct disorder is usually difficult. The most frequent mode of management is placement in a corrective institution, often after the child has had legal difficulties. Behavioral, educational, and psychotherapeutic measures are usually employed for the behavior modification.

Drug treatment may be needed in presence of epilepsy, hyperactivity, impulse control disorder and episodic aggressive behavior, and psychotic symptoms.

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES

ABROTANUM

Ill-natured, irritable and violent. Cross anxious and depressed. Exceedingly peevish, feels as if she would like to do something cruel, no humanity.

BELLADONNA

Impulsive. Furious. Rages, bites and strikes. Spits on faces of other persons. Acuteness of all senses. Changeable moods. Hallucinations, sees monsters and hideous faces. Fear of imaginary things, wants to run away from them.

CHAMOMILLA

Bad temper. Anger and quarrelsome. Sudden outbursts of anger because of contradiction or when the feelings are hurt.  Peevishness, ill-humor, anger with rage, violence and heat. Cannot bear to be looked at. Child wants many things which he refuses again. Complaints from anger, especially fever, convulsions, diarrhea and cough.

HYOSCYAMUS NIGER

Maniac, erotic, exposes genitals, sings amorous songs. Laughs, sings, talks, babbles, quarrels. Talkative, obscene, lascivious mania, uncovers body, jealous. Inclined to laugh at everything. Very suspicious. Restless, jumps out of bed, wants to escape. Rage with desire to strike, bite, fight insult, scold and to kill.

STRAMONIUM

Impulsive behavior. Tears clothes, curses and indulges in excessive screaming till the voice is lost. Desire light and company. Cannot bear to be alone. Worse in the dark and solitude. Cannot walk in a dark room.

SULPHUR

Very selfish, no regard for others. Religious melancholy. Imagining giving wrong things to people, causing their death. Irritable and depressed.

TARENTULA HISPANICA

Destructive impulses. Destructive, destroys whatever she can lay on hands on, tears her clothes etc. Throws things away. Angry with despair. Kleptomania. Sensitive to music.

TUBERCULINUM

Fits of violent temper, wants to fight, throws anything at anyone even without a cause. Desire to use foul language, curse and swear. Irritable. Every trifle irritates, worse awakening. Dissatisfied and restless, always want to change. Desire to travel, does not want to remain in one place long. Depressed. Contradictory behavior, changing moods. Fear of animals, especially dogs.