Will homeopathic Ambra Grisea relieve fear of public speaking?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I doubt it. It is diluted so much that any effect likely is a placebo.

 

There is a web page from Rachel Riches Homeopathy from June 28, 2020 titled Anticipatory anxiety? Homeopathy can help in which she listed Ambra Grisea second of five remedies and also listed three others I long ago have blogged about: Argentum Nitricum, Gelsemium, and Lycopodium. She says for intense emotional feelings to select a potency of 200C. Her description begins:

 

“Those needing this remedy are shy and sensitive and generally quite introverted. They feel their emotions strongly and find it very difficult to express how they feel. So any upcoming situations which require performing or speaking in front of people such as an interview, a talk, oral exam can be incredibly difficult.”  

 

A second article from Geeta Hansaria at Thrive in on May 14, 2019 titled These homeopathic remedies can help you overcome social anxiety also mentioned Ambra Grisea, as did a third article by Vikas Sharma at DRHomeo titled Best homeopathic medicines for social phobia. Neither of these articles stated what potency should be taken though. A fourth article at Anxietytesting.com titled All about homeopathy for anxiety said 6C and 30C potencies were best and most widely available for minor complaints and that Ambra Grisea was used for:

 

“Anticipatory anxiety in those who are shy and easily embarrassed. Dreads the pressure of performing in front of others – at an interview, oral exam, social event, etc.”

 

 What the heck is Ambra Grisea? It’s just a fancy Latin name for ambergris (see the Wikipedia article), which my copy of Hawley’s Condensed Chemical Dictionary more briefly describes as:

 

“A waxy, opaque mass containing 80% cholesterol formed in the intestinal tract of the sperm whale and found on beaches or afloat on the ocean.”

 

And what do those potencies of 6C, 30C and 200C mean? The Wikipedia article about Homeopathic dilutions explains that 6C potency is a miniscule ratio of ten to the minus twelfth power, or in Parts-per Notation one part-per-trillion (1 in 1,000,000,000,000). A 30C potency is a ratio of ten to the minus 60 power, and 200C is a ludicrous ten to the minus 400 power. Even at the 6C potency there would only be an absurdly tiny amount of ambergris in the remedy.

 

I looked at the Pubmed  and PubmedCentral medical databases to see if there were any articles with research to back up use of homeopathic ambra grisea or ambergris but found none. I did find mention of ambergris in an article by Paula De Vos in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology for October 28, 2010 titled European Materia Medica in Historical Texts: Longevity of a Tradition and Implications for Future Use.

 

Where did the connection of this homeopathic remedy and the symptoms come from? On the web you can find a page from the Materia Medica produced by William Boericke 1849 – 1929 (or the whole 1922 book at the Internet Archive). Under the heading of Mind it says:

 

“Dread of people, and desire to be alone. Cannot do anything in presence of others. Intensely shy, blushes easily. Music causes weeping. Despair, loathing of life. Fantastic illusions. Bashful. Loss of love of life. Restless, excited, very loquacious. Time passes slowly. Thinking difficult in the morning with old people. Dwells on unpleasant things.”

 

Under the heading of Urinary it has another truly awful set of symptoms. If you prefer a more recent (and even more bizarre) discussion of symptoms, then you can read a web page from another Materia Medica by George Vithoulkas at the International Academy of Classical Homeopathy.

 

A drawing of a sperm whale came from Pearson Scott Foresman at Wikimedia Commons.