To uncover these subconscious mental trends ask if the patient dreams much and the nature of his dreams of business, excitement, fire, emotional or erotic things, etc. Some drift momentarily, from one thing to another, with no definite ideas. The strength of mind is a great factor. These symptom pictures can usually be put into categories, states of exaltation or excitement, and states of depression. All disease pictures one or the other and it is quite important to make up your mind to which class the patient belongs.
All remedies are primarily either depressive or exaltative in nature.
One rarely thinks of Aconite in a depressive state except, perhaps, in acute collapse or of Phosphoric acid in a state of excitement. The division of all remedies into these two broad classes is of immeasurable help in prescribing. It now behoves us to examine the rest of the patient's body. Often I have done all the above only to discover on close examination of the body something to upset my whole conclusion, an immense wart, a tendency to discoloration, etc., etc. Such observations often put an entirely new interpretation on the symptom picture obtained up to this points.