When Giving Turns to Resentment
- Lisa Rooney
- Oct 15
- 5 min read
The Sepia Story
In my practice, I often meet women who have given so much of themselves that they don’t even know where the exhaustion ends and where they begin.
Their nervous systems are stretched thin, their emotions are frayed, and they’re left wondering: Is it my marriage? My work? My childhood? My health? Or simply the way I’m living my life?
One of my clients arrived in this exact state. She was depleted to her bones. She told me she could no longer untangle whether it was her marriage, her work, her relationship with her father, her childhood, or just the relentless demands of her daily life that made her feel so dissatisfied.
As we worked together, we discovered layers that pointed back to Folliculinum - themes of lacking agency, of bending and yielding to fit into the lives and needs of others. She had raised her children outside the mainstream, poured herself into her family, and followed her husband’s path as he built a private law practice in his hometown, even though she longed to live elsewhere.
Now, as an empty nester, she felt completely depleted. And as her story unfolded, I began to recognize that what she was describing wasn’t just Folliculinum anymore.
It was Sepia.
Sepia and the Doctrine of Signatures
Sepia is prepared from the ink of the cuttlefish. In the ocean, the cuttlefish releases its dark cloud of ink when threatened, a defense mechanism that allows it to withdraw, protect itself, and create space.
How fitting that Sepia as a remedy mirrors this signature: women who feel overwhelmed, suffocated, and depleted will often push others away, creating an emotional “cloud” to protect themselves.
Their irritability, withdrawal, and desire to be left alone are their form of ink. Its a way to gain breathing room when life feels too demanding.
This image beautifully captures Sepia’s core: not cruelty, not disconnection for its own sake, but a desperate need for space when she has nothing left to give.
Sepia: The Burned-Out Caregiver
Sepia is one of the great remedies for women who have given until there is nothing left to give.
Keynotes of Sepia include:
Deep fatigue, especially from caregiving roles
Irritability and resentment toward loved ones
Desire to push spouse or children away
Loss of joy in roles once loved (motherhood, marriage, household tasks)
A strong aversion to intimacy or even being touched
Feeling trapped, suffocated, or disconnected from life
This was exactly what my client was experiencing. Once a devoted mother and supportive partner, she now found herself pushing everyone away. Her children were grown, but resentment still lingered in the air. She felt trapped in a marriage and a household dynamic that no longer nourished her. Even friendships were starting to fray under the weight of her irritability.
As Roger Morrison describes in his Desktop Guide to Keynotes and Confirmatory Symptoms:
“Sepia women feel dragged down by their roles. They are irritable, indifferent, and desire to escape, yet long for reconnection when balance is restored.”
This was her to the letter.
When the Little Things Become Too Much
Sepia often shows itself in the ordinary frustrations of life; the things that suddenly feel unbearable. Household tasks can feel like chains: laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning. What once felt like routine now feels suffocating.
I’ll admit, I recognize Sepia in myself, too.
One of my personal markers is when I start to feel irritated at the way my husband loads the dishwasher. As if it's a personal affront to my entire being as a woman.
He is one of the smartest men I know but I can’t help but notice the lack of “precision” when he puts the dishes in. Most days, I simply rearrange them and move on. But, when I start to actually feel resentful about it, that’s my Sepia signal. A few doses bring me back to balance.
For my client, it wasn’t just the dishwasher. It was everything her husband did. His presence, his habits, even the smallest gestures, all of it grated on her. That is Sepia speaking loudly.
When the Remedy Opens the Door
When she began Sepia, something shifted. It was as though the fog of depletion began to lift. She could breathe a little more deeply. The irritability lessened, and she started to see glimmers of possibility.
But as I often tell my clients, the remedy can only open the door. Walking through it is a process.
Old dynamics, ingrained patterns, and unresolved resentments don’t vanish overnight. This is why homeopathy, on its own, can sometimes feel incomplete.
For her, the coaching container became essential. It gave her a safe place to unpack what Sepia had stirred up. The remedy awakened her, but coaching helped her name it, understand it, and decide what to do with it.
The Role of Values Work
In her case, values work became an intricate part of the process. She had spent so long living for her family, her husband’s career, and the expectations of others that she had lost touch with what she truly wanted.
By getting clear on her core values, she was able to ask herself:
What really matters in my marriage?
What kind of connection do I want with my husband?
What is most important to me in this next stage of life?
For the first time in years, she could see her future not as a list of duties, but as a life she could shape with intention. Sepia had loosened the grip of resentment. Values work helped her step into clarity. Together, these shifts began to restore her sense of agency and joy.
Why Work With Me
The remedies can open the door, but they don’t walk you through it. That’s where my coaching and somatic work come in.
In my practice, I hold space for women like this client - women who feel like they’ve lost themselves in caregiving, who are trapped in resentment, who long for connection but don’t know how to get there.
Homeopathy awakens the healing force and points us back to balance.
Coaching creates awareness and helps us untangle the old patterns.
Values work clarifies what truly matters, providing a compass for decisions moving forward.
Somatic tools calm the nervous system so the body can receive change.
Together, this is how we move from depletion to renewal, from resentment to reconnection.
Because you don’t just deserve to survive your roles—you deserve to thrive in them, with joy and vitality restored.
✨ If this story resonates with you, know that you don’t have to stay stuck in depletion and resentment. Remedies like Sepia, combined with conscious coaching and values work, can help you find yourself again—and step back into life with balance and strength.
My approach is a combination of powerful life coaching, somatic healing techniques and the use of homeopathic remedies to help settle your nervous system while we are doing the deeper work of healing.
Disclaimer: Homeopathy doesn't "treat" an illness; it addresses the entire person as a matter of wholeness that is an educational process, not a medical one. Claims based on traditional homeopathic practice are not accepted as medical evidence and are not FDA evaluated. This is intended for educational purposes only.
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