I want people to respect me more: a case of Blatta orientalis

Woman, 47 years old
Musician and dancer, tall and muscular. She is animated. She looks down at the floor while giving her case and glances upwards as she speaks.

Presenting complaint
“Since my daughter was born, I’ve been feeling breathless all the time. I had several medical examinations but no doctors could tell me what I had. I am very allergic to cleaning products like floor cleaners or bleach, they make me breathless.”

Dreams and Fears
“Cockroaches – and I am very scared of them in real life.
“Fighting with my mother – I wake up screaming.
“I used to wake up screaming when I was a kid if I dreamed of cockroaches. I hate cockroaches +++. Also spiders and flies, but cockroaches are worse. I don’t like to be in closed spaces nor in crowded ones.
"There is a dream that’s been repeating from time to time since I was a kid. I dream I have a house (that I don’t know in real life) and there are some bedrooms that I didn’t know before. The house is much bigger than I thought. Sometimes, it is a bit dirty and slummy but it’s very comfortable. There is one bedroom that looked like a dressing room full of mirrors and lights. This bedroom was hidden behind the kitchen.”

Family and Relating to Others
“I have severe problems with my parents. My father was always away and my mother was very difficult. My incompatibility with my mother got worse over the years. She irritates me and makes me angry. I thought my mother would be more human when my father died. She was not born to be a mother.”

Respect and Recognition
“I give too much to people but I’ve never had the credit for my great ideas.
I want to have more respect for me, and for my work, I want people to respect me more.
“I am talented but I never got the recognition I deserved. For example, I knew this guy who is now rich and famous doing the same stuff as me. I had a bit of recognition, but not like him. He is now famous!
“I would love to have more respect in my professional life.
“I'm arrogant but I pretend to be otherwise.
“I treat people equally, but it seems that the more arrogance one has, the more respect you get.
“I don’t belong in my home country any more. I'm free of my family here in UK. In England, people have more respect for each other.
“Feeling of not belonging or having a friend who thinks the same. I like like-minded groups of people.”

Winners and losers
“I feel no one wins in this life; you win one day and then lose the next day.
“Everyone is selfish, it’s all Facebook and 5 minutes of fame.
“Music these days is so aggressive, there is no sophistication. It’s all much too loud.
“There is so much rubbish around. Old films are better. I want to study cinema and arts.
“I wish I was more cynical.”

Active
“I like dancing+++ and the sound of stepping.
“I like aerobic exercise.
“I wanted to be like an Olympic gymnast.
“I love movement+++.”

Analysis
She is animated and excitable; she loves music and dance. She is competitive and envious of others’ success while she feels she is unrecognised. She feels cheated by others. Talking of other people as ‘humans’ suggests an animal remedy.

Key themes
Respect, recognition, arrogance, sophistication, dirty houses, problems with parents - especially her mother.

Repertorisation

 

She has many Insect remedy themes. The need for respect, her desire to be famous and recognised, feeling envious of those who are more famous and respected. She has the single symptom of Blatta, ‘Envy or jealousy to those venerated’.

 Remedy: Blatta orientalis 200 single dose 

Follow up one month later: “The night I took the remedy, I felt (I could almost visualise) my chest opening. It was a refreshing feeling as if there was some mint in there. It was a very strong sensation. After a week, I wasn't breathless any more. I was still feeling unbalanced but I’m much better. It is so nice to breathe again.”

Dreams
“Last night, I dreamed of cockroaches – they were dead in the living room and the floor was dirty, someone had killed them. Then, I actually saw a cockroach in my room!
“You need to know how to play the game of life. It’s important to have a mask – I need to wear it. I'm too exposed and don’t like it. Everyone knows what’s happening to me. I need to feel more secure and powerful. I want more stability.
“It is very hard to trust people, even my mum. My mum telephoned me, she asked nothing about me, she never does, it’s strange. I don’t want to turn into my mum with my own daughter. I read about a 12 year old boy who killed his step father.
“I've been polluting myself (too much smoking). I often vomit after yoga, not this time, I felt so good. Yoga is good for me; I go 3 or 4 times a week. It’s nice to breathe again.
“My remedy has been good for my partner. He is doing things, like going to the gym, taking care of himself.
I feel life is getting better. Before going to sleep, I imagine what I want to become. It’s good. I’m sleeping much better.”

Remedy: wait

The patient had two more doses of Blatta 200 over the year and is doing well. No more breathing problems.

Source
Blatta orientalis  (Indian cockroach)

Themes:
Social position – feels excluded, disrespected, unrecognised, treated like dirt
Feels belittled by other jealous people who are greedy for fame, money, property
Anger, irritability and rudeness to family members or loved ones, even to hatred
Desire to be sophisticated, polished, cool, organised, attractive, talented
Feel suffocated (psychologically & physically)
Love travel and being pampered

Position in Society

Disgust & Dirt

Family & Friends

Summary of Insect themes
Restless, always busy, workaholic / stupor & sleepiness
Rage and anger – feels picked on

Social Position – how can I be noticed, recognised, respected?
Place in society, individual vs group or family, living together
Highly sensitive to their environment (allergic reactions, acute senses)
Numbness, paralysis
Organised / chaotic
One sided or alternating sides
Pregnancy / Early sexual maturity / Puberty aggravates – useful in children
Restless, Speedy, Activity, Sports, Running, Dancing, Gymnastics
High sexual desire, mania, obsessive, or lack of personal contact, lack of intimacy
‘Touchy’ Worse for touch, oversensitive to being touched
Constriction, Constricting sensations, Crushed
Suffocation, Constriction, Breathing, Allergic reactions
Burning, cutting, stabbing pains
Acute manifestations, violent inflammations (especially meningitis)
Affinity: Brain, skin, sexual, bladder, urinary symptoms
Dryness of moist internal partsHair, alopecia
Moon phases <
Periodicity
TB miasm
Excitement / Alternation of moods
Lightness / Weariness & heaviness
Open air ameliorates
Wet damp weather aggravates
Flushes of heat / Chilliness
Desires fresh juices

Small and dirty
Powerless
Helpless
Dirty
Repulsive
Disgusting
Ugly
Horrible
Creepy
Cheap
Low
Handicapped
Unnoticed

Belittled, insulted
Crushed
Trampled
Cornered
Trapped
Cheated
Tortured
Treated like a slave
Dominated
Taken advantage of
Unfeeling
Inhuman 

Anger
Irritable
Impatient
Bugged
Annoyed
Harassed
Vindictive
Rude
Sarcasm
Taunting
Desire to kill ‘in cold blood’ but unable to, due to feeling small & helpless

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Blatta orientalis; Acrocynus; 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license