A 45 year old man visited me in the clinic on 31.10.2014 with the complaints of restless and non refreshing sleep, grinding teeth and a pain on his left shoulder that did not subdue with chiropractic therapy. The pain of the shoulder began one year ago whereas the restless sleep and the grinding of teeth have been there for the last 20 years. The patient says that he feels fatigue due to his non- refreshing sleep, which he characterizes as a torture, as he tosses and turns all night, has confused dreams and wakes up from the slightest noise.

On probing further, he says that he is a lonely person, as friends can betray you, their worries are superficial and you cannot have a serious conversation with anyone. His work takes most of his day as there are periods that he works 15 hours a day, 7 days a week. He doesn’t even have time to eat. Normally he works 10 hours a day.

Asking about his childhood, he says that he used to be anxious even as a child. He felt pressure at home because he had to help his parents on the farm and go to school also, where the teacher was strict and even beat the children. He wanted to study for school but didn’t have time as he worked on the farm and other places since he was 10 years old. He recalls that he didn’t want to play with the other children because they didn’t obey the rules of the games, so he preferred to play alone. He didn’t get along well with his sister because she also didn’t obey the rules and did whatever she wanted. He said that you have to obey the rules you set, otherwise you betray yourself. He had the feeling as a child that he should learn as many things as he could in order to survive. He was anxious about growing up, finding a job, making a career, having a family. All these seemed overwhelming to him.

Talking about his character, he says he is neat and clean, likes order and does not want to lose self-control. He tries to control some of his feelings, such as his anger or his desire when he sees a beautiful woman. He is family-oriented. He says that he could not work and go to bars every night because he has a family to take care, so he chooses not to do this kind of things. He is anxious about whether he will be able to make ends meet for his family, whether he will be able to make it in his work as there are people above him in the company who check him. All this responsibility towards his family and his work causes him too much stress.

I asked “What was the worst thing that happened in your life.” He went on to narrate a story about his uncle, who was a chemist. As a child he had a plan that he would study chemistry and take over his uncle’s chemistry laboratory. He wanted to become a chemist to prove to his uncle that he could make it. He became a chemist but his uncle didn’t hand the laboratory over to him.

He has repeated dreams about whether he will be able to make a family (although he already has a family), and whether he is going to pass the last five exams in university so as to get his degree.

He wants to eat meat every day. He likes spices and would like to put pepper everywhere but he doesn’t because he thinks it’s not wise. He likes to drink cold water even in winter. He won’t drink vinegar because, he says, it is a preservative.

He likes walking bare foot. He can tolerate both cold and heat equally well. He feels cold when he is tired.

When he perspires, the sweat makes him feel very cold. Even in summer, if he doesn’t have a bath after he perspires, he feels cold.

He is not very fond of dogs, and feels awkward when he sees them in the street.

He is mostly anxious about the future, about whether he is going to make it.

Observation

The patient was short, with abdominal fat, round head and baldness. He was light complexioned. His tone of voice was quite low.

Initial Assessment of the Case

What struck me in this case was that the patient had too many fixed ideas, about his role, even about pepper and vinegar. He has controlled his desires for the sake of reason and what must be done. He also repeats many times the phrases “whether I will be able to” and “if I make it”, which indicates a lack of self-confidence. He talked about work, money, family, responsibility and capability throughout the case. The only peculiar physical symptom was that he felt cold after perspiration even during summer.

Repertorisation with Schroyens F. Synthesis 9.0 Repertory (Radar 10.0)

Mind, thoughts persistent

Mind, confidence, want of, self confidence

Mind, fear, poverty, of

Mind, fear, dogs, of

Generals, food and drinks, meat, desire

Generals, cold, becoming cold, perspiration during

Teeth, grinding, sleep, during

I prescribed one single dose of a homeopathuc remedy and the patient was asked to come for a follow up session three weeks later.

11th December 2014

After four weeks, the patient says that he feels much stronger. He now sleeps much better and wakes up in the morning more energized and in a better mood. The pain in his left shoulder has disappeared and this happened gradually, as it moved from the shoulder to the elbow and then it vanished completely (according to Hering’s Law). He lost 6 kilos as his appetite decreased. In addition his sexual desire increased.

I prescribed Sac lac for one month

20th January 2015

The patient says he feels a bit tired because he has been working 15 hours a day for the last month, but not as tired as he used to feel in the past. He started feeling cold again and has gained half of the kilos he had lost before.

I prescribed one single dose of the same homeopathic remedy

20th March 2015

The patient says he feels quite strong. He sleeps well, his energy has increased and his appetite is back to normal.

I prescribed of the same homeopathic remedy

1st May 2015

He now works less, so he has time to go jogging. He sleeps well and wakes up in a good mood.

This case of mine was published in hpathy.com July 2015