Filariasis

Filariasis is a tropical disease in which parasitic roundworms — filariae — invade the lymphatic system. They are transmitted through mosquito bites and nest in the lymph vessels, where over years they trigger inflammation, block lymph flow, and in severe cases can lead to massive swelling — up to the so-called elephantiasis, in which limbs or body parts swell grotesquely. The lymphatic system, which is actually responsible for cleansing and defence, is blocked from within.

Medically, this is a parasite problem. Viewed psychosomatically, a different question arises: What is blocking your inner flow? What has settled into your system that doesn't belong to you — and that is preventing you from recognising yourself as the person you truly are?

Filariasis is not an ordinary infection. It is an image of how foreign one can become to oneself.