Dealing with negativity

[Guest guest]

This is something I remind healers of from time to time. Because of the

connection of the Liver and anger, when a person is on certain herbs like

milk thistle and TCM herbs that target the Liver, herbs that course the

Liver, liver cleanses, etc., a great deal of negativity can be released

during the process. Sometimes the person may have to temporarily stop the

treatments. Sometimes herbs and acupoints to calm the Spirit are called

for. But eventually the person is going to need to face and deal with

certain things. This includes really feeling and facing the emotions though

not acting them out.

 

The anger can be intense for some people. This can be very disconcerting

for healers - especially those who work with energy - unless they understand

what is happening and why. Not every healer has the combination of training

and inclination that enables a healer to work with cases like this. BUT,

every healer does need to be aware that such things not only happen, they're

a normal part of life and learning. Neither the healer nor the client has

done anything wrong when powerful emotions sometimes surface and need to be

worked through. It's simply a part of life and learning for many.

 

It's when emotions are blocked, denied, substituted for other emotions,

over-expressed, or under-expressed that problems arise. Left to themselves

and allowed to be felt for what they are (though not acted out), the

negative emotions will in time transmute, and the person is stronger and

wiser for having gone through the process. If the person pretends that

things are fine when they aren't or weren't, the negative emotion just gets

pushed deeper into the person and over time will become more explosive.

 

Rage is a survival mechanism. People only feel rage when their lives or

their core beings and very existence have been threatened. When people who

have been abused finally feel the rage, it means that they've come to a

point where they realize that it's either going to be them or the other

person who survives, and they've decided it's going to be them. They've

decided they want to live and be true to themselves.

 

Hot house flowers can be very beautiful and pleasant to be around, but often

they can't survive in the outside world. However, some very beautiful

flowers who have known the cold, the damp, the wind, the searing heat, the

loneliness, etc. not only can survive in the outside world, they're able to

take their beauty to the very places and people where it's most needed.

They know the terrain, and they're strong and wise enough to be able to

reach down into the muck and give a helping hand and know when it's

appropriate to do so and will help another.

 

Sometimes people just need to be able to cry, to vent, to feel, to face,

etc. Then they're fine. Feeling like one has to be all sweetness and light

ALL the time is an impossible, extra, and unnecessary burden. It's also

exhausting as everything and wrecks havoc with Qi flow. It also can prevent

real learning and real transformation for the better.

 

I'm behind on answering some questions and apologize. We're dealing with

real estate agents this week. We're still trying to sell and get back to

greenary and family and to REAL (i.e., big) trees (not glorified bushes

called trees), lots of REAL (big) trees that actually make up forests

(instead of a few scattered glorified bushes which are called a national

" forest " , and rivers that actually have water in them all year instead of

just during part of the monsoon. Yep, we're in a desert area. Anyway, I am

researching a number of things in between cleaning chores, and will be

posting hopefully soon.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

First of all i want to thank you for bringing up this subject since

i think its very important and can help us greatly in understanding

the patients reactions to our treatment.

 

My question is in regard to the fact that you didn't mentioned

acupoints but only herbs.

I had a patient which i diagnosed with liver-qi depression with

a great problem in expressing her feelings and after a few treatments

she told me she feels like she can " kill someone " .

As i understand it, the movement of constrained qi released a great

deal of energy which now she has to learn how to express.

or in other words, when i move liver-qi i deprive the person from his

ability to repress his emotions. which brings him to the place where

he has to face them.

I also think its very important to explain this process to the person

otherwise he may be overwhelmed by this outburst of emotions.

 

Danny

[Guest guest]

I have a great herb teacher who had some interesting things to say on this subject with regards to Chai Hu Bupleurum. In her experience, men and women tend to react differently to it when they release anger. Men tend to feel better, less constrained and move on pretty quickly. If women feel constrained but not consciously angry, it tends to bring up a lot that has been repressed/constrained and they will feel pretty angry. If they feel angry already, it will help release / make them feel better, more relieved.

It tends to take them up/out a notch. Sometimes she will wait until someone already feels the anger before she gives Chai Hu Bupleurum. So there is a matter of timing with therapeutic intent (move / make conscious vs. release).

 

-Anne

[Guest guest]

Hello Danny

Interesting your e-mail. I would like to

learn of your experience.

I would like to know

Which causes originated liver-qi depression

to your patient?

What signs and key symptoms you took for

this diagnosis?

Are there another syndrome related with the

previous syndrome?

What formula of acupuncture or herb you

used to treat this pattern?

Thank

 

Carlos

 

-----Original

Message-----

Danny Levin

[lvds]

Monday, September 03, 2001

3:54 AM

Chinese Traditional Medicine

[Chinese Traditional Medicine] Re:

Dealing with negativity

 

First of all i want to thank you for bringing up this subject

since

i think its very important and can help us greatly in understanding

the patients reactions to our treatment.

 

My question is in regard to the fact that you didn't mentioned

acupoints but only herbs.

I had a patient which i diagnosed with liver-qi depression with

a great problem in expressing her feelings and after a few treatments

she told me she feels like she can " kill someone " .

As i understand it, the movement of constrained qi released a great

deal of energy which now she has to learn how to express.

or in other words, when i move liver-qi i deprive the person from his

ability to repress his emotions. which brings him to the place where

he has to face them.

I also think its very important to explain this process to the person

otherwise he may be overwhelmed by this outburst of emotions.

 

Danny

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

>My question is in regard to the fact that you didn't mentioned

>acupoints but only herbs.

 

I know more about herbs and this reaction than about acupuncture and this

reaction. When it comes to acupuncture in general, I'm dependent on the

acupuncturists on the list to share their knowledge and experience.

 

>I had a patient which i diagnosed with liver-qi depression with

>a great problem in expressing her feelings and after a few treatments

>she told me she feels like she can " kill someone " .

>As i understand it, the movement of constrained qi released a great

>deal of energy which now she has to learn how to express.

>or in other words, when i move liver-qi i deprive the person from his

>ability to repress his emotions. which brings him to the place where

>he has to face them.

 

That's exactly what it's doing in a lot of cases. It's bringing some things

out into the open that the person has to face. The energy that had been

blocked in repressing emotions is no longer blocked, and a lot of things are

coming out. In the case of the Liver, it's usually anger though it may be

other emotions as well depending on other factors.

 

Massage sometimes can cause this to happen too because massage also can help

to move Qi. It doesn't have to be the heavy duty (and painful) massage like

Rolfling; it can be fairly mild, basic massage if something is already

" pushing " hard enough to be acknowledged and the person is Qi Deficient

enough.

 

Whenever there has been long-term Qi Stagnation coupled with other problems,

there can be too much energy to handle at first. For example, muscles which

stay too contracted due to magnesium deficiency will interfere with Qi flow.

When I first started on the Mg shots, I had to cut back on the dose and

the frequency of the shots because the increased Qi flow all of a sudden was

too much to handle. I described it as being like putting high octane gas in

an old clunker that desperately needs a tune-up. All the extra octane does

is to underscore as badly an over-all tune-up is needed. I had to reduce

the dose and frequency of the Mg shots until the rest of me had a chance to

" catch up " and could handle the extra energy flow. With all that extra

energy I wanted to go, go, go, and do, do, do some things that I hadn't been

able to do for years. My weak muscles said " forget it, no way! " I had to

give other things like my muscles a chance to catch up before going to the

full dose twice a week.

 

>I also think its very important to explain this process to the person

>otherwise he may be overwhelmed by this outburst of emotions.

 

I think so too. I find that if the person can make jokes about how

irritable they are, this helps. Also recognizing that the emotions aren't

the reality, just signposts to what is or in a lot of cases was once upon a

time. These signposts can lead to a happier and fuller life.

 

Another time when there can be extreme emotions is when a " warm disease " has

invaded to the Nutritive or Blood level. But in this case, the emotions

often aren't due to anything psychological that has happened in someone's

life but due to the affects of the infection on the brain. The emotions

released when Qi Stagnation is treated usually are due to events in the

person's life and repressed emotions concerning those events.

 

It's also a good idea for the person undergoing the process to explain to

family members and close friends what is happening and that it's part of the

healing.

 

Victoria

 

 

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[Guest guest]

>I have a great herb teacher who had some interesting things to say on this

>subject with regards to Chai Hu Bupleurum. In her experience, men and

>women

>tend to react differently to it when they release anger. Men tend to feel

>better, less constrained and move on pretty quickly. If women feel

>constrained but not consciously angry, it tends to bring up a lot that has

>been repressed/constrained and they will feel pretty angry. If they feel

>angry already, it will help release / make them feel better, more relieved.

>It tends to take them up/out a notch. Sometimes she will wait until

>someone

>already feels the anger before she gives Chai Hu Bupleurum. So there is a

>matter of timing with therapeutic intent (move / make conscious vs.

>release).

 

Thanks for going into this deeper.

 

It's true. In general, males and women who already have given themselves

permission to feel anger will go through this process relatively quickly,

feel better, and move on. It's the people who are constrained who have the

hardest time. It's sort of like having one foot on the brake and the other

on the gas at the same time. The herb or acupuncture is releasing the

emotion (the gas) but the person is still fighting to repress (the brake)

instead of just acknowing I hate the #$%$%$# #$%$#$ and would like to

$%$%$#$ him/her/it. ( " It " can be a frustrating dead-end job, a morning

commute, etc. " It " also can be failing to be true to oneself and keeping

oneself down instead of reaching for what one really wants and is capable

of.)

 

In men - and some women - there may be a problem with having substituted one

emotion for another. For example, many men (and some women) feel more

comfortable with anger than with other feelings like vulnerability, fear,

facing and feeling not being loved, grief, sadness, etc. so they hang onto

and overexpress any anger to keep from facing and feeling the more

threatening (to them) feelings. This too will wreck havoc with Qi flow.

Anger and frustration are not the only emotions that affect Qi. The others

do too. For those new to TCM, emotions can black Qi flow and can change its

direction of flow, causing it to rise when it shouldn't or descend when it

should be ascending. Grief can deplete Qi, triggering Qi Deficiency.

 

Victoria

 

 

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