TCM for social anxiety/phobia and OCD

July 17, 2006

Do these specific mental disorders benefit from chinese medicine? I

have tried allopathic medicine for years with little or no success.

Heres a quick rundown of my background:

-have struggled with ocd/social anxiety and GAD for years

-been like this from a very young age, just worsened over the years

-have fears of going into public places, crowded areas

-also struggled with body dysmorphic issues, constantly worrying about

my physical appearance and the way i look to others

I am willing to try anything at this point, enough is enough.

thanks to all

July 17, 2006

Hello:

Yes, Chinese medicine can address these problems,

although I don't know what GAD or OCD are.

Lonny Jarret in Mass. is one name to research.

Maciocia has important information on this as well.

From your description you seem to have something like

" Dian kuang, " or withdrawal. Do more research and find

a practitioner in this area to get a proper diagnosis.

Acupuncture and herbs can likely help your situation.

Kind regards, Jack

--- homebasedtypist <homebasedtypist wrote:

> Do these specific mental disorders benefit from

> chinese medicine? I

> have tried allopathic medicine for years with little

> or no success.

>

> Heres a quick rundown of my background:

>

> -have struggled with ocd/social anxiety and GAD for

> years

> -been like this from a very young age, just worsened

> over the years

> -have fears of going into public places, crowded

> areas

> -also struggled with body dysmorphic issues,

> constantly worrying about

> my physical appearance and the way i look to others

>

> I am willing to try anything at this point, enough

> is enough.

>

> thanks to all

>

July 17, 2006

OCD is obsessive compulsive disorder.

-

Jack Sweeney

Chinese Traditional Medicine

Sunday, July 16, 2006 11:26 PM

Re: [Chinese Traditional Medicine] TCM for social anxiety/phobia and OCD

Hello:

Yes, Chinese medicine can address these problems,

although I don't know what GAD or OCD are.

Lonny Jarret in Mass. is one name to research.

Maciocia has important information on this as well.

From your description you seem to have something like

" Dian kuang, " or withdrawal. Do more research and find

a practitioner in this area to get a proper diagnosis.

Acupuncture and herbs can likely help your situation.

Kind regards, Jack

--- homebasedtypist <homebasedtypist wrote:

> Do these specific mental disorders benefit from

> chinese medicine? I

> have tried allopathic medicine for years with little

> or no success.

>

> Heres a quick rundown of my background:

>

> -have struggled with ocd/social anxiety and GAD for

> years

> -been like this from a very young age, just worsened

> over the years

> -have fears of going into public places, crowded

> areas

> -also struggled with body dysmorphic issues,

> constantly worrying about

> my physical appearance and the way i look to others

>

> I am willing to try anything at this point, enough

> is enough.

>

> thanks to all

>

Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.1/389 - Release 7/14/2006

July 17, 2006

GAD is general anxiety disorder?

get a copy of kierkegaard's THE CONCEPT OF DREAD, the modern translation of

which is THE CONCEPT OF ANXIETY. read the second half of it on the " demonic. "

your drives (impulses, volition) are directed back at yourself in what western

psychology would call a " reaction formation. " as a first year TCM student, i

think TCM would view this as a " liver heart disharmony. " more knowledgeable

posters can respond to that.

get wilhelm reich's CHARACTER ANALYSIS and THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM.

mercurius trismegistus

-

Mercurius Trismegistus

Chinese Traditional Medicine

Monday, July 17, 2006 12:29 AM

Re: [Chinese Traditional Medicine] TCM for social anxiety/phobia and OCD

OCD is obsessive compulsive disorder.

-

Jack Sweeney

Chinese Traditional Medicine

Sunday, July 16, 2006 11:26 PM

Re: [Chinese Traditional Medicine] TCM for social anxiety/phobia and OCD

Hello:

Yes, Chinese medicine can address these problems,

although I don't know what GAD or OCD are.

Lonny Jarret in Mass. is one name to research.

Maciocia has important information on this as well.

From your description you seem to have something like

" Dian kuang, " or withdrawal. Do more research and find

a practitioner in this area to get a proper diagnosis.

Acupuncture and herbs can likely help your situation.

Kind regards, Jack

--- homebasedtypist <homebasedtypist wrote:

> Do these specific mental disorders benefit from

> chinese medicine? I

> have tried allopathic medicine for years with little

> or no success.

>

> Heres a quick rundown of my background:

>

> -have struggled with ocd/social anxiety and GAD for

> years

> -been like this from a very young age, just worsened

> over the years

> -have fears of going into public places, crowded

> areas

> -also struggled with body dysmorphic issues,

> constantly worrying about

> my physical appearance and the way i look to others

>

> I am willing to try anything at this point, enough

> is enough.

>

> thanks to all

>

-------------------------

Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.1/389 - Release 7/14/2006

July 17, 2006

In short, from what I know of Chinese medicine, is yes it would have a

very good chance of helping you work through it.

The organ in TCM that is the most effected by fear is the kidney

channel. Over time fear can weaken the kidney channel, so that might be

something to look in to. Also someone had mentioned the liver channel,

and that too could easily play a part in your overall composition at the

present time (as the body does change). Sometimes these intense fears

can come from how your body feels and reacts to things, and sometimes

they could come from say if something really traumatic happened to you

as a child or maybe you just feel tired and run down, and not as much of

your true inner self as you would like others to see (which is perfectly

fine, most people with some degree of disability experience this to some

extent, they want who they really are to shine through the disease, but

it's not always that easy. In my experience for issues like this, it

would probably be good to have someone to talk to and work out some of

these feelings, figure out why they are there, and why that area is

sensitive (if you have not already done so), and start to work on

resolving them in some sort of counseling. Again this would just be to

help resolve the feelings and get over the bump. The TCM part of it

could start resolving the feelings in how they manifest in the body.

Such as generally when someone gets to the point of being really hungry

they experience emotion much more intensely, and when they eat again,

the blue feeling goes away. That's just an example, and not necessarily

true in every case. But it does illustrate that certain things can

either add too, or take away from certain feelings. This is also true

of fear in TCM, so correcting the imbalance in the body that makes the

body more prone to fear will definitely help. In some cases that is all

that is needed, but if there is a thought pattern that someone has that

makes them fear, then that will also have to be resolved in order to

keep the body imbalance (in other words if TCM balances someone's body

out so they are less prone to fear, but the person still has some

thoughts that cause them to fear, then those thoughts will start to undo

the TCM balance). That's not to make you worry though, because as the

body resolves, it makes the mind able to resolve much more readily, and

maybe you have tried to confront some issues, and they have just seemed

too big and unworkable. TCM is good at resolving disharmony in the

body, and might have the weight to help you tip the scale, and be rid of

the problem forever. In my opinion it has a much better outlook than

drug therapy from medicators, as in most cases that does not really

attack the root of the problem, more or less just the symptoms, and it

is just a matter of times after they find something that works that the

symptoms start to show through, and then they either have to up the dose

or change the medication. Chinese medicine is much better at attacking

the root, and making room to work with the issue, as something has to

give somewhere for someone to have room where they can get a foothold

and start working.

All in all you have nothing to loose if you have tried everything else

and it hasn't worked, and from the sounds of it, you can't take living

with it, so I would give it a good try. You will want to be patient

with TCM, as it is quite a task to balance all the factors that go into

a human and a disease. 4 to 6 months would be pretty standard for that.

Also, just as in western medicine the practitioner can make or break the

situation, so be sure to pick someone that you can easily connect with

and seems familiar, and someone who seems like they know what they are

doing.

I don't know if this will help you, but I have seen some very worried

people come into my TCM Dr's office, they are really jittery and shifty,

and don't really quite know what to do with themselves, I can just sense

it everything about them. After they have a 40 min acupuncture

treatment, they walk out of the door very calm and relaxed, almost

normal. You wouldn't think that sticking needles in the body would be

able to effect things like that, but it does. I am sure if you want

stories we could all think up some good ones for you.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Here are some links for finding a practitioner (if you live in the US)

http://www.acufinder.com/search_acupuncturists.php

<http://www.acufinder.com/search_acupuncturists.php>

http://dol.jkmcomm.com/acupuncture/default.asp

<http://dol.jkmcomm.com/acupuncture/default.asp>

July 17, 2006

The TCM Organ that has the most to do with obsessing is the Spleen.

(Note to those new to TCM: Names of TCM Organs are capitalized because

they are not equivalent to anatomical organs. They are collections of

functions.)

Based on my admittedly limited experience with anti-anxiety drugs and

tranquilizers, there is no drug that works as well as acupuncture does.

There may also be some other imbalances in the case of OCD (Obsessive

Compulsive Disorder).

July 17, 2006

From the perspective of a patient of TCM -

I went to a TCM doctor for treatment of migraines on the recommendation of a

friend as I've tried *everything* previously (over the course of 36 years) &

nothing has worked or even helped. My migraines are gone & over 4 months,

I've only had 3 minor headaches that went away quite easily.

But in addition to my headaches being gone, I've noticed other changes in this

time that surprised me. I have ADHD. I've learned to adjust & make

compensation for it & many people are surprised to learn I have it (friends

know better though). But it's been a struggle to do so & required constant

adjustments to manage it well. I've always had a sort of 'jittery' feel

inside me that only disappeared when I'd 'hyperfocus' on something I'm

intensely interested in & love doing. Being on time for anything was a battle

& I've been late for things most of my life, although I really try my best to

be on time. I never gave up.

Lo & behold, it occurred to me that lately I feel much calmer & quieter inside

without trying. I'm no longer late for anything! That truly is remarkable for

me as friends would joke I'd be late for my own funeral. A characteristic of

ADHD is this quote I read a few years back - " He jumped on his horse & rode

off in all directions at once. " In other words, one feels like one is going

off on tangents constantly. Trying to stay on track of one thing is hard. I'd

start one thing, switch to another, jump back to the first, & off to a third

trying to do many things at once. If you have GAD & OCD you understand how

simply telling yourself to not do something is practically impossible.

Strangely, I don't have to not do something now. It just happens. It doesn't

take effort on my part. I can tell I still have ADHD. One's basic nature

doesn't change as we're all different, but much of the frustrating &

interfering parts of my ADHD is gone & only the things I liked about it

remains.

So I'd say it's definitely worth a try with a GOOD TCM doctor. But you should

follow their directions properly. If more than acupuncture & herbs are given,

do listen to what's told you & do that, whether it's in regard to foods &

habits or whatever. Otherwise, your results won't be as good as they should

be. You don't want to help in one area & then hinder or oppose it by eating

wrong. After about 1 1/2 months of no headaches, I wanted to test the food

thing as I needed to eat more yin foods as I ate lots of yang foods. I ate a

lot of food with yang properties & when I got the headache a day later, I saw

the connection.

Judy

On Sunday 16 July 2006 4:08 pm, homebasedtypist wrote:

> Do these specific mental disorders benefit from chinese medicine? I

> have tried allopathic medicine for years with little or no success.

>

> I am willing to try anything at this point, enough is enough.

>

> thanks to all

July 17, 2006

Chinese Traditional Medicine , Judy Wilkins <isomorphix

wrote:

> Lo & behold, it occurred to me that lately I feel much calmer &

quieter inside

> without trying. I'm no longer late for anything!

That's the beauty of TCM. Since even one underlying imbalance can

manifest in quite a few varied ways, identifying and treating that

imbalance can have a lot of bonuses.

My sense of balance improved. Since I like to paint and sometimes need

to climb ladders, that was an unexpected plus for me.

July 17, 2006

Funny you should mention that, Victoria, as my sense of balance is improved

too. It used to be if I closed my eyes, I'd sway some & I could never stand

on one foot with my eyes without losing my balance completely. I can now. I

sway a bit but I never could at all before.

I've also noticed that I bruise far less & often not at all. Even with my fall

against the concrete, I had little bruising. Before, I'd bruise without ever

knowing what caused it. Doctors were a little baffled too as my blood count

was very good & my folic acid, B12, & iron levels were all great. One doctor

told me I looked like I'd been abused from the amount of bruising I had.

That's gone.

It's a pleasant surprise to seethe unexpected " side effects " of TCM treatment.

It differs so much from the side effects associated with Western medicine. As

I continue in my treatments, I hope to discover more improvements with things

that have been nuisances for me in the past. They were never things that I

took seriously in that I thought I could treat them. But I now realise they

can be.

I've always been a healthy person with an excellent immune system. No

allergies, weight problems, or anything else except headaches & few other

minor problems such as sore joints or muscles. Still, I can't believe how

good I feel now. Not like a huge boost or rev-up of energy that might run

down later. Simply quiet inside, calmly grounded & feeling no inner tension

that I had before. I'm as happy as before as, by nature, I'm a happy, bubbly,

enthusiastic sort of person but that draining, irritating inner tension is

gone. How wonderful.

Judy

On Monday 17 July 2006 9:53 am, victoria_dragon wrote:

>

> That's the beauty of TCM. Since even one underlying imbalance can

> manifest in quite a few varied ways, identifying and treating that

> imbalance can have a lot of bonuses.

>

> My sense of balance improved. Since I like to paint and sometimes need

> to climb ladders, that was an unexpected plus for me.

July 17, 2006

yeah, plus learn EXTERNAL QI GONG.

-

mrasmm

Chinese Traditional Medicine

Monday, July 17, 2006 1:32 AM

[Chinese Traditional Medicine] Re: TCM for social anxiety/phobia and OCD