Psychosomatic Compartmentalization:,The Root Of Qi And Blood Stagnation

[Guest guest]

This is an interesting article which spotlights the importance of

psychological factors in conditions of Qi and Blood Stagnation! The

premise is in agreement with my previous post regarding the relationship

of Blood, Qi and Mind as a cardinal factor in understanding the disease

process!

 

 

 

http://www.medicalacupuncture.org/aama_marf/journal/vol13_1/article4.html

 

 

 

Medical Acupuncture

A Journal For Physicians By Physicians

 

Volume 13 / Number 1

" Aurum Nostrum Non Est Aurum Vulgi "

 

 

Table of Contents On-line Journal Index

 

 

 

 

 

Psychosomatic Compartmentalization:

The Root Of Qi And Blood Stagnation

Michael T. Greenwood, MB (MD)

 

ABSTRACT

Stagnation of Qi and Blood is a basic clinical pattern of Traditional

, but its origin from splits in consciousness is rarely

considered clinically significant. This article suggests that the root

of stagnation lies in the mind's attempt to control existential anxiety

through strategies of energy containment, which give rise to

psychosomatic compartmentalization. It is suggested that attention to

these strategies is at least as important as any particular acupuncture

protocol.

 

KEY WORDS

Acupuncture, Qi and Blood Stagnation, Chronic Pain, Dissociation,

Compartmentalization, Multiple Personality Disorder

 

INTRODUCTION

To the Western-trained physician, the diagnostic categories of

Traditional (TCM) can appear mystifying and frequently

seem to obfuscate more than clarify. Often, the conditions referred to

in TCM appear to be bizarre descriptions of things considered irrelevant

in conventional practice. Qi and Blood stagnation/excess/deficiency is a

case in point. As physicians, we are confronted regularly with patients

who have a mixture of chronic pain, numbness, or parasthesias in

association with and overlapping such systemic symptoms as fatigue,

frustration, and general malaise. Despite the best of intentions,

physicians often have little idea how to categorize such patients

energetically since they appear to have the features of Qi and Blood

stagnation, deficiency, and excess all at the same time. Such diagnostic

confusion does not help formulate a coherent treatment plan. Perhaps

such categorizations are not particularly useful. Conceivably, is it

possible that these energetic diagnoses are reflective of something more

fundamental in consciousness that, if understood, would provide a more

integrated basis for approaching chronic problems?

 

What Is Stagnation?

Definitions of stagnation can be found in any acupuncture text. Kaptchuk

defines Qi stagnation as a pattern of excess that occurs when the smooth

flow of Qi is stuck in an organ or meridian.1 The primarysymptoms are

pain, soreness, or distension, which characteristically change in

severity and location. Conversely, Kaptchuk defines Blood stagnation as

an excess Blood pattern characterized by a fixed and stabbing pain; it

is essentially a deeper disharmony that may be preceded by stagnant Qi

(Table 1).

Table 1. Comparison of Qi and Blood Stagnation

Stagnation

 

Symptoms

 

Pulse

 

Tongue

Qi

 

Pain, soreness, distension, soft lumps that may come and go; often

changes in intensity and location

 

Wiry

 

Purplish

Blood

 

Blood Fixed stabbing pain, may be preceded by Qi stagnation,

cold,trauma, or hemorrhage; fixed lumps

 

Choppy

 

Dark purple with red spots

 

 

Jarrett adds a metaphysical view, indicating that Qi stagnation occurs

when an individual meets a life situation so challenging that the Qi

cannot flow smoothly around it. Similarly, he points out that stagnant

Blood can arise when some trauma has occurred that is too painful to

assimilate.2 He adds that Blood stasis can present as lost memory of

painful events or difficulties with trust and intimacy, together with

feelings of betrayal. According to both authors, pain is due to some

kind of stagnation, while weakness is due to deficient Qi and numbness

to deficient Blood.

 

It appears that these various TCM diagnoses arise from deeper archetypal

forces in consciousness. Particularly, they may be the direct result of

the way in which the ego manages its existential anxiety. In a previous

article, I discussed how a number of splits arise in the psyche as a

result of the process of individuation.3 Summarily, a primary

existential split arises during ego construction and leads to a sense of

alienation, which is experienced by most people as a background anxiety

or " existential anxiety. " This anxiety tends to feed on itself to

produce further splits, which have been classified as the life/death,

mind/body, and persona/shadow.4 Yet another split, the love/sex split,

has been discussed by some authors as a separate entity although it

might equally be understood as a subcategory of the mind/body and

persona/shadow splits.5

 

Shifting From Pain

If we can accept the basic premise that the ego constructs these

psychosomatic splits, we might intuit how the process of splitting could

lead to the Qi and Blood stagnation described in TCM. A deeper

understanding of the relationship between consciousness and those

pathologies might thus evolve. Consider the limited choices the mind has

when encountering different experiences and how these choices can lead

to trouble. Consciousness, therefore, either moves toward an experience

or away from it, either permitting energy flow or blocking it. It

accomplishes this feat using the dual strategies of filtering/diversion

and containment/dissociation.

 

STRATEGIES

Filtering and Containment

Filtering/diversion refers to the mind's ability to interfere with the

natural flow of original energy through its discriminating function. The

mind distinguishes between appropriate and inappropriate energies and

permits the flow of only those energies the ego feels are socially

acceptable. Unacceptable energies get caught in the filtering mechanism

and then get diverted to an energetic dumpsite known in Jungian terms as

the shadow. An analogy might be the quality control function of an

assembly line worker who lets good products flow through while rejecting

inferior or damaged articles. If a significant percentage of the flow is

diverted, then a backlog develops on the main energetic route

(stagnation), while concurrently, the diverted energy becomes a disposal

problem.

 

Filtering is achieved through tightening the muscles in an area where an

unacceptable energy is felt most intensely. For example, an individual

will tighten the jaw, shoulders, or stomach muscles to control anger,

tighten the chest to avoid sadness or grief, tighten the lower back to

contain fear, or tighten the pelvis to control sexual energy.

 

Containment/dissociation refers to how the mind disposes of such

diverted energy. To the ego, unacceptable energies will always remain

unacceptable; hence, diverted energies are usually not permitted to

return to the general overall flow. Consequently, all diverted energy

must be disposed of. Containment refers to the process of dumpsite

construction, and dissociation refers to the mechanism of ignoring the

fact that the dumpsite is there.

 

Filtering/Diversion and Stagnant Qi

While filtering and Qi stagnation may appear synonymous, there is a

difference. One gives rise to the other; while filtering/diversion is an

ego strategy, stagnation is the experiential consequence of the strategy

and not the strategy itself. The therapeutic significance of this is

that if we wish to ease stagnation, perhaps it would be prudent to pay

more attention to the mental strategy behind the stagnation than to the

stagnation itself.

 

In TCM, the Wood sector (Liver and Gallbladder) is the aspect of

consciousness that discriminates between things, e.g., this and that,

good and bad, or here and there. It is this process of discrimination

and classification that is said to bring apparent order out of chaos;

the appearance of 10,000 things out of the chaotic unity of the Tao.6

Thus, through observation, we create our reality in the very process of

naming it. In TCM, the Liver is said to control the smooth flow of Qi

precisely; it is the Liver's discriminating function that is responsible

for constructing reality in the first place. The discriminating mind

must not forget the ultimate unity of all things, or else the process of

discrimination is not rooted in wholeness. It is this oversight that

actually obstructs the smooth flow of Qi and leads to stagnation.

 

The Western scientific tradition is an expression of the process of

naming and categorizing. We observe and classify and consider that to be

science. Ironically, it is a kind of science that has forgotten the

essential wholeness that lies in the background. A society built on the

premise of reductionism and endless classification sooner or later loses

the ability to allow the smooth flow of Qi. It is interesting to

consider that this loss of smooth flow is occurring in a country in

which Wood energy is almost a national characteristic. The creativity,

competitiveness, and youthful vigor abundant in the United States,

together with the country's high levels of violence, point to a strong

Wood component in the collective consciousness. Thus, it is probably no

coincidence that in North America, one of the most common TCM diagnoses

is stagnation of Liver Qi.

 

Containment/Dissociation

How consciousness deals with filtered/diverted energy is of prime

importance in the manifestation of material pathology. The fundamental

technique is simple. Unacceptable energy is dumped somewhere in the

body's energy field, and then the ego tries to ignore the existence of

the dumpsite. It can do this for a long time quite successfully, until

the dumpsite gets so full it overflows or the site location impinges on

consciousness in some other way such as pain. The process of dumping in

a confined site can be termed containment, while the ignoring of the

stench coming from the dumpsite can be termed dissociation. Containment

is an energy management strategy while dissociation is a distraction

technique; their combination leads to the development of cordoned-off

areas in the psyche-soma in which there is compromised flow of Qi and

Blood. Clinically, this appears like Blood stagnation. However, the

symptoms from such a blocked area will be more than just the classic

fixed stabbing pain of Blood stagnation; included will be both pain

emanating from the contained and stagnant Qi and also a paradoxical

parasthesia or numbness emanating from the dissociation.

 

It is increasingly evident that chronic pain and illnesses are

dissociative phenomena.7 Contrary to popular thought, dissociation is

not a rare or unusual phenomenon occurring in people who have been

severely traumatized. Rather, it is a universal phenomenon, one with

which everyone is familiar. For example, most people have experienced

injuring themselves while engaged in physical activity such as contact

sports without feeling any pain. During intense physical activity, the

mind dissociates from the body; first, to focus on the larger strategy

and second, to permit the body to be pushed beyond its usual limits.

When an injury occurs at such times, there is generally little pain

until later, when consciousness slowly returns. Therefore, in the acute

situation, dissociation permits the execution of extraordinary feats

that in some situations might be crucial to survival.

 

In chronic illness, a strategy of dissociation generally produces a less

favorable outcome. Dissociation begins with a simple avoidance maneuver

such as favoring an injured extremity that involves a physical

adaptation. This adaptation in turn leads to increased stresses on other

areas of the body. Eventually, other parts may become foci of pain which

in turn will lead to more favoring. Thus, the whole body can become

involved in a process of increasing dissociation until the entire

physiology begins to break down. Since avoidance behavior is universal,

dissociation and containment are typical insofar as they represent the

common strategy of the collective.

 

Compartmentalization

Containment and dissociation are two aspects of a strategic continuum,

usually found together in varying combinations of inseparability. If we

block feelings somewhere and then dissociate from the blocked area, we

have effectively compartmentalized that part, forming what might be

called a psychosomatic cyst. The part may then be " sacrificed " for the

ego to maintain its sense of identity. More commonly, no specific part

is sacrificed but rather the entire body becomes the depository for

rejected energy, leading to a systemic pathology.

 

Although tragic, localization and sacrifice are interesting clinically.

An example is trauma patients who will frequently contain and dissociate

from an injured extremity. One such patient electrocuted her hand in a

live light-switch socket and although she appeared to have a functioning

arm, she refused to use it. Closer examination revealed the telltale

signs of Blood stagnation. During acupuncture bodywork, the arm would

shake violently but the patient would visibly dissociate.

 

Another range of compartmentalization is the multiple personality

disorder, or dissociative identity disorder. In multiple personality

disorder, whole personality gestalts become compartmentalized; different

personalities, containing different aspects of blocked energies, exist

as separate personas within a single body. The different personalities

can have different physiological correlates such as different

handwriting styles, drug responses, visual acuity, or even symptoms.8

Long recognized is that people skilled at dissociation are more likely

to have experienced severe childhood trauma.9 Such people may have

little body awareness, unrecognized multiple personality disorder, or

other marked psychic disturbance. Since they are not fully present in

their bodies, these people tend to be accident-prone and/or develop

illnesses that resist conventional intervention. Such people have

difficulty with the healing process, which demands they be present and

aware.

 

Three different varieties of compartmentalization are depicted in

Figures 1-3: 2 extreme situations, and 1 depicting the more common

overlap situation. The importance of compartmentalization lies in

realizing the complementarity of 2 apparently unrelated conditions,

multiple personality disorder and regional pain syndromes, better

understood energetically as psychic and somatic cysts. This insight

suggests a common origin of many chronic pain conditions and at the same

time, provides an explanation of how Qi and Blood stagnation arises

first as potentials in consciousness.

 

In Figure 1, the diverted energy is siphoned off into a somatic cyst,

which may present as a regional pain syndrome. In this scenario, the

somatic compartment may exhibit features of Blood stagnation, while the

rest of the body may appear relatively normal or exhibit some milder

containment phenomena. Here, the contained energies are separated from

the main personality in space.

 

In Figure 2, the original energy is scattered and diverted into 1 or

more psychic cysts, which may present as multiple personality disorder.

Each psychic cyst expresses a subpersonality and will exhibit different

degrees of containment. Frequently, the subpersonalities will carry most

of the body/mind's emotional pain, while the main personality will

present with some somatic complaint such as headaches, dyspnea, or

depression. The presence of amnesia or time lapses suggests that

multiple personality disorder may be involved. Here, the

compartmentalization occurs mostly in time.

 

In Figure 3, the contained and dissociated energies interpenetrate the

main persona so that all the various energetic structures overlap,

resulting in a complex pattern of psychosomatic cyst formation

(persona/shadow overlap) and varying degrees of Qi and Blood stagnation.

This is the most common scenario but, ironically, the most difficult to

grasp because it involves the conceptual leap that one can be

simultaneously present, contained, and dissociated all within the same

physical space. It is possible because the body's energy field is a

complex interference pattern of waves and troughs, all of which

overlap.10 There is no particular compulsion for a contained/dissociated

psychosomatic cyst to be located in a discrete area of space/time,

although that is possible. Indeed, the classic multiple personality

and/or dissociated limb is rare in comparison to the number of people

presenting with interpenetrating stagnation. The image of

interpenetrating circles, known as a mandorla, is a motif common to a

variety of disciplines ranging from Christianity to Jungian analysis. It

has been interpreted as reflecting the challenge of bringing the persona

and shadow together to form a greater whole.11

 

In Figure 4, Blood stagnation arises as the result of a

compartmentalization/dissociation strategy instituted by an alienated

ego as it gets increasingly separated from a center of authentic or

original energy. The overlapping of compartments leads to the appearance

of systemic stagnation of Qi and Blood; compartments are separated from

the energetic center in both time and space. Purely spatial separation

presents as somatic cyst formation and somatic sacrifice (regional

pain), while purely temporal separation presents as psychic cyst

formation and psychic sacrifice (multiple personality disorder). In the

more common presentations, an interpenetration of both axes leads to

overlapping of compartmentalized psychosomatic fields in what appears to

be a sizable combination. Such individuals will exhibit personality

variability (i.e., inconsistent behavior), but with continuity of memory

between personas. They will also have incomplete somatic compartments so

that even if their pain is relatively localized, there will be evidence

of Blood stagnation systemically.

Table 2. Adjunctive Strategies to Move Blood Stagnation

Help the patient become aware of dissociation

Stress the need for the patient to choose to reassociate, which means to

be willing to be present with their pain

Clarify the notion of " moving toward " pain instead of habitually fleeing it

Encourage patients to reduce containment/dissociation medication

Point out that pain may get worse before it gets better

Counsel patients that they may have to confront emotionally-charged material

 

 

The division of psyche and soma is ultimately an artificial contrivance;

multiple personality disorder and regional pain syndromes are different

expressions of the same disorder: separation from a center of authentic

energy or separation from the Tao. The truth of this statement often

will be found during acupuncture treatments. For example, exploration of

a somatic pain compartment with acupuncture may expose a psychic cyst;

there can be an eruption of emotional material that can mimic the

appearance of a subpersonality if intense enough. When such material is

brought to consciousness and integrated, the original somatic pain can

disappear, confirming the energetic equivalence of psyche and soma.

Commonly, the nature of the energy contained in a psychosomatic

compartment is predicated on reaction patterns based in constitutional

typing, and is not intense enough to generate a personality gestalt. It

may be difficult to differentiate signs/ symptoms of Blood

Stagnation/Compartmentalization.

 

Blood stagnation presents as fixed and stabbing pain with or without

lumps. In chronic pain syndromes, interpenetration of contained energy

and dissociated compartments lead to the paradoxical symptoms of pain

and numbness simultaneously, which may be confusing if the origin is not

fully appreciated. In cases of extreme separation, a patient may not

permit the touching of a painful/numb area. The act of touching calls

awareness back to a dissociated area; thus, these patients often refuse

light touch until they understand the necessity for reversing their

conscious stance.

 

Examination reveals compromised microcirculation, with blanching and

slow capillary return after pressure. Due to sluggish Blood movement,

the skin temperature may be cool or even cold, and the skin turgor thin

or boggy. When this perpetuates in an extremity, the area in question

may display the hyperalgesia, allodynia, and hyperpathia triad,

characteristic of reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Or, a deteriorating

neurological condition will develop such as multiple sclerosis. An

examination of such patients often reveals the typical features of Blood

stagnation in the affected extremities.

 

Pharmaceuticals

When symptoms merge through the containment/dissociation barriers,

patients will generally request drugs or consider more drastic

interventions such as surgery. In this way, conventional medicine then

is propelled into the process of containment/dissociation, and

physicians become unwitting extensions of their patients' primary ego

strategies. Indeed, many drugs are designed to mimic the functions of

containment and dissociation. Examples are drugs that contain

antidepressants (such as amitriptyline), and drugs that dissociate

include opiates and anxiolytics.

 

The fact that antidepressants are often effective against chronic pain

does not have a coherent biological explanation. As physicians, we often

interpret this finding to imply that patients with chronic pain are

actually depressed, while somatizing their depression. However, since

breakthrough pain pushes people to look for increased containment, there

is a simple energetic explanation. Indeed, people taking antidepressants

often report that their feelings are better contained, they are less

emotionally labile, and more balanced.

 

With opiates, pain often will be registered in the usual way, but it

does not irritate. The experience has been described as dissociative

bliss. Ever since Pert discovered the opiate receptor in 1972, research

has focused on how to use and improve upon the body's own endogenous

morphine.12 Her research has implied a direct correlation between

" thoughts " and " neuropeptides. " In other words, thoughts create

molecules that are the material equivalent of the thought, i.e., a

particular thought creating a particular neuropeptide. Thus, the

endorphins, the body's endogenous morphine-like molecules, are actually

the neuropeptides that represent and carry out the thought of dissociation.

 

Dissociative bliss has often been interpreted as positive, and

researchers hope to find a drug that will produce a blissful state

without inducing dependence. Similarly, much of acupuncture pain

research has focused on the production of endorphins.13 But if endorphin

production reflects the strategy of dissociation, then making more

endorphins will only exacerbate the problem. It has been shown that in

rat models of reflex sympathetic dystrophy, the opiate receptors are

maximally utilized.14 Thus, in this particular form of chronic pain, the

body's endorphin output is already maximized, implying that the

individual is already maximally dissociated. If pain is going to break

through a state of maximum dissociation, perhaps it is time to try a

different approach.

 

Anxiolytics dissociate patients from feeling existential anxiety, which

possibly explains why anxiolytics are considered so addicting. The

anxiety continues to accumulate, but the patient does not feel it. Any

attempt to discontinue the drug leads to anxiety, which is often

interpreted as withdrawal and blamed on the drug. In reality, the

patient is feeling anxiety again, but more intensely.

 

Acupuncture

Perhaps it should now be clear that using a particular point to move

stagnation in a particular meridian is not effective in the presence of

largely unconscious archetypal forces operating in the opposite

direction. The key point is that any acupuncture approach aimed to

mobilize stagnant Qi and Blood will likely be more successful if

attention is paid to the contributing factors. Since these factors lie

in consciousness itself, improvement is more likely if the underlying

ego strategies are brought to the surface and examined. The treatment

focus for all these conditions might be summarized as decontainment,

reassociation, and integration.

 

Stagnant Qi

Stagnation of Qi is generally easier to work with, particularly if it is

of relatively recent onset. Since the energy diversion has not

progressed to dissociation, there is no lack of awareness in the

patient. Often, patients may actually be more present. The pain itself

may produce heightened awareness in the absence of painkillers. In this

early situation, almost any theoretical approach will be successful. In

recent trauma, focusing on the tendinomuscular meridians is effective.

For pain of longer duration, a linear N-N+1 input into the zone of

involvement is a reliable first choice: front (Yang Ming-Tai Yin), side

(Shao Yang-Jue Yin), or back (Tai Yang-Shao Yin), plus local points.

 

A typical example would be low back pain treated with KI 3 (Taixi), BL

62 (Shenmai) and 40 (Yixi), SI 3 (Houxi), HT 7 (Shenmen), and local

points such as BL 23 (Shenshu).

 

Stagnant Blood/Dissociation

Treatment of stagnant Blood is a more difficult problem. Some speculate

that Blood is thicker than Qi and therefore, harder to move. However,

there may be a more definitive way of understanding the problem. If

Blood stagnation points to dissociation, then there is little chance of

effecting a change unless the individual reverses the strategy of

dissociation. It is difficult to see how reassociation can be engendered

without the individual consciously deciding to return to areas

previously dissociated. This can be challenging because it often

involves an excruciating exacerbation of symptoms which can prevent

further progress. Furthermore, skilled " dissociators " tend to have

weaker egos than average, perhaps because they have learned to cope by

escaping reality. If they seriously try to heal their various splits,

their fragile egos can easily become overwhelmed by the intensity of the

material contained in their psychosomatic cysts. When this happens,

patients may get frightened and within a short time, will retreat back

to the safety of dissociation. All this can make healing for

dissociators slow, protracted, and with setbacks. Often, the most they

achieve is a stalemate, in which they are more present than before but

retain enough symptoms to feel ill.

 

The Role of Intention

In a previous article, I discussed the concept of intention and its role

in acupuncture treatment.15 To summarize, patients must intend to move

toward their pain rather than away from it if they want to get better.

Reassociation proceeds much more quickly if intention can be clarified

at the start of treatment. Without such a willingness on the patient's

part to reawaken the area in question, treatment becomes more and more

frustrating as the patient resists the increasing awareness engendered

by acupuncture treatments.

 

Working through this difficulty can be challenging. A good strategy is

to warn the patient that if treatment is successful, there may be a

paradoxical increase in pain, and that should it occur, the patient

should resist the urge to abandon treatment and/or take analgesics. If

patients are already taking containment/dissociating medications, then

they need to understand that this in itself is a demonstration of

inappropriate intent and is only going to delay the healing process. An

unwillingness to consider the negative impact of medication indicates

that intent is unlikely to shift (at times, it might be reasonable to

dismiss such a patient early rather than risk getting involved in a

protracted tug-of-war) [Table 2].

 

As with Qi stagnation, a sound, basic approach is the N-N+1 circuit on

the affected zone, with local points at the margins of the somatic cyst.

The intent is to open energy flow into and out of the painful area.

Often, preparing the points with moxa prior to needling can be helpful.

A second approach is through the use of the extraordinary meridians,

again with local Ah Shi points, at the margin of the affected zone. The

Chong Mo, the Sea of Blood, is always a consistent Curious Meridian to

invoke, using points such as SP 4 (Gongsun), PC 6 (Neiguan), and ST 30

(Qichong). The lighter energetic equilibrations are less likely to be

effective in initial work with Blood stagnation but can be used later

when there is a good understanding of the principle of intent. Specific

points for Blood stagnation can be used as an adjunct, such as BL 17

(Geshu), SP 6 (Sanyinjiao), SP 10 (Xuehai), or SP 8 (Diji).

 

Frequently, in long-standing cases, intending a gradual softening is

likely to be more effective than attempting progress too quickly. The

use of a multifrequency infrared lamp can be beneficial. Gentle massage,

acupressure, and cupping are all complementary and can be effective ways

of bringing blood and circulation to areas of stagnation. Seemingly,

with long-standing deep-seated Blood stagnation, the gentler the

intervention the better, perhaps giving the appearance of doing little,

if anything. An example is forceless spontaneous release, a form of Yin

Tuina, shown to be helpful in Parkinson's disease and occasionally

leading to recovery.16 Hands-on work can sometimes be effective at

exposing the emotional body; clinicians and patients need to be prepared

for emotional release as a cyst is opened up.

 

CASE STUDIES

Traumatic Compartmentalization

Opening a dissociated area can be much like physically incising an

abscess. Contained memories, traumas, and feelings can burst forth in an

overwhelming way. The following are similar cases with different outcomes:

 

Patient 1 was a 45-year-old woman who developed a frozen right shoulder

shortly after what appeared to be a work-related minor strain lifting a

heavy item. When she presented, there had been little improvement in 3

years. The patient held her arm across her chest, refused to use it for

even minor things, and complained that it hurt with minimal movement.

She exhibited a hopeless resignation, but expressed resentment toward

the Workers' Compensation Board and her physicians for mismanaging her case.

 

Examination revealed all the features of Blood stagnation/dissociation

in the affected arm. Treatment involved clarifying intent, opening a

Shao Yang-Jue Yin circuit, using local points at the containment

barrier, and gentle massage.

 

During an acupuncture-bodywork session, the patient entered " the void "

and spent several minutes violently hitting a pillow with her injured

arm.17 Later, she revealed that she had imagined punishing her abusive

ex-husband. After emerging from the altered state, the patient was

astonished to realize that she had been using the purported frozen

arm/shoulder.

 

Patient 2 was a 28-year-old man who injured his left knee in a sawmill

accident. As with patient 1, his actual physical injury appeared

relatively minor, but 2 negative arthroscopies and 3 years later, he was

still in pain. The extremity showed all the signs of Blood stagnation.

The patient appeared unconcerned about his disability. He reported that

he never allowed himself to get angry, and would not allow anger under

any circumstances; he reported losing control in the past. In this case,

the injury provided a solution to several problems simultaneously. By

containing the Wood energy in the leg and then dissociating from the

leg, the patient created a disease that provided an acceptable solution

to the problem of his rage, an acceptable idea of himself as a victim of

circumstance, and an income from disability insurance. As of this

writing, the patient remains in severe disability.

 

Dysmenorrhea

Patient 3 was a 25-year-old woman with dysmenorrhea and perineal pain.

She had attended various pain clinics, including a vulvodynia clinic,

with no improvement. Her pulse was choppy and there were dark red spots

on the sides of her tongue. The lower Jiao was cold compared with the

middle and upper, while above the neck, she was hot. She was interested

in alternative approaches and embraced the idea of intent early. The

patient alluded to having an emotionally sterile upbringing, in which

sexual matters were considered negatively and never discussed. She

disclosed dreams with sexually suggestive imagery.

 

Treatment involved a Chong Mo input and clear intent: SP 4 (Gongsun), PC

6 (Neiguan) with moxa, ST 30 (Qichong), CV 3 (Zhongji), and CV 4

(Guanyuan). With this, the patient began to allow the pelvic movement

which had always shamed her. Within a short time, she experienced heat

and tingling moving up the Du Mo, suggesting Kundalini awakening. After

this simple experience, her dysmenorrhea and vulvodynia disappeared for

the first time in years. The improvement was temporary, initially, but

with perseverance and home dynamic meditation, she eventually became

pain-free.3

 

Patient 4 was a 44-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis who understood

personal growth and alternative medicine. Over several years, she had

progressed out of a wheelchair to walking with canes. Although her

disease had regressed, she nonetheless pursued avenues to reverse her

disease. The patient's legs were cool and showed the typical blanching

of Blood stagnation. Her pulse was robust, indicating she had potential

energy. The patient was willing to consider that she might be

dissociating and was eager to reverse her intention once the concept was

explained. In a " safe " environment, she displayed an amazing energy and

actually kicked me with much strength, while mouthing obscenities. The

power in her legs was demonstrated.

 

CONCLUSION

Despite common beliefs about illness, we actually have more input into

our illnesses than we conceivably believe. As physicians, we may intuit

our patients' responsibility but avoid bringing it to their attention

for fear of provoking denial. In reality, illnesses rarely arise without

reason. More often, people are not so much victims of circumstance as

they are unconscious participants, actively bringing on their

difficulties through attitudes and behaviors that are actively

self-destructive. Moreover, there is a generally steady progression of

energetic imbalances that patients ignore, preceding the materialization

of pathology.

 

That many chronically ill patients often feel victimized speaks directly

to the issue of alienation, the existential split that indicates the

primary separation from the Tao. Perhaps the ultimate root of illness,

it needs to be made conscious if we are ever to solve the conundrum that

illness presents. Once the origin of illness is brought to awareness,

then the patient has a choice to shift attitudes and envision the

results. Occasionally when this is done, an apparently untreatable

illness will resolve.

 

The stagnation we see in our patients is a stagnation of their

consciousness, a belief in their separateness from other things.

However, in the final analysis, the idea of separateness is false. Too

see the false as false is simply way out of the trap. Acupuncture is a

tool for awakening such awareness; the skill of using the tool lies with

the practitioner.

 

REFERENCES

1. Kaptchuk TJ. The Web that Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese

Medicine. New York: Congdon & Weed Inc; 1983:203-205.

2. Jarrett LS. Nourishing Destiny: The Inner Tradition of Chinese

Medicine. Stockbridge, Mass: Spirit Path Press; 1998:305-308

3. Greenwook MT. Splits in western consciousness from an acupuncture

perspective. Medical Acupuncture. 1999:11(2):11-16

4. Wilbur K. The Spectrum of Consciousness. Wheaton, Ill: Quest Books;

1977:94

5. Stein R. Incest and Human Love. Dallas, Tex: Spring Publishing Inc;

1973:41-47

6. Jarrett L. Constitutional type and the internal tradition of Chinese

Medicine - Part 2.. Am J Acupuncture. 1993;21:141-158

7. Hunter ME. Making Peace With Chronic Pain: A Whole-Life Stategy. New

York, NY: Brunner/Mazel Inc; 1996:4-6

8. Fraser GA, Raine D. Focusing on multiple personality disorder. Can J

Diagnosis. 1993:56-79

9. Kluft RP. An update on multiple personality disorder. Hosp community

Psychiatry. 1987;38:363-373

10. Rubik B. can western science provide a foundation for acupuncture?

AAMA Rev. 1993;5(1):15-27

11. Johnson RA. Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of

the Psyche. New York, NY: Harper Collins; 1991:97-118

12. Pert C. Molecules of Emotion: The Science of Mind-Body Medicine. New

York, NY: Touchstone; 1997:55-66, 77.

13. Pomeranz B, Stux G. Acupuncture: Textbook and Atlas. New York, NY:

Springer-Verlag; 1987:1-34

14. Bennett G. RSD research breakthroughs. In Proceedings of the RSDSA

2nd National Conference; September 5-7, 1997.

15. Greeenwood MT. Acupuncture and intention: needling without needles.

Medical Acupuncture. 1999; 11(1):17-23

16. Walton-Hadlock J. Recovery From Parkinson's Disease: A

Practitioner's Handbook. 5th ed. Santa Cruz, Calif: Parkinson's Recovery

Project; 2000:157-218

17. Greenwood MT. Braving the Void: Journeys into Healing. Seattle,

Wash: Gordon Soules Book Publishers Ltd;1997

 

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Dr Michael Greenwood is the Medical Director of the Victoria Pain

Clinic, a residential facility in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Dr

Greenwood specializes in working with chronic pain and illness patients,

and in developing techniques integrating the body, mind, and spirit. He

has authored the books Paradox and Healing, and Braving the Void.

 

Michael T. Greenwood, MB (MD), BChir, CCFP, CAFCI, FRSA

365 Hector Rd, RR#3

Victoria, British Columbia V8X 3X1 Canada

Phone/Fax: 250-595-1486 E-mail: michaeltgreenwood

Graphics were designed by Dr Greenwood's son, Richard Greenwood.