A person’s emotions can make them sick. Unhappy emotions are generally believed to be the prime cause for depression. In Traditional Chinese Medicine it is believed that all of the body’s diseases are caused by depression – (depressed energetics).
Today’s busy lifestyle inundated with stresses, demands of work and home life, along with emotions that come into play because of worries about jobs and the economy leaves us little time to even process the day’s activities. In our rush to complete the day’s work we’ve lost the time to just be still. This process leads to a buildup of tension in our physical bodies and a blockage of Qi in our energetic bodies.
One of the most unique aspects of Chinese Medicine is its ability to integrate our emotional and physical health.
Acupuncture weaves together these elements with each Acupuncture treatment. Each energy meridian pathway is associated with physical and emotional attributes. An Acupuncturist’s goal in treatment is to define underlying patterns and meridians that are the root cause of a complaint. In many cases the root cause is emotional. In classical Chinese medicine mental activity is considered inseparable from bodily function. Emotional disturbances are not treated differently from other disorders.
Early Chinese literature defined seven emotional conditions: depression joy, anger, worry, grief, apprehension, and fright. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279) the physician Chen Yan first singled out depression as a major aspect of clinical pathology. This theory culminated with the formation of an entire school of medical thought based on depressed or deficient energetics. With this the 15th century physician Zhu Danxi created the influential statement “If qi and blood exist in abundance and harmony, a person will not get sick” or more commonly stated – “where there is flow there is no pain, where there is pain there is no flow”. It is normal and healthy to experience the full gamut of emotions – problems occur when we don’t allow our emotional side to be fully expressed.
When emotions become “stuck” physical problems can manifest. Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine are great resources to release that emotion and re-establish our energetic balance.
………………..
Author – Jim Burnis is a local Gold Canyon Acupuncturist – www.acualt.com 480-671-5178, contact Jim Burnis.