-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
reproductive system
mastitis
psychospiritual approaches

metaphors and correlations

• Inflammation/Infection: fear; inflamed thinking; seeing red; anger and frustration about conditions in one's life. (Hay, 1984, p. 170-1)
• Breasts represent mothering and nurturing. (Hay, 1984, p. 157)
• If the infant is not nursed, then the mother is unwilling to feed and protect it on some level, to intervene personally on behalf of the child. In mothers who cannot give milk this problem is more deeply repressed that in those who simply do not want to feed their children and are quite open about it. (Dethlefsen, p. 190)

Chinese psychophysiology:
Liver ~ Gan is the home of the Hun (Ethereal Soul); it relates to decisiveness, control, and the principle of emergence; stores and cleanses the Xue (Blood); maintains smooth flow of Qi and Xue (Blood); and expresses itself in the fingernails, toenails and nervous system; and reflects emotional harmony and movement.
» Healthy expressions are kindness, spontaneity, and ease of movement.
» Liver Xu (Deficiency) signs include impotence; frigidity; pain in thighs, pelvic region, and throat; ready tendency to "the blahs" (Seem, p. 28); timidity; depression; irritability; vertigo; pruritus; dry eyes, skin, and/or tendons; asthma; aching at the waist; hernia; and difficulty raising head up and down. Liver Xue Xu (Blood Deficiency) predisposes to Xue Yu (Blood Stasis) and Xue (Blood) Heat.
» Liver Qi Stagnation reflects and accentuates emotional constraint as the Liver's function of facilitating smooth flow in the body is restricted. Stagnation is associated with frustration, irritability, tension, and feeling stuck. With time this pattern tends to produce a gloomy emotional state of constant resentment, repressed anger or depression, along with tightness in the chest, frequent sighing, abdominal tension or distension, and/or a feeling of a lump in the throat with difficulty in swallowing. (Maciocia, p. 216) Xue Yu (Blood Stasis) often begins with Qi Stagnation.

Gall Bladder ~ Dan is the source of courage and initiative, and is responsible for decision-making as the bodily Minister of Justice; and controls circulation of the nourishing and protecting energies [Ying Qi and Wei (Protective) Qi]. Its channel purifies Yang energy in the body.
»
Healthy expressions are kindness, decisiveness, control, and spirit of initiative.
» Gall Bladder Xu (Deficiency) signs include insomnia; wandering pains; chest and side pains; swollen breasts (Seem, p. 29); weakness in muscles and tendons of the legs; difficulty standing; asthenia; vertigo; chills; timidity; cowardice; indecisiveness; and excessive sighing.

Stomach ~ Wei governs the breasts; is the Sea of Nourishment and source of all fluids; transforms and digests food so that the Spleen can separate the distilled food essences; with the Spleen, is the root of post-natal Qi; and as Earth, relates to the ability to assimilate, stabilize, and feel balanced and centered.
» Healthy expressions are fairness, openness, and nurturance.
» Weakness, dysfunction, and illness associated with worry, anxiety, and overthinking.
»
Stomach Shi (Excess) signs include nightmares; acne; skin eruptions; excess stomach acid (Seem, p. 28); heat in the abdominal area; overactive digestive system causing hunger and thirst; dark yellow urine; gluttony; halitosis; swollen gums; red dry lips; pains and cramps in legs.
» Mental signs of Stomach channel disorders include depression, death wishes, instability, suicidal tendencies, mentally overwrought, doubt, suspicions, tendency to mania, and slowness at assimilating ideas. (Seem, p. 27)

Spleen ~ Pi governs digestion; transforms food into Qi and Xue (Blood); governs the Xue (Blood); resolves Dampness and Phlegm; and relates to the ability to assimilate, stabilize, and feel centered and balanced.
» The excessive use of the mind in thinking, studying, concentrating, and memorizing over a long period of time tends to weaken the Spleen and may lead to Xue Yu (Blood Stasis). This also includes excessive pensiveness and constant brooding. (Maciocia, p. 241) Likewise, inadequate physical exercise and excess consumption of sweet and/or Cold foods will also deplete the Spleen. Environmentally, the Spleen is highly susceptible to attack from external Dampness and Cold.


therapies

affirmation:
• I take in and give out nourishment in perfect balance. (Hay, 1984, p. 157)
• (Inflammation/Infection) My thinking is peaceful, calm, and centered. I am willing to change all patterns of criticism. I love and approve of myself. (Hay, 1984, p. 170-1)

psychotherapy:
• Those who are prone to inflammations and infections are attempting to avoid conflicts. The following questions may be useful:
» What conflict in my life am I failing to see? hear? feel?
» What conflict am I dodging? What is my relationship to it?
» What conflict am I failing to admit to? (Dethlefsen, p. 108)

process paradigm: (experientially oriented)
• What is the symptom preventing me from doing? What is the symptom making me do? (see process interview: female reproductive system)

related materia medica listings:
the shadow and physical symptoms
converting a symptom to a signal
affirmations: guidelines and precautions
process paradigm


footnotes

Reprinted from The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Maciocia, Giovanni, 1989, by permission of the publisher Churchill Livingstone, a division of Elsevier Limited.