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digestive system
colic
psychospiritual approaches

metaphors and correlations

• Mental irritation, impatience, annoyance in the surroundings. (Hay, 1984, p. 160)

Chinese psychophysiology:
Liver ~ Gan is the residence of the Hun (Ethereal Soul); it relates to decisiveness, control, and the principle of emergence; maintains smooth flow of Qi and Xue (Blood); controls the muscles, especially their contractility; and reflects emotional harmony and movement.
» Healthy expressions are kindness, spontaneity, and ease of movement.
» Liver Qi Stagnation reflects and accentuates emotional constraint as the Liver's function of facilitating smooth flow in the body is constricted. 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.

Small Intestine ~ Xiao Chang receives and transforms food by separating the Clear (Pure) from the Turbid (Impure), with the Clear becoming bodily fluids and the Turbid becoming urine - this function also operates on the emotional, mental, and spiritual levels; and is responsible for digestion and nutrient absorption.

Large Intestine ~ Da Chang governs transformation and conveyance of waste from food to form stool; relates to strength and sustainability as the Yang aspect of Metal.
»
Healthy expressions are righteousness and courage.
» Stagnation of Qi in the Large Intestine
produces spastic abdominal pain and constipation, with small stools alternating with diarrhea.


therapies

affirmation:
• This child responds only to love and to loving thoughts.
• All is peaceful. (Hay, 1984, p. 160)

psychotherapy:
• In cases of stomach disorders and digestive complaints, ask some related questions:
» What is it that I am unable or unwilling to swallow? Assimilate? Let go of?
» Is something eating me up inside? What am I feeling so sour about?
» How am I handling my feelings? How am I coping with my aggression?
» To what extent am I avoiding conflicts? Am I longing for the conflict-free time of childhood when I was secure, loved, and cared for? (Dethlefsen, p. 134)

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