-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
urinary system
urinary incontinence
psychospiritual approaches

metaphors and correlations

• Bladder problems represent anxiety, holding onto old ideas, fear of letting go, being 'pissed off.' (Hay, 1984, p. 155)
• A letting go; a feeling of being out of control emotionally; lack of self nourishment. (Hay, 1984, p. 170)
• Incontinence provides the chance to let go in response to the pressures being experienced. Bedwetting serves, as does crying, to unload inner pressures by way of 'letting go', and could thus be described as a kind of 'lower level crying'. (Dethlefsen, p. 180)

Chinese psychophysiology:
Heart ~ Xin houses the Shen (Spirit) and reveals itself through the brightness in the eyes; governs Fire and Heat; rules the Xue (Blood) and its vessels and directs the circulation; opens into the tongue and controls speech; and relates to the integration of the organs and the personality.
» Healthy expressions are warmth, vitality, excitement, inner peace, love, and joy.
»
Heart Xu (Deficiency) signs include sadness; absence of laughter; depression; fear; anxiety; shortness of breath (Seem, p. 28); cold feeling in the chest and limbs; palpitations; cold sweat; inability to speak; memory failure; nocturnal emissions; and restless sleep. Chronic Yin Xu (Deficiency) predisposes to Empty Fire, acute and chronic.
» Heart Shi (Excess) signs include false or facile laughter; sobbing; agitated spirit; insomnia (Seem, p. 28); frightful dreams; anxiety; tongue feels numb and heavy; heavy chest; hot sweat; and orange-colored urine.
» The Heart is the Emperor of the bodily realm so that when the Heart is disturbed all the other organs will be disrupted.

Kidney ~ Shen stores Jing (Essence) and governs birth, growth, reproduction, development, and aging; houses the Zhi (Will); expresses ambition and focus; governs Water to regulate body fluids; provides the "Fire of Life" through its Yang functions for the digestive processes and the functions ascribed to the adrenals; provides the nourishing and stabilizing qualities of Yin and Water that balance the Yang and the Fiery qualities of the Heart; controls the bones, particularly the lumbar spine and knees; produces the Marrow which generates the spinal cord, "fills up" the brain, and possibly manifests through the immune system; nourishes the brain to sustain concentration, clear thinking, and memory; facilitates inspiration by grasping and pulling down the Qi of the breath; relates particularly to congenital conditions because it carries the constitutional endowment from the parents; manifests through the reproductive function, particularly the internal aspects of the reproductive organs, and governs the process of passing on life to offspring; manifests through the teeth, head hair, ears and equilibrium; and displays the effects of sexual dissipation (especially excessive ejaculation), overwork, aging, chronic debilitation or degenerative processes, and extreme stress.
» Healthy expressions are gentleness, groundedness, and endurance.
» Kidney Xu (Deficiency) signs include indecisiveness; confused speech; dreams of trees submerged under water; cold feet and legs; abundant sweating (Seem, p. 28); fearfulness; apathy; chronic fatigue; discouragement; scatteredness; lack of will; negativity; impatience; difficult inhalation; low sex drive; lumbago; sciatica; and musculoskeletal irritation and inflammation, especially when worse from touch. As always, chronic Yin Xu (Deficiency) predisposes to Empty Heat and/or acute inflammation.
» Intense or prolonged fear depletes the Kidney. Often chronic anxiety may induce Xu (Deficiency) and then Fire within the Kidney. (Maciocia, p. 250) Overwork, parenting, simple aging, and a sedentary or excessively indulgent lifestyle all contribute significantly to Kidney Xu (Deficiency).


therapies

affirmation:
• As I nurture myself, those around me are nurtured. I am gentle and caring with myself. All is well. (Hay, 1984, p. 170)

psychotherapy:
• Bladder problems involve release of pressure, which may relate to and be revealed by the following questions:
» What areas am I clinging to, despite the fact that they are waiting to be released?
» Where am I putting myself under pressure?
» What have I got to cry about? (consider as 'lower level crying') (Dethlefsen, p. 181)

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

related materia medica listings:
the shadow and physical symptoms
converting a signal to a symptom
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.