-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
reproductive system
menopause
psychospiritual approaches
metaphors and correlations
"Children are grown. The paths of the parents change. The Old Gods are reexamined: Saturn makes the second return to his natal place; Persephone retires underground for the season. The dance of estrogen slows from strutting to self reflection. As we pause at the center of our lives, with time, we will learn to balance between our living and our dying." - J. Parvati (Bauman, p. 334)
Menopause is an initiation, a rite of passage. "We should not forego this just because men don't consider their own change of life as important." J. Parvati. (Bauman, p. 337)
Just how great the problems and complaints of the change of life turn out to be depends to a large extent on how the woman has succeeded in fulfilling her femininity up to menopause. If she has not done so, unfulfilled desires accumulate in the form of fears of being neglected, and lead to panic and attempts to 'catch up'. (Dethlefsen, p. 191)
Fear of no longer being wanted; fear of aging; self-rejection; not being good enough. (Hay, 1984, p. 174)
Menopause has been observed to begin earlier and with more intense reactions among women who have not had children than among women who have. In a study by T. Benedek, the better the personality was integrated and the less the woman's personality was affected by the hormonal changes of the menstrual cycle, the more easily she went through menopause. Women who were unable to adapt to the monthly premenstrual hormone decline and had premenstrual depression and dysmenorrhea were more apt to suffer from discomforts through menopause. (Mehl, p. 177)
Chinese psychophysiology:
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; nourishes the brain to sustain concentration, clear thinking, and memory; carries the constitutional endowment from the parents; manifests through the reproductive function, and governs the process of passing on life to offspring; and displays the effects of aging, overwork, chronic 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, Yin Xu (Deficiency) predisposes to Empty Fire.
» 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).
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); has an intimate relationship with the genitals and Lower Warmer; and reflects emotional harmony and movement.
» Healthy expressions are kindness, spontaneity, and ease of movement.
» Liver Xu (Deficiency) signs include 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 Yin Xu (Deficiency) predisposes to the Shi (Excess) conditions of Liver Wind, Liver Yang Rising, and Liver Fire Blazing.
» 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)
» Liver Shi (Excess) signs include discontent; anger; pain in lumbar region and genitals (Seem, p. 28); muscular tension; excessive sex drive; insomnia; moodiness; excitability; genital diseases; red, tearing eyes; compulsive energy; and bitter taste in the mouth. Chronically suppressed anger can implode and give rise to Fire in the Liver and Gall Bladder with symptoms of irritability, bitter taste, headaches, etc.
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; and restless sleep. 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.
» Mental signs of Heart channel disorders include insomnia, anxiety, and all Shen disturbances. (Seem, p. 28)
therapies
affirmation:
I am balanced and peaceful in all changes of cycles, and I bless my body with love.
I accept my full power as a woman and accept all my bodily processes as normal and natural. I relax and allow my mind to be peaceful. (Hay, 1984, p. 160, 174)
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.