-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
reproductive system
infertility: female
psychospiritual approaches

metaphors and correlations

• Women who have no obvious physiological or anatomical pathology may have decided to be infertile. (Harrison, p. 153)
• Denial of the self; rejection of feminine principle. (Hay, 1984, p. 165)
• Fear and resistance to the process of life, OR not needing to go through the parenting experience. (Hay, 1984, p. 184)
• If a woman fails to have a child despite wanting one, either some unconscious resistance is present, or her desire is dishonestly motivated (for example, hoping to use the child to hang on to the partner, or to force existing problems or relationship issues into the background). In such case the body often reacts much more honestly and farsightedly. (Dethlefsen, p. 190)
• Psychic or mental control: Based on the principle that we have control over bodily process rather than bodily processes controlling us, one can use thoughts and emotions to voluntarily control internal states such as conception. (Bliss, p. 271)
• Traditionally, in psychoanalytic terms, the infertile patient has been thought to consciously and obsessively verbalize the wish for a child, but unconsciously to reject pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood. This is probably one small subset of the emotions and beliefs which may relate to psychological infertility. Other issues that have emerged include (1) a firm conviction on the part of the woman (sometimes conditioned by a health care professional) that her body is incapable of bearing children, or (2) excessive conflict between the woman and her mate. (Mehl, p. 174)

Chinese psychophysiology:
Kidney ~ Shen stores Jing (Essence) and governs birth, growth, reproduction, development, and aging, particularly the internal aspects of the reproductive organs; houses the Zhi (Will); expresses ambition and focus; manifests through the reproductive function, and governs the process of passing on life to offspring; and displays the effects of aging, 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.
» Intense or prolonged fear depletes the Kidney. 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; opens into the eyes; 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).
» 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.

Spleen ~ Pi governs digestion and manifests in the muscle tissues; 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.
» Healthy expressions are fairness, openness, deep thinking, and reminiscence.
» Spleen Xu (Deficiency) signs include slightness (deficient "form"); abundant elimination; morning fatigue; cold, wet feet (Seem, p. 28); abdomen taut and distended like a drum; craving for sweets; flatulence; nausea; mild edema; memory failure; heavy feeling in legs; pale lips; loose stools; muscular weakness; and, indirectly, obesity. Unresolved Spleen Xu (Deficiency) predisposes to Spleen Shi (Excess), particularly accumulation of Dampness and Phlegm, as the Spleen's functioning declines.
» Spleen Shi (Excess) signs include heaviness (excess "form"); large abdomen; great sighing; sadness; obsessions and nightmares (Seem, p. 28); abdominal pain; irregular appetite; stickiness in the mouth and on lips; red lips; chest congestion; fatigue; and constipation. Dampness and Phlegm Shi (Excess) usually derive from Spleen Yang and/or Qi Xu (Deficiency).
» 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

imagery:
• blessing of the field (Chavez)

affirmation:
• I rejoice in my femaleness. I love being a woman. I love my body. (Hay, 1984, p. 165)
• I trust in the process of life. I am always in the right place, doing the right things, at the right time. I love and approve of myself. (Hay, 1984, p. 184)

psychotherapy:
• Every human being has both a masculine and feminine psychological aspect, and each of us, woman or man, needs to develop both of these inner aspects fully. Nevertheless, this difficult path demands that we first achieve total identification with the particular aspect that is represented by our physical gender. Only when we are capable of living out that one pole to the full, is the way free for us to awaken and so to integrate consciously, the alternative aspect of our psyche via the encounter with the opposite sex. (Dethlefsen, p. 194)

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
imagery: precautions
imagery: techniques
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.