Got Anxiety? By Lauren Breau,
L.Ac.
thought.” Others describe it as a variety of physical sensations that can include increased heart rate, tense muscles, shallow breath- ing, nausea, and headaches. In addition to the fact that anxiety can manifest differently within the body, it can also come on suddenly and vary in intensity. Some report low-grade anxiety that they live with day to day, and some feel relatively fine until they experience a panic attack. In other words, ‘anxiety’ is an umbrella term for a wide variety of signs and symptoms that differ from person to per- son; the only shared commonality is that everyone who experiences it agrees that it’s an uncomfortable state of being that they’d like to experience less. As a student I was told that the most common complaint that
A
we’d see in our patients would be chronic pain. However, after logging in thousands of hours in the community setting, where hundreds of patients come through our door every week, I can say with confidence that though pain is certainly a common complaint, reports of anxiety top the list. The good news in all of this? In most cases, acupuncture can
effectively alleviate anxiety.
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Anxiety From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM),
anxiety always involves the organ of the heart, as well as the Shen. Shen is an important word/concept in TCM - it involves conscious- ness and insight, as well as emotions and memory. In English, the closest word we have to Shen is “mind.” If someone comes into the clinic looking bright-eyed and healthy, I might say “Hey, Clyde, your Shen looks bright today!” In other words, it seems as if Clyde’s mind and heart are clear, and his good health is manifest on his face - especially in his eyes. In TCM, it’s acknowledged that anxiety can come from either
a known cause (i.e. PTSD in a veteran or a survivor of abuse) or an unknown cause (I feel like a chandelier is going to drop on my head even though there is no chandelier in sight). It’s also acknowl- edged that anxiety is aggravated by tiredness and/or general stress. What makes the TCM perspective unique (and incredibly helpful), is that it demands a differential diagnosis when diagnosing anxiety. In other words, since we know that anxiety looks different accord- ing to the individual, treatments are individualized to deal with the specific signs and symptoms experienced by the patient.
16 Essential Living Maine ~ November/December 2014
nxiety is complicated. Because of its protean nature, it rarely feels the same for any two people. Some describe it as “hamster wheel thinking” or “ruminating on a fearful
Diagnosing Anxiety in Traditional Chinese Medicine
The following are some basic examples of ‘types’ of anxiety, as well as their ‘energetic’ origins according to TCM. 1. Heat: Agitation, restlessness, feelings of desperation, rapid
movement and speech, red face, power surges or hot flashes, panic that moves in an upward direction. What it actually feels like: Some jerk just threw kerosene on the already-big bonfire that is my col- lective worries and now I’m off to the anxiety races – insert flaring of thoughts/obsessions/worries and occasionally, a panic attack. 2. Stagnant Qi: Feeling stuck on a thought, irritability and depression, moodiness, muscular tension, GI issues (constipa- tion/loose stool), sensation of fullness or discomfort in heart and stomach. What it actually feels like: I want to crawl out of my skin or escape to some tiny village in Puerto Rico and never look back and I’m angry because I can’t do this and worried because I’m so angry and if I don’t go for a run tomorrow I might literally implode. And why is my neighbor blasting country music at 10pm? I should run him over when I leave for work tomorrow and I’ll never have to hear his stupid music again. Rahhhh!!! 3. Blood Deficiency: Insomnia, palpitations, fatigue, dizziness,
poor memory, feelings of vulnerability and being overwhelmed by life. What it actually feels like: My brain is fuzzy. I need to sleep. There is just too much to do. Why are people so mean? Am I going to die? Are all the people that I love going to die? Is a giant shoe go- ing to drop down from the sky and squash me like a bug? 4. Yin Deficiency: Preoccupation/rumination, tired but restless, insomnia with sensations of heat, occasional night sweats. What it actually feels like: My kids are crazy. My partner is crazy. I’m crazy. When will I get a moment to myself? Oh crap, I forgot to pay the electric bill. I need a glass of wine. Oh crap, here comes a hot flash. I need to sleep. I’ll never sleep. The car needs an oil change. My parents are getting old. Maybe I need 2 glasses of wine.
4 Tools to Deal with Anxiety The following is a list of suggestions that could help ease anxi-
ety. Please note - these suggestions are not meant to be exclusion- ary in regards to using conventional medicine, including medica- tion and all schools of psychotherapy, to help alleviate anxiety.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36