-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
eyes/ears/nose/throat
mastoiditis
psychospiritual approaches

metaphors and correlations

• Anger and frustration; a desire not to hear what is going on; usually in children; fear infecting the understanding. (Hay, 1984, p. 174)

Chinese psychophysiology:
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); and expresses itself in the fingernails, toenails and nervous system; 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) and Xue (Blood) Heat.
» 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) Xue Yu (Blood Stasis) often begins with Qi Stagnation.

Gall Bladder ~ Dan is the source of courage and initiative, and is responsible for decision-making as the bodily Minister of Justice; and controls circulation of the nourishing and protecting energies [Ying Qi and Wei (Protective) Qi]. Its channel purifies Yang energy in the body.
»
Healthy expressions are kindness, decisiveness, control, and spirit of initiative.
» Gall Bladder Xu (Deficiency) signs include insomnia; wandering pains; chest and side pains; swollen breasts (Seem, p. 29); weakness in muscles and tendons of the legs; difficulty standing; asthenia; vertigo; chills; timidity; cowardice; indecisiveness; and excessive sighing.
» Gall Bladder Shi (Excess) signs include tiredness; sighing; irritability; bitter taste in the mouth in the morning; pain in all joints; edematous knees and legs (Seem, p. 29); tinnitus; lateral headache; heaviness in head and stomach; muscular spasms; and limbs slightly cold.
» Anger, frustration, and resentment can cause stagnation of Liver Qi which, in turn, can produce Heat which affects the Gall Bladder.
» Mental signs of Gall Bladder channel disorders include bitterness, lack of control, irritability, unfaithfulness, lack of courage, timidity, and hypochondria. (Seem, p. 28)

Spleen ~ Pi governs digestion; transforms food into Qi and Xue (Blood); governs the Xue (Blood); resolves Dampness and Phlegm; maintains upbearing; 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. The Heat produced by Liver Stagnation may then transform the Dampness into Damp-Heat.


therapies

affirmation:
• Divine peace and harmony surround me and dwell in me. I am an oasis of peace and love and joy. All is well in my world. (Hay, 1984, p. 174)

psychotherapy:
• In the cases of hearing or ear problems, it may be useful to ask:
» Why am I not prepared to lend other people an ear? What am I refusing to hear?
» Are the poles of self-centeredness and submissiveness balanced within me?
• Those who are prone to inflammations are attempting to avoid conflicts. The following questions may be useful:
» What conflict am I failing to hear? see? feel? admit? (Dethlefsen, p. 108, 154)

process paradigm: (experientially oriented)
• What is the symptom preventing me from doing? What is the symptom making me do? (see process interview: eyes/ears/nose/throat 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.