-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
reproductive system
dysmenorrhea
psychospiritual approaches
metaphors and correlations
Unresolved issues around femininity, sexuality, or conception. (Harrison, p. 14)
May be a form of self-punishment. (Rossi and Cheek, p. 297)
Female problems represent a rejection of the feminine principle; denial of the self; rejecting femininity. (Hay, 1984, p. 165)
Anger at mate; sexual guilt; need for punishment. (Hay, 1984, p. 187)
Menstrual cramps represent fear, tension, gripping, holding on, guilt, rejection of femininity, or belief that genitals are sinful or dirty. (Hay, 1984, p. 160, 174)
Women who have painful periods often find it painful to be a woman, a protest against this self-surrender. (Dethlefsen, p. 185)
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); controls the muscles especially their contractility; 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 impotence; frigidity; pain in thighs, pelvic region, and throat; ready tendency to "the blahs" (Seem, p. 28); timidity; depression; irritability; vertigo; pruritus; dry 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 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 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.
» 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. Liver Shi (Excess) can also spill over and "invade" the Spleen.
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; governs Water to regulate body fluids; and displays the stresses of aging and chronic degenerative processes.
» 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; and abundant sweating (Seem, p. 28); chronic fatigue; fearfulness; apathy; discouragement; and scatteredness.
» 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
imagery:
dust of ages: bloating (Chavez)
beaver dammed (Chavez)
affirmation:
I rejoice in my femaleness. I love being a woman. I love my body. (Hay, 1984, p. 165)
Others mirror the love and self approval I have for myself. I rejoice in my sexuality. (Hay, 1984, p. 187)
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.