-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
cutaneous system
rosacea
psychospiritual approaches

metaphors and correlations

• Skin problems represent anxiety, fear, being threatened; old, buried stuff. (Hay, 1984, p. 183)

Chinese psychophysiology:
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; 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; nocturnal emissions; and restless sleep. Chronic 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.

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; provides the "Fire of Life" through its Yang functions; provides the nourishing and stabilizing qualities of Yin and Water that balance the Yang and the Fiery qualities, especially of the Heart; and displays the effects of overwork, aging, chronic debilitation, and extreme stress.
»
Healthy expressions are gentleness, groundedness, and endurance.
» Kidney Xu (Deficiency) signs include indecisiveness; confused speech; dreams of trees submerged under water; abundant sweating (Seem, p. 28); fearfulness; apathy; chronic fatigue; discouragement; scatteredness; negativity; impatience; difficult inhalation; lumbago; sciatica; and musculoskeletal irritation and inflammation, especially when worse from touch. As always, chronic Yin Xu (Deficiency) predisposes to Empty Heat and/or acute inflammation.
» 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); 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 (Blood) Heat. Liver Yin Xu (Deficiency) predisposes to such Shi (Excess) conditions as Liver Yang Rising.
» 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.


therapies

affirmation:
• (Skin) I lovingly protect myself with thoughts of joy and peace. The past is forgiven and forgotten. I am free in this moment. (Hay, 1984, p. 183)

theotherapy:
(skin problems) Dionysus, Heracles, Orestes, Pelops (Lemesurier, p. 115)

psychotherapy:
• Whatever happens to the skin corresponds to an inner process. The diverse functions of the skin (protection, contact, expression, excretion, respiration, temperature regulation, sexuality, etc.) are associated with a common theme that alternates between the two poles of separation and contact. Something is bursting through our limits, or trying to armor an inner sensitivity. Questions to ask in the event of skin problems:
» What is it that is getting under my skin? What is trying to burst through barriers?
» How easy/difficult is it to make contact with other people? Do I desire intimacy?
» Have I condemned myself to solitary confinement? What is useful about this?
(Dethlefsen, p. 162, 170)

process paradigm: (experientially oriented)
• What is the symptom preventing me from doing? What is the symptom making me do? (see process interview: cutaneous system)

related materia medica listings:
the shadow and physical symptoms
skin metaphors and correlations
converting a signal to a symptom
affirmations: guidelines and precautions
theotherapy
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.