-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
urinary system
enuresis
psychospiritual approaches

metaphors and correlations

• Fear of parent, usually the father. (Hay, 1984, p. 155)
• Children with asthma/enuresis appear to be a high risk for lower levels of self-esteem, quality of life in the past year, self-complexity, and parental preference for their siblings. (Locke, 1983, p. 138)
• If a child spends all day under strong pressures (whether from parents or from school) that prevent letting go or expressing needs, nocturnal bed wetting solves several problems at once: it provides the chance to let go in response to the pressures being experienced, and the opportunity to condemn the otherwise all- powerful parents to utter helplessness. Bedwetting serves, as does crying, to unload inner pressures by way of 'letting go', and could thus be described as a kind of 'lower-level crying'. (Dethlefsen, p. 180)

Chinese psychophysiology:
Spleen ~ Pi transforms food into Qi and Xue (Blood); resolves Dampness; maintains upbearing; and relates to the ability to assimilate, stabilize, and feel balanced and centered.
» 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; easy bruising; pale lips; loose stools; muscular weakness; and, indirectly, obesity.
» The excessive use of the mind in thinking, studying, concentrating, and memorizing over a long period of time tends to weaken the Spleen. This also includes excessive pensiveness and constant brooding. (Maciocia, p. 241) Likewise, inadequate physical exercise, overexposure to external Dampness, and excess consumption of sweet and/or Cold foods will also deplete the Spleen.

Kidney ~ Shen houses the Zhi (Will); expresses ambition and focus; governs Water to regulate body fluids; and displays the effects of extreme stress. Fear makes Qi descend and in children this may be manifested as enuresis. Often enuresis is caused by a situation of anxiety or insecurity in the family for the child. (Maciocia, p. 250)
» 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); hearing loss; 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. 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).

Pang Guang ~ Chinese "Bladder" receives the "dirty" part of fluids after Small Intestine separates them from the "clean" fluids; is in charge of Qi transformation, i.e. transforming and excreting fluids by the power of Qi; and controls the storing of fluid.
» Fear, or more exactly fright, adversely effects the Bladder. In children, fear or insecurity leads to sinking of Qi in the Bladder resulting in nocturnal enuresis. In adults, Bladder disharmonies are often manifested with feelings of suspicion and jealousy over a long period of time. (Maciocia, p. 287-288)
» Bladder Xu (Deficiency) signs include lack of confidence; lethargy; neurological disorders; low sexual energy; incontinence (Seem, p. 29); epistaxis; frequent excessive urination; back pain; nocturnal enuresis; and fear


therapies

imagery:
• self-cleaning drain (Chavez)

affirmations:
• This child is seen with love, with compassion, and with understanding. All is well. (Hay, 1984, p. 155)

psychotherapy:
• Bladder problems involve release of pressure, which may relate to and be revealed by the following questions:
» What areas am I clinging to, despite the fact that they are waiting to be released?
» Where am I putting myself under pressure?
» What have I got to cry about? (Dethlefsen, p. 181)

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

related materia medica listings:
the shadow and physical symptoms
converting a signal to a symptom
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.