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digestive system
pruritus ani
psychospiritual approaches

metaphors and correlations

• Guilt over the past; remorse. (Hay, 1984, p. 152)
• Inflammation: fear; inflamed thinking; seeing red; anger and frustration about conditions in one's life. (Hay, 1984, p. 170-1)

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); has an intimate relationship with the Lower Warmer; and reflects emotional harmony and movement.
» Healthy expressions are kindness, spontaneity, and ease of movement.
» 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)

Large Intestine ~ Da Chang absorbs water; governs transformation and conveyance of waste from food to form stool; is paired with the Lung and relates to strength and sustainability as the Yang aspect of Metal.
»
Weakness, dysfunction, and illness associated with sadness, grief, and worry. Worry depletes the Lung Qi which fails to descend and assist the Large Intestine in its functions.
» Healthy expressions are righteousness and courage.


therapies

affirmation:
• I lovingly forgive myself. I am free. (Hay, 1984, p. 152)
• (Inflammation) My thinking is peaceful, calm, and centered. I am willing to change all patterns of criticism. I love and approve of myself. (Hay, 1984, p. 170-1)

psychotherapy:
• In cases of stomach disorders and digestive complaints, ask some related questions:
» What is it that I am unable or unwilling to swallow? Assimilate? Let go of?
» How am I handling my feelings? How am I coping with my aggression?
» To what extent am I avoiding conflicts? Am I longing for the conflict-free time of childhood, when I was secure, loved, and cared for? (Dethlefsen, p. 134)

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