-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
nervous system
headache: nonvascular
psychospiritual approaches

metaphors and correlations

• Chronic headache maybe associated with birth trauma. (Rossi, 1988, p. 414)
• Temporal headache involves rage; tension headache involves worry. (Korn, p. 109)
• Headaches are used to avoid many of life's situations. (Harrison, p. 159)
• Invalidating the self; self-criticism; fear. (Hay, 1984, p. 49)
• The head is the most sensitive alarm system, much more quickly responsive than internal organs, and provides ready transference of stresses otherwise ignored. When it aches, it is a sure sign that our thinking has gone off; that we are applying our thoughts incorrectly or that we are pursuing dubious ends. As soon as a headache sounds the alarm, it is high time that we let go of our narrow-minded self-interest, of stubbornness, of pride that is driving us ever onward and upward, and give attention to contemplate our roots, to attend that that which is below the level of consciousness, and which we are replacing with thinking. (Dethlefsen, p. 157)
• Chronic pain syndrome develops as a result of having chronically negative attitudes and/or unconscious emotional response mechanisms that keep a person continually in stress. Chronic attitude problems are so much a part of a person's self-image that he or she does not recognize them as separate from the personality. Nothing is more difficult to identify than our assumed 'natural' ways of being in the world that are essentially patterns we have developed to help us cope. Certain body parts susceptible to chronic negative patterns include the spine, the stomach (as in ulcers), and the head (tension and migraine headaches). (Shealy, p. 256-266)

Chinese psychophysiology:
Liver ~ Gan is the home of the Hun (Ethereal Soul); it relates to decisiveness, control, and the principle of emergence; maintains smooth flow of Qi and Xue (Blood); reflects emotional harmony and movement; opens into the eyes; and expresses itself in the nervous system. Vertex and parietal headaches are commonly related to the Liver.
» 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 Yin Xu (Deficiency) predisposes to the Shi (Excess) conditions of Liver Wind, Liver Yang Rising, and Liver Fire Blazing.
» 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 Wind derives from Liver Yin Xu (Deficiency) and/or Liver Xue Xu (Blood Deficiency) and their subsequent inability to embrace the Yang, and can manifest as joint stiffness, dizziness, tremor, paralysis, convulsions, rashes, itching, and neurological problems.
» Mental signs of Liver channel disorders include irritability; difficulty developing ideas; depression; and lack of energy. (Seem, p. 28)

Gall Bladder ~ Dan is the source of courage and initiative, and is responsible for decision-making as the bodily Minister of Justice; controls circulation of the nourishing and protecting energies [Ying Qi and Wei (Protective) Qi]; and opens into the eyes. Its channel purifies Yang energy in the body. Temporal and frontally radiating headaches are often related to the Gall Bladder.
» Healthy expressions are kindness, decisiveness, control, and spirit of initiative.
» 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. Chronically suppressed anger can implode and give rise to Fire in the Liver and Gall Bladder.
» Anger, frustration, and resentment can cause Liver Qi Stagnation 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 and manifests in the muscle tissues; transforms food into Qi and Xue (Blood); governs the Xue (Blood); resolves Dampness and Phlegm; 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) will ultimately shift into Spleen Shi (Excess) as Dampness and Phlegm accumulate.
» Spleen Shi (Excess) signs include heaviness (excess "form"); large abdomen; great sighing; sadness; obsessions and nightmares (Seem, p. 28); abdominal pain; irregular appetite; stickiness in the mouth and on lips; red lips; chest congestion; fatigue; and constipation. Dampness and Phlegm Shi (Excess) usually derive from Spleen Yang and/or Qi Xu (Deficiency).
» The excessive use of the mind in thinking, studying, concentrating, and memorizing over a long period of time tends to weaken the Spleen and may lead to Xue Yu (Blood Stasis). This also includes excessive pensiveness and constant brooding. (Maciocia, p. 241) Likewise, inadequate physical exercise and excess consumption of sweet and/or Cold foods will also deplete the Spleen. Environmentally, the Spleen is highly susceptible to attack from external Dampness and Cold

Stomach ~ Wei is the Sea of Nourishment; transforms and digests food so that the Spleen can separate the distilled food essences; with the Spleen, is the root of post-natal Qi; and as Earth, relates to the ability to assimilate, stabilize, and feel balanced and centered. Stomach-related headaches are typically frontal and supraorbital.
» Mental signs of Stomach channel disorder include depression, death wishes, instability, suicidal tendencies, mentally overwrought, doubt, suspicions, tendency to mania, and slowness at assimilating ideas. (Seem, p. 27)

Kidney ~ Shen stores Jing (Essence) and governs birth, growth, reproduction, development, and aging; houses the Zhi (Will); expresses ambition and focus; produces the Marrow which generates the spinal cord and "fills up" the brain; nourishes the brain to sustain concentration, clear thinking, and memory; and displays the effects of overwork, chronic degenerative processes, and extreme stress.
»
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. Overwork, parenting, simple aging, and a sedentary or excessively indulgent lifestyle all contribute significantly to Kidney Xu (Deficiency).

Mental signs of Bladder channel disorders include changeable moods; over-enthusiasm; suspicion; jealousy; lack of confidence; and mental lassitude. (Seem, p. 28) Bladder-related headaches are typically occipital.


therapies

imagery:
• pouring liquid headache (Korn, p. 109)
• rinsing the hair (Chavez)
• temporal headache: visualize a tight band around the skull, tightening then loosening. (Epstein, p. 122)
• Move headache outside then back in, left and right, down all around, experience power to manipulate it. (Bry, p. 90)

affirmation:
• I love and approve of myself. I see myself and what I do with eyes of love. I am safe. (Hay, 1984, p. 167)

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

related materia medica listings:
the shadow and physical symptoms
body reveals: the spirit
converting a symptom to a signal
imagery: precautions
imagery: techniques
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.