The next day, still in shock and running on little sleep, I went to see my doctor. While my low back was sore, I didn’t think it was anything serious. However, I could barely bend my elbows, and my wrists were tender, though I retained some range of motion. It was clear that my elbows had taken the brunt of the fall.

Diagnosis: Broken Elbows, No Surgery

The X-rays confirmed my suspicion—broken elbows. Luckily, they weren’t as severe as fractures in my wrists or shoulders, which would have required surgery or casting. My doctor reassured me that elbows heal through movement and that no immobilization was necessary. Instead, he told me, “Just wait for your body to heal.”

But passively waiting didn’t sit well with me. As an alternative medicine practitioner, I knew there were ways I could actively support my healing process. I decided to take a proactive approach, combining both traditional and alternative therapies to speed up my recovery.

Healing Through a Holistic Approach

Mental Healing: Rest Is Essential

Healing starts from the inside out. The body doesn’t heal when we’re stressed or rushing through life—it heals when we rest. While sleep is vital, I realized that simply going back to my usual routine too quickly would hinder my progress. My body was physically repairing broken bone, and I needed to honor that by prioritizing rest.

I made sure to support my body during the initial days of healing by incorporating a variety of therapies:

• Acupuncture
• Craniosacral Therapy
• Sound Bowl Healing

Additionally, I listened to binaural beats while lying in front of the fireplace for at least 30 minutes, three times a day. This helped me enter a deep state of relaxation and promote healing. By giving myself this level of care early in the recovery process, I knew I was setting the stage for long-term success and minimizing the risk of future complications.

Internal Healing: Supplementation & Remedies

In addition to mental and emotional rest, I focused on internal healing with the following:

• T-Relief: I took one tablet up to five times daily, under the tongue, away from meals and mint. This homeopathic remedy is designed to reduce pain and inflammation, particularly after acute injuries.
• Vitamin D: I supplemented with 5000 IU daily during the first month of recovery, as vitamin D plays a crucial role in bone health and immune function.  D3 with Vitamin K is the best form.
• Bone Builder Forte by Metagenics: MCHC is a highly absorbable crystalline compound that provides everything found in healthy bones.  

Physical Healing: Active Recovery

Even though I had to scale back my usual activities, I knew it was important to keep my body moving in a way that supported my healing. Here’s what I did:

• Movement: I reduced the intensity of my swimming routine but didn’t stop altogether. Gentle movement, even at a slower pace, helped keep blood flowing to the injured areas.
• Hot Tub Therapy: I spent time in the hot tub with my elbows near the jets, using the warm water to promote circulation and reduce stiffness.
• Acupuncture: For injury recovery, acupuncture was essential in getting my body out of “fight or flight” mode and into healing mode. The tiny needles stimulate microcirculation, which accelerates the recovery process.
• Light Therapy (Celluma Laser): I also incorporated Low-Level Light Therapy (LLLT), which uses specific wavelengths of light to improve cellular performance. Light therapy has been shown to:
  • Increase blood flow
  • Reduce inflammation
  • Stimulate collagen production
  • Accelerate tissue repair

The Celluma Laser, an FDA-cleared device based on NASA research, delivers blue, red, and near-infrared light energy to promote healing by stimulating cellular activity and supporting the body’s natural repair processes.

Two Weeks Later: Results Beyond Expectations

When I returned to my doctor for a follow-up two weeks later, he was impressed with my progress. He said, “You’re healing faster than most of my patients! You’ve regained more range of motion in two weeks than some people do in a month. What did you do?!”

It was a reassuring moment, confirming that my holistic approach was working. But I didn’t stop there. I asked my doctor how long the bones would take to fully heal and put that information on my calendar for the next 12 weeks. This served as a constant reminder to prioritize recovery and avoid rushing back into a hectic lifestyle.

The Importance of Patience and Proactive Healing

In the end, the journey wasn’t just about “waiting” for my body to heal. It was about being an active participant in my recovery, using a combination of traditional and alternative therapies to support my body at every stage.

While it’s tempting to push through pain or return to our normal routines too quickly, I learned that recovery requires patience, rest, and intentional care. By honoring the healing process early on, I set myself up for a stronger and more complete recovery.

Taking Control of Your Healing Journey

No matter the injury, you can take control of your healing process. Whether you’re dealing with a broken bone, muscle strain, or another injury, consider incorporating a holistic approach that includes both medical care and self-care practices. Rest, movement, and the right supplements and therapies can all play a crucial role in your recovery.

By committing to this process, you’re not just waiting for time to heal you—you’re actively supporting your body’s natural ability to heal itself.

The post Increasing the Healing Process: What to Do When Your Doctor Says, “Just Wait” appeared first on Michigan Associates of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine.

One of our patients wrote a blog about their own infertility journey. She poignantly shared her experience and hope to be of help and service to others and to educate those who may not have had experience with infertility. 

It is March 13, 2023, about 10 days from when our due date was scheduled. I am sitting in my call room at the hospital, taking care of the children that are not my blood, but instead the ones I’ve dedicated my professional life to. As I sit here, I am reflecting on what the last nine months would have been.

My husband and I started trying to have a baby in January of 2022. Because I’ve known so many others that required some fertility help, I was not oblivious to the idea that this may not be a smooth road. My IUD was removed, and we blissfully went on our way to try for our own perfect baby. We decided to “not try” and leave all the LH tests in the cupboard, because ‘I wanted this process to be fun and stress free’.

After graduating residency, my husband took a sabbatical from work, and we spent the summer in Spain and Portugal and it was there that we got our positive pregnancy test. It was June 17, 2022. We were happy, on an island in the middle of the ocean, planning what the next 9 months and beyond would look like. I felt so lucky. We came home and I was around 6 weeks pregnant but couldn’t wait to tell our families. We thought up cute ways to let everyone know that their first grandchild/niece/nephew would be joining us in March. Everyone was so excited. At nine weeks, we went for our first ultrasound and when the US probe went in, all I saw was an empty sac of what should have been filled with life. My husband and I walked to an exam room with tears streaming down my face waiting for my OBGYN to tell me what I already knew. A miscarriage.

I went home, got in the shower and felt my body, only then did I realize that I didn’t feel pregnant anymore. I felt tricked by my own body and mind. Now, I must remind myself that the sadness that I felt, and still feel is because we lost a pregnancy. There was no heartbeat that we got to hear, but this was still a pregnancy– a being that we were excited to meet, to take care of, to be ours. So, if this ever gets shared publicly and anyone is struggling with a similar type of miscarriage, don’t let anyone tell you that ‘but it wasn’t even a baby’, because it was, and you deserve to mourn what could have been.

The guilt and jealousy I felt was tremendous. Just last month, my best friend and cousin went into labor with the baby who would have been born a month before ours and I found myself sobbing in my car out of sadness of the time that had passed, when all I wanted to feel was excitement, but I didn’t feel capable of this. Again, the guilt is real. Every single pregnancy announcement on social media was like a knife to the heart, having to remind myself that our baby just isn’t ready to come to us yet, for whatever reason the universe has for that.

If all this has taught me anything– it’s that crying is therapeutic in its nature. It fosters a chance to let go of that emotion instead of carrying it deep in my heart. It has allowed me to be sad for what we lost but be present for the successes of people that I love. Whilst this has been the hardest part of all of this,  I am grateful for the journey.

So where am I now? I am about 10 days before what would have been my due date and still not pregnant despite months of testing, perfect mid-cycle ultrasounds and strongly positive ovulation strips. However, I’ve learned a lot about myself. I feel thankful for this body, even in moments where I feel like I might hate it. This body is one that didn’t let a life grow that wasn’t going to thrive. Most miscarriages in the first trimester are due to genetic abnormalities and I am grateful to my body for recognizing that it wasn’t a healthy pregnancy and doing what it needed to do because of that.

1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, and I am thankful for all those that have shared with me their own story, all or most with healthy children/pregnancies after a tumultuous road. Knowing how much this has helped me, I will always be a listening ear for anyone that needs it. I am thankful to have my uterus, my ovaries, patent fallopian tubes, a normal fertility workup (for us both), a supportive family and a wonderful husband to go through this with because I know that many people are not so lucky. While I sometimes wish I could be blissfully oblivious, I am fortunate for my medical background that taught me to advocate for myself and get established with a fertility specialist when I felt I needed to, not when someone else determined it was or wasn’t time to.

While I am in the “two week wait” for the last cycle we will try without intervention by a reproductive endocrinologist, I am grateful that these last 6 months have brought me back to yoga and introduced me to acupuncture and therapy– I tell all my patients that being mindful of your mental health is what the “cool kids” are doing these days so it was about time I practiced what I preached.

I have stopped saying the phrase ‘conceiving naturally’ because what’s natural for one person may not work for another. Science is incredible and we are so fortunate to have alternative measures to become parents. Whether you ever step foot into a fertility clinic or not, a pregnancy should never be considered unnatural no matter the means in which it came to be.

I am choosing to look at this as a closing chapter– one that will shape me forever and that I will never forget. As I pass this due date, I am manifesting and daydreaming of the next time I see two lines on a stick. I am visualizing getting to tell my husband and begin to plan for a new baby again. I am looking forward to the excitement of our families when we get to share this news with them (and this time around I think I’ll be waiting a a lot longer to tell anyone– that’s what weekly ultrasounds and therapy is for).

I am even looking forward to all the nausea and vomiting (I only experienced it for two weeks last time). Most of all, I am dreaming that those two lines turn into the sounds of a beating heart and ultimately the long awaited healthy newborn cry on delivery day– tears of life for the baby and tears of happiness for me and for my husband.

**Update:  This lovely couple recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

The post Infertility – A Behind The Scenes Look At One Woman’s Journey to Pregnancy appeared first on Michigan Associates of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine.

The practice of gratitude is important for everyone but especially for those of us going through a struggle—from infertility, to chronic pain to relationship difficulties—gratitude is the one thing we can control.  So many of us have a hard time dealing with the lack of control in life and truth be told, there are so few things that anyone can truly control.  But to be grateful helps the mind shift from negative to neutral; from overwhelm to presence.  To be grateful is not to minimize the experience or to turn “bad” things into “good”.  (Gratitude is NOT blind positivity) Rather, gratitude is an acknowledgment of things that we often take for granted—eyes that allow us to see, legs that allow us to run, fresh air in our lungs, music we love, people we love, the gift of waking up in the morning and so on.  To be grateful for such things despite our struggle transforms our perspective into a more tenable reality.  Gratitude is the “yin” to hardship’s “yang” and as Taoist theory has explained for thousands of years, life is balance!

The post Thanksgiving In April appeared first on Michigan Associates of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine.

Wow.  These days, life is hectic and filled with fear, anxiety and grief for so many of us.  Just as we were coming back to life from the pandemic, the world seems to have exploded and we find ourselves connected to the news and reading heartbreaking stories nonstop.  This practice has a detrimental effect on our nervous systems.  Each person manages stress and grief in different ways and it can manifest as insomnia, headaches, irritability, depression and withdrawal.  First, we want to send love and peace to you and those you love.  Next, let acupuncture be a part of your self preservation.

In Chinese medical theory, there is no separation between the body and spirit and therefore relaxing the body is equally tied to relaxing the heart.  Acupuncture has a strong effect on the nervous system and can help in this process of relaxation.  Ear acupuncture is used for this goal, specifically the NADA (National Acupuncture Detoxification Association) protocol.  In addition to traditional acupuncture, the NADA protocol has a strong effect on the nervous system and really helps to calm the body.  Per the NADA website, the protocol has been proven to: “increase calmness and lead to better sleep, reduce agitation, provide relief from stress and emotional trauma and promotes a discovery of inner quiet and strength”.  Its easy to feel helpless and lost in the chaos but acupuncture can be a great anchor and help you through a difficult time.

The post Acupuncture For Difficult Times appeared first on Michigan Associates of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine.

Here are some tips to help you reboot your mind and body, so you can realistically look ahead with a lightness of spirit.

1. New Year’s goals need to be empowering, not self-minimizing. Accept yourself for where you are today. Don’t put your life on hold until you accomplish something in particular. You’re enough right now.
2. Give yourself permission to be perfectly imperfect. We are all just human.
3. Have the same compassion for yourself as you have for others. If your self-talk is not as kind as it would be to a friend, remind yourself that you are just as valuable to others as your friends are to you.
4. Don’t compare yourself to others. Being your unique self is your contribution to the world. Do you, as you are, unapologetically.
5. Smile, even if you don’t feel like it. When you smile, your brain releases dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. These neurotransmitters are associated with lowering your anxiety and increasing feelings of happiness. In fact, serotonin is often the chemical that anti-depressant medications attempt to regulate. (Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201206/there-s-magic-in-your-smile). When you smile, you share happiness with others, and that’s a contagion we could all use more of these days.
6. Consider trying acupuncture to help you reset emotionally and physically. The reason people feel so calm and relaxed after an acupuncture treatment is that our bodies respond well to being in balance. Acupuncture also releases endorphins, which are the feel-good hormones. Being in balance is what helps us on the road to health and happiness.

The post New Year’s Resolution Reboot appeared first on Michigan Associates of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine.

For each new year, we often set health-related goals. We want to eat better, exercise more, balance our lives, and try to behave in a kinder way in our world. When we strive for balance, we don’t often think about balancing our physical health and our emotional health. We tend to focus on the physical aspects of our being. However, our emotional health impacts our physical health in ways we don’t often realize.

Chinese medicine recognized thousands of years ago that an important relationship exists between emotions and physical health. The Chinese Canon of Medicine recognized that emotional and psychological factors are important causes of physical illness and can negatively affect the internal organs of the human body. It states that “anger hurts the liver, joy hurts the heart, brooding hurts the spleen and melancholy hurts the lungs.”

Medical texts over the centuries have made suggestions on how to attain emotional health. In one of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) texts, the recommendation is to be optimistic, noting “optimism will help you forget sorrow.” A positive outlook promotes circulation of blood and Chi (life force/energy), and thereby improves health. It makes sense there cannot be balance when we are overcome with anxiety, grief, joy or anger for any length of time.

With the stress of the recent elections, the upcoming holidays, finding the balance between eating, drinking, exercising, family visits, politics, managing the outward expectation of what we “should” be feeling and what we are “really” feeling, can be overwhelming, and many feel physically and emotionally exhausted. This quite often continues unchecked for months and we wonder why our New Year’s resolutions will fall by the wayside.

All kinds of stress (physical, emotional and spiritual) when not managed, manifests in physical issues. Chronic stress produces excess cortisol and adrenalin, which have negative effects on our body. Cortisol creates worry or fear and vigilance, which produces anxiety. Adrenalin, the fight-or-flight hormone, physically prepares the body to react to a threat. Overproduction of these hormones will often interfere with the body’s ability to handle stress.

Clearly, it is easier said than done to attain and maintain emotional balance and harmony. A profound-yet-simple solution to helping reverse the runaway trajectory of emotions is through acupuncture. By definition, acupuncture works to balance the imbalance.

 How do you know if what you’re feeling can be treated with acupuncture? Consider the following: If the liver energy is too strong, for example, one may feel irritable, angry, depressed, easily frustrated and bloated. If the heart energy is out of balance, one may experience insomnia, obsessive thinking, anxiety, palpitations or lucid dreaming. Acupuncture works to balance the energies to alleviate those symptoms.

Acupuncture is a more than 2,000-year-old Chinese system of medicine that places very fine needles in strategic areas of the body to promote healing of its unhealthy parts. The needles act like a faucet by either increasing or reducing the flow of chi and blood through established channels or meridians. Although chi is not readily definable in western medical terminology, it signifies movement or energy.

The reason for most ailments (physical or emotional) is some kind of blockage;; the system is gridlocked. Regulating the flow of chi and blood through the meridians allows the body to heal itself.

Obviously, we all want a sense of well-being and balance. Finding the way to do it is the challenge. Consider acupuncture as a natural, drug-free way to help you realize your New Year’s resolution. Remember, when acupuncture reduces the excesses or increases the weaknesses in the channels, a balance is achieved. When there is balance, it calms the spirit, and we are able to circle back to a sense of optimism and contentment.

Wishing you a healthy, balanced and happy holiday season!

Karen Siegel Propis is an acupuncturist practicing at Michigan Associates of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine, 7001 Orchard Lake, Suite 120, West Bloomfield; (248) 737-7126.

The post Finding Balance When the World Seems Out of Balance. appeared first on Michigan Associates of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine.

Emotional Release Sessions

With Monica Mae Leibson, L. Ac.

Over the 16 years I’ve been in clinical practice, I’ve seen people for a variety of physical medicine issues.  The initial intake includes a lengthy review of medical history and at the end, I always check in with how people are doing emotionally.  As a holistic practitioner, I’ve learned that emotions can trigger physical issues. On the flip side; pain, insomnia, digestive issues, fertility, or any other issue can certainly create their own emotional reactions.  The bottom line is that we are emotional beings that are inside a physical body.  It truly is such a beautiful design.

Acupuncture has proven itself to be an amazing tool for releasing old emotions and supporting us to move forward in our journey.  Emotions start as a neuro-chemical release in the brain.  The release triggers a physical sensation which can range anywhere from digestive upset to sweating, heart pounding, headaches, etc.  Not all emotions lead to these intense reactions but they generally manifest somewhere in the body.  When we allow ourselves to truly experience the emotional cascade, the physical response lasts for anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes. What is very common, though, is that people will resist their emotions and try to stop themselves from feeling them altogether.  As a society we look down on others and ourselves for feeling anxiety, depression, fear, etc.  The new age thought of being able to create and manifest our lives can make people feel even worse because they don’t feel they can allow any room for upset.  I’ve seen so many people over the years who say that they HAVE TO stay positive in order to get what they want.  That’s a lot of pressure! The Law of Attraction does NOT state that you have to be happy all the time, (we will save that for another blog).  The point is that it’s OK to experience all different sorts of emotions.  It is, in fact a necessary part of being a sentient and compassionate person. Oftentimes when we do experience emotions, rather than allowing them to naturally come and go, we hold on tight and aren’t able to release them from our minds and bodies.  Acupuncture is a very effective way to facilitate a release.  With this in mind, I am offering a specific treatment aimed at balancing stress and emotions and gently releasing emotional blockages.

During our brief intake,  we will review which emotions are out of balance in your body & mind. I will also feel the pulse and look at your tongue, which are Chinese Medicine diagnostic tools. We will then get started with our hands-on treatment.

These sessions work well for people who are experiencing:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• A recent emotional breakdown
• Life transitions (job loss, aging, engaged to be married, divorce, grieving, puberty, menopause)
• High stress situations or inability to cope with any level of stress
• Chronic emotional issues that you’ve been working on in other ways with little success
• A history of trauma

The treatment will consist of essential oils I choose for your specific emotional needs.  I will also create a customized meditation to release the grip of emotional stress and allow you to tap into your inner wisdom.  The final modality will be acupuncture to facilitate a natural endorphin release and move emotional blockages that have gotten lodged in the body.  There are specific acupuncture points that are related to each unique emotion so this is a highly effective and specific form of therapy.  

I am so inspired and look forward to working with you to release past emotions and create a new & exciting future!

Please call the office with any questions.  I’m happy to speak with you personally, prior to setting up your appointment.

Many blessings,

Monica

The post Emotional Release Sessions – Getting support moving through stuck emotions appeared first on Michigan Associates of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine.

1. Begin seated in a chair with legs and arms uncrossed, feet firmly planted on the ground
2. Close your eyes and take 4 deep, slow breaths
3. Focus attention on your third eye (between eyebrows)
4. Visualize a swirling, gold light; this should elicit a joyous, blissful sensation. Spend a few breaths here
5. Guide the light to your heart; thank it for its work. Breathe here for a few minutes
6. Guide the light to your lungs; thank it for its work. Breathe here for a few minutes.
7. Guide the light to your liver; thank it for its work. Breathe here for a few minutes.
8. Guide the light to your stomach, spleen and pancreas; thank them for their work. Breathe here for a few minutes.
9. Guide the light to kidneys: thank them for their work. Breathe here for a few minutes.
10. Guide the light up the entire spine, over the skull, through the third eye and down the front midline as the allow the energy to pool in the navel.
11. Place your hands over the navel to seal the energy

*You can also guide the energy to anywhere that is causing pain or discomfort.

The post Balancing Qi Gong Exercise appeared first on Michigan Associates of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine.

These phrases are used when people don’t know what to say yet genuinely hope that you will recover and move on quickly.  The intention is good, but these statements can feel hurtful to hear. This response is an example of toxic positivity because it’s putting a positive spin on something that doesn’t feel positive to the person experiencing it. 

What We Hear vs. What We Need

Patients often hear things that are meant to be well-intentioned but in fact, they are dismissive and based on the friend or family member feeling better and not the patient. Oftentimes, the supportive person struggles to feel empathy which leads to their misplaced reaction.  Or, many people are uncomfortable talking about sad or painful topics, so they often dismiss the pain and sadness by saying things like “everything happens for a reason” or “stay positive.” Since they have not gone through the same pain or illness that the patient is going through, they simply cannot imagine what the situation might be like and are quick to brush it off.  Common reactions are to try to fix or deny, when what the patient really needs is the exact opposite: they need to be seen and validated.  

Other things that patients often hear: “Why don’t you see my doctor? Have you tried this supplement? Have you tried cutting out dairy? Have you done acupuncture?” Again, all of this is well-intentioned but unless someone is explicitly asking for medical advice, it is unsolicited.  They don’t need advice. They need support.  A listening ear.  A cup of tea.  A text to check in and see how their pain has been lately. They need to be seen. They need to be held. They need to be acknowledged. But so many dismiss pain, sadness, suffering, and grief. This leaves others who are struggling with these emotions not only hurting on the inside but also feeling excluded and left behind by their peers and loved ones. This can be like pouring salt on the wound. 

“We need to dispel the myth that empathy is ‘walking in someone else’s shoes. Rather than walking in your shoes, I need to learn how to listen to the story you tell about what it’s like in your shoes and believe you even when it doesn’t match my experiences”- Brene Brown

Embrace Emotional Wellness

It is important for patients who are experiencing health challenges to set themselves up for emotional wellness. Emotional wellness during a health challenge is entirely different from emotional wellness when your health is in good working order. Emotional challenges are more like a rainy day so it makes sense that you would not have a sunny day disposition. It wouldn’t follow logical thinking if you laid out at the beach on a rainy day. When people are told to “stay positive”, it’s like telling someone during the rain to pretend that it’s sunny. Instead of emotionally gaslighting, what that person needs to do is respond to the rain and not just pretend that it’s sunny outside. Depression and anxiety amidst a health challenge are natural and normal reactions.

The goal should not be to deny any feelings that come up during a difficult situation regarding one’s health, but instead to interpret those feelings as cues that there are changes we need to make. If we can view our emotions as our bodies’ calls to action, we can take actions that will not only help us to feel better physically but also allow us to move through and process our emotions more effectively. This is a much different approach from just “staying positive” because it acknowledges the truth about how we feel, whereas living in denial will be less likely to inspire us to create new routines to transform our lives. 

How to Ask Friends and Family for Support

Friends and family can mean to be supportive, but there are some things you can do to make this go more smoothly: 

1. Be picky regarding who you talk to.  It’s important to only share with people you feel emotionally safe with since people may accidentally say uneducated and unsupportive things.
2. Possible sentence to friends: “I know you intend to be helpful but right now this conversation feels more draining than helpful. Is it possible you can help me in this other way instead?”
3. When you do talk to people about your challenge, be very clear about what you’d like from them.  For example, “I want to talk to you about this challenge I’m going through but when I speak about it I feel very vulnerable.  I’d love it if you could:

• Show empathy
• Support me by checking in
• Don’t offer unsolicited advice
• Don’t ask too many questions about my situation (this can cause patients to feel more overwhelmed than supported)

How Friends/Family Members Can Give Support

1.  Validate their experience. An example of this is, “Wow that sounds hard for you.  I’m here for you during this tough time. You can be honest with me and I’ll be here to support you and get through this with you.”
2. Continue being their friend. Talk to them about their hobbies, take them out, or binge-watch a Netflix show together. They are more than their diagnosis and normal activities can help them in their time of healing. 
3. Offer to help and ask them which way they would prefer for you to help: 

• Check in over text
• Talk once a week
• Send a small gift
• Provide childcare
• Drop off food
• Figure out your own creative way to show you care

Health challenges are difficult to face alone, and the support of friends and family can make the worst days a little better. While most mean nothing but encouragement, a little extra direction will ensure they’re being helpful rather than hurtful when you need to lean on them for support.

The post What to Say to Someone Going through Health Challenges (And What to Avoid) Part Two of How to Navigate Difficult Times appeared first on Michigan Associates of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine.

• Working too much, staying too busy
• Eating or drinking too much
• Looking at the computers/social media
• Watching TV, shopping on line

The list goes on.  Yet at the end of whatever distraction we use, there we are – hanging out with those uncomfortable feelings!  The more we try to avoid them, the stronger they are!

The same is true for our physical health – the more we avoid, neglect or turn away from taking care of ourselves, the more likely it is that our health will take a hit. Make no mistake, our physical health and emotional health are intricately tied together  When our emotions are out of balance, it will negatively impact our physical health and visa versa.

In the Traditional Chinese Medicine system of wellness, every organ has an emotion associated with it.  In addition to the physical symptoms associated with an organ imbalance – there are emotional imbalances. Through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is important to work toward balance of all emotions. If we find our emotions are extreme in one area they will negatively impact other emotions.

Let us look at 5 organ systems and their respective emotions.  

Liver

The emotion associated with the Liver is ANGER – which may also manifest in impatience, frustration, resentment and edginess.  I am sure that these feelings have applied to all of us  some time or another during the last few months! The Liver energy (qi) controls the flow of the qi energy through all the meridians.  Meridians are pathways (think highways) that transport the flow of qi through the body. When we are under stress, that qi energy can get stuck (think traffic jam).  It is important to keep that flow of qi energy moving freely.

Our lifestyle (what we eat, drink, exercise) will also have an impact on the balance of the Liver Qi.  In this sense, the Liver energy is much like

the liver as an organ.  If we drink or eat to an excess, it tends to affect the liver. When we are taking medications, we often have to have our liver enzymes checked to make  (using the example of alcohol) which negatively impacts our liver and the liver qi.

It is important to keep our Liver Qi energy moving through exercise, walks, deep breathing and yoga during these times.

LUNG

Grief is the emotion associated with the Lung.  I find this very apropos as grief and feelings of loss are so prevalent in these uncertain time. Unexpressed grief may cause long term contraction of the Lungs and lead to lung health issues. However, grief that is expressed can strengthen the internal foundation of health.

It is very important to experience the feelings associated with grief and sadness as they happen.  There is nothing like a good cry to release emotions that can become blocked.

Foods to support the Lung: eating cooked and warming foods helps the digestion which, in turn, prevents the build-up of mucous and dampness in the lung. Avoiding dairy and chilled foods will also be helpful.

HEART

The Heart, in TCM, is where our spirit/emotional center is located. Often, we say the heart rules the spirit or “shen”.  This is a very important concept in TCM.  When our spirit is calm, we can easily navigate other emotions and situations in our daily life.  However, when our spirit is agitated, upset or diffused we may experience:

• Being scattered or confused
• Extremes emotions such as mania or depression
• Memory Loss

Emotional reactions such as joy, anger, sadness, grief, fright and their manifestations  (expressions, movements and gestures) are housed in the heart and our spirit.  When our Heart qi is closer to balance, we are able to manage other emotions with more ease.  With this in mind, it is important to try to “stay in the middle” of the lane and not in the extremes.

SPLEEN

The emotion associated with the Spleen is WORRY!!  Even when life seem like easy street – worry is a very common emotion.  Since the Spleen qi also oversees our digestion, may times excess worry will manifest in digestive issues. We may hear about people who, when under stress, may experience “bouts” of digestion issues

Increased worry = increased digestive issues!  When worry is managed, digestive issues can also be managed. Conversely, if we have excess digestive issues  – we often worry!  It is important to find balance in both.

Protecting our digestion is very important.  Eat primarily cooked foods (easy to digest). Eat smaller, more frequent meals. Drink warm water or tea with meals. Use moderate amounts of warming spices (pepper, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg). Avoid cold foods such as foods right out of the fridge (let sit out), ice water and ice cream.

KIDNEY

The emotion associated with the Kidney is FEAR! Yikes – in this pandemic time, it is most certainly hard not to be fearful!  The Kidneys represent the root energy of the body – the foundation of all  our qi energies. The  roots of our tree. Like the roots, Fear is often something that we don’t acknowledge or feel on the surface. We

English vocabulary word of afraid illustration

may not even be aware of our feelings of fear and they may manifest as other feelings.

A bit of healthy fear is good – it keeps us safe a protected. However, excess fear can weaken our root energy and lead to a depletion of our adrenal glands and immune system.

In review, we covered 5 main organs and 5 main emotions in TCM.

Liver – Anger

Lung – Grief

Heart – Excessive feelings

Spleen – Worry

Kidney – Fear

Too much of any one emotion can impact the organ and weaken the other organ systems and emotions.  It is very important to find a balance. If you find yourself feeling too much fear, for example, work hard to release.  Same with Anger.  Or any emotion.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on the foundation of Yin and Yang – which represents a state of balance – in our body and the world. To this end, it is important to work toward keeping ourselves in a healthy state of emotional balance.

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