Emotions and Acupuncture
Emotions are a normal part of being a human. They are a way for us to respond to an event, express how we feel, and communicate with others. There are no “bad” emotions, however, when a certain emotion lingers for a period of time long after the event has happened, that’s when that emotion is no longer healthy and needs to be treated.
For example, it is normal for a parent to feel sad and worried when their child leaves for college; but if the sadness or worries continue for weeks or months after, it will start affecting the physical body; the parent might cry or sigh too much which affects the lungs, or overeat which affects the spleen; this is when acupuncture comes in and help balance out the lungs & spleen meridians.
Before reading on, ask yourself a question: What is the main emotion that I feel on a daily basis?
Got your answer? Continue reading.
The main emotions and correlated organs are as follow:
Anger, frustration - Liver
Joy, overjoy, mania, anxious, anxiety - Heart
Worry, overthinking - Spleen
Grief, sadness - Lung
Fright, fear - Kidney
Unhealthy, long-linger emotions often require several treatments and a lot of self-awareness to notice any changes. For example, the anger might come back, but it goes away quicker; the sadness returns but it isn’t debilitating and you can still function throughout the day.
Once the emotions are in balance, the patient might come in for acupuncture as needed. Those who are prone to certain unhealthy emotions (i.e. “I’ve always been anxious.”), a maintenance treatment plan is necessary to keep these emotions in check.
CAM. Table 1. The Five Categories of Things According to the Five Elements
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