Are you a Human, or a Lizard?

Perspectives on Trauma from a Chinese and Western Perspective

 By Jessica Mariah

           Trauma is experiencing an event that is so overwhelming and world shattering that it overrides your temporary ability to cope with the situation. When the body is expecting to fight or run away, it directs the body’s energy and blood into your muscles, and away from digestion and the natural processes of repair. It’s your body’s way of prioritizing. However, when we stuck in a flight or fight mode, the long-term effects are damaging not only to our body but to our lives.

            So, what is trauma from a Chinese Medicine perspective?

            In Chinese Medicine, there are fourteen meridians in the body. These are lines of energy. You can think of them like the energetic equivalent of veins, like tiny streams running through your body supplying it with life force energy rather than blood. Twelve of the meridians connect to specific organs of the body and two make a loop down the front and back of your body.

            Just like how your muscles get flooded with blood in a normal flight or fight response, so too do your meridians get flooded with qi, which is another word for energy. In particular, states of shock and fright activate the Heart, Lung and Kidney channels*. 

            From a Western perspective, this makes a lot of sense. The heart is responsible for pumping blood through your body; heart rate naturally picks up when we experience something stressful. In Chinese Medicine the Heart is responsible for housing the spirit and is referred to as the “Great Emperor”. Basically this means that no issue in the body can arise without it also simultaneously affecting the Heart.

           

Trauma is said to “scatter” the Heart qi. “Scattering” qi is like a river that gets so flooded that water spills out over the banks, leaving wreckage around it. The word for this is Ci Ji. Here ‘Ji’ contains the radical for ‘water’ and means to ‘swash, surge’ as a wave does. Relating to our earlier analogy, the “Emperor” gets so overwhelmed by paperwork that he stops doing his job effectively. This can result in restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, mood swings, personality/ psychiatric disorders, and memory issues.

            The Lungs sit closest to the “Emperor”, and are in charge of creating “Wei” qi, which is also known as the “defensive” qi of the body. You can think of the Wei qi as similar to the wall or boundary which surrounds the Emperor's country. This border is in charge of what comes into our body and what leaves. When the Wei qi is weak, so too are our boundaries. Pathogens wiggle their way past our defenses to create a nasty cold. Western ideology would liken this manifestation of qi to the immune system, yet Chinese medicine thinks of it in much broader terms. Wei qi includes the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects, as well. 

          Many forms of trauma, such as verbal, physical and sexual abuse involve having our boundaries violated. When boundaries have been invaded, especially chronically, our "international borders" get worn down. We are no longer able to sort what should come in and what shouldn't as effectively, and this can result in frequent colds, cough, wheezing, dysfunctional/ abusive relationships, weak voice and fatigue.  

The Kidneys in Chinese medicine host the “Pre-Natal qi”, a finite amount of qi that each of us are both with. It is similar to the idea of a deep underground reservoir. In Western medicine, this translates to the adrenals, which are little endocrine glands which sit atop the kidneys. When our bodies enter into sympathetic stress mode, the brain signals the release of stress hormones from the adrenals: cortisol and epinephrine and norepinephrine.

In a flight or fight response, because our digestion has been shut down and we are not getting energy from our food, the body compensates by releasing some of it’s stored energy. Thus the Kidney qi is depleted. Some symptoms of Kidney deficiency include: low back pain, thinning hair, fatigue, joint pain, urinary issues/incontinence, and bed-wetting in children.

            So. The long term effects of being in a flight or fight response from a Chinese Medicine perspective is that it “scatters” the Heart Qi, diminishes Lung qi and drains the Kd qi. What are the long term effects of unhealed trauma from a physiological and psychological perspective?

In parasympathetic, our body can fully absorb nutrients, and cells have the energy to grow. Toxins get removed from our bodies and we experience peace, joy, and love. 

In flight or fight mode, our frontal cortex shuts down, which means so too does our ability to respond to situations logically and creatively. The little fighters in our immune system get shut down to ready the “big guns”; our muscles.

In sympathetic mode, we lose the capacity to respond to situations with  novelty and dynamism. Instead, our bodies fall back on its oldest habits: instinct. When accidentally placed on a hot surface, your hand moves away automatically. You don't have to think about it because there is no thought process involved. Similar to the reflex, the sympathetic nervous system accesses an ingrained survival process, which bypasses the frontal cortex (the area of the brain dedicated to higher cognitive functions such as logic and reason) and goes straight to what is referred to as the “reptilian” brain. 

            Studies have shown that when one is in a sympathetic response, our range of vision is quite literally narrowed. It's logical from a biological standpoint; when we are in danger, our focus becomes specific to that which we want to either fight or run away from. Taking in the details of a flowery meadow is not useful when we’re trying to escape from a hangry tiger.

             Trauma also causes disassociation and disconnection. Through it we learn that the world is not safe and that people will hurt us. To cope, we avoid reality, we avoid ourselves, our bodies, and our deep, aching hearts. People disassociate through various methods, whether it be through drug and alcohol use, sex, food or shopping addictions, self-harm or other destructive behaviors. Any self-destructive behaviors will have its roots in trauma and stress, and the understandable desire humans have to avoid pain.  

            However, there are two states of being—moving away and moving towards. When we are “moving away”, we are guarded. We are poised to fight or run, we are narrowed, contracted, and condensed. This is effectively living in fear. 

In a parasympathetic, the body opens up. We smell the breeze, we can think about situations critically and effectively before reacting. The possibilities for change and growth open up before us like a welcoming forest path. This is living in love. If we desire to live this way, we must learn to recognize and effectively deal with trauma as it comes up. This involves learning to regulate the nervous system. 

So, what are some tools to do this? 

            #1 build awareness

            There is an awesome technique called Shamatha meditation that allows one to build awareness. With this form of meditation, we are not trying to stop thoughts or condemn ourselves for thinking—here we engage with ourselves gently through the process of attention. That means the first step to getting into Parasympathetic means noticing that you are in a Sympathetic mode. For me, this feels like a “buzzing” around me. I feel a lot of energy in my upper body, like a stone in my throat and a weight or uncomfortable tension in my chest. I notice tension in my shoulders and neck and occipital region. I notice tension in my spine and a feeling of being disconnected to my lower body. I notice that my thoughts flow quickly and that there is some sort of intense resistance to being still. These are all my own internal cues that my body is stressed out. Although it is probably similar for many people, each person is unique and stores or processes stress differently in their body. So, noticing is the first action.

            You begin Shamatha by sitting relaxed but upright, with our head, shoulders, and hips in alignment. Ideally the hips are raised over the feet. We can begin by simply bringing our attention to our breath. I like to cycle my attention through my senses to keep me focused, ending with focusing on the breath. When thoughts arise, you say to yourself; “thinking” and come back to the present moment. You do the same when strong emotions and sensations arise, as well. Doing this when you’re not stressed out resources you to notice when you are.

            Using meditation allows your body to relax, slow down, and come back to homeostasis.

            #2 Just breathe.

            This is pretty self-explanatory. Since the body is all interconnected, slowing your breath will slow your thoughts and your nervous system. They say that it takes about ten deep breaths to shift the body from sympathetic to parasympathetic.

            #3 Feel your feet

         The body naturally drives qi upward during times of duress. So by bringing the qi back down we can relax our bodies. We do this by focus the energy on our feet. It’s a great way to calm your nervous system. You can give yourself a foot massage, roll your feet over a golf ball, or do a body scan where you go through every muscle of your body and tense and relax.  

            For a good body scan meditation, you can find it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7xGF8F28zo

            #4 Realize that every emotion has an instant physiological effect. 

            We live in a culture that separates the mind from the body. “Mind over matter” is considered a talent in our culture. Yet every thought and feeling has a corresponding effect on our body. That’s right. Every one.  Emotions and feelings are a type of energy, and the physical body is affected by this energy. Above is a chart that shows the infrared photos of differing emotions. Heat follows qi in Chinese medicine.  

Thinking: “I am sad” is very different from feeling the sensation of a weight on your chest and like your heart is being squeezed. Yet a lot of times we use thinking as a defense to feeling. We run away from the feeling. But really what we do when we run away from a feeling is create further disconnection in our lives. Meditation helps us tune into the physical manifestation of the energy of emotions without getting caught up in a head trip about it.

#4 Grounding Visualization 

I think visualization is a great tool and I use it daily. Qi follows attention, feeling & thought in the body. So we can ground ourselves just by using simple visualization techniques. I like to start off by imaging a special place in nature. Imagine the sounds, scents, and sights you might experience there. Then when you feel fully immersed in your relaxation place, imagine a thick cord of any color connecting your pelvic bowl to the center of the planet. Imagine anything that isn't serving you disappearing down the cord to be swallowed up, and recycled by the Earth. 

Another variation of this exercise is imagining thick roots growing out of your butt and firmly attaching you to the ground. 

#5 Tapping technique

“Tapping” on specific acupressure points has been known to relive tension and discharge lingering stress/ trauma from the nervous system. The technique involves tapping on alternating sides specific acupressure points, while utilizing other actions  to balance the separate hemispheres of the brain. You can find out more about Tapping at: http://peacefulheart.se/videos/

#6 Acupuncture

Sounds counter-intuitive, right? I mean, who would think that sticking needles in your body would be relaxing? But recent research has shown that the effects of acupuncture have the capability of relaxing not only muscles, but one's nervous system. 

      Because acupuncture accesses the deeper energetic fabric of the human body, it's able to discharge excess energy that gets stuck in the system from trauma. Seeing a licensed Acupuncturist is a wonderful and gentle way of releasing this stored tension in the body. 

The topic of trauma is vast. In this article I feel as thought I have barely scratched the surface, and yet I wanted to give the reader some information on trauma from both a Chinese Medicine and Western medicine perspective. There is so much research out there—if you are struggling with Trauma I would encourage you to seek further information. Peter Levine is a leading expert on trauma and both of his books Healing Trauma and Waking the Tiger are excellent resources.

           

            *Although called by the same name, the organs in Chinese medicine are similar yet different from the Western definition. Since Chinese medicine does not separate the body, mind, and spirit, each organ includes these. The Chinese medicine organs are capitalized and the Western ones are not.

            References:

            Maciocia, G. (2008). The practice of Chinese medicine: The treatment of diseases with acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier.

How to Get Yourself out of a 'Funk'!

By Jessica Mariah

(twelve minute read)

I, like a scarily high percentage of the rest of America, know what it’s like to be “in a funk.” A few years ago, I was practically the Queen of Funk. (And not in the cool, musical sort of way, but rather the pathetic, I’d-rather-lay-on-the-couch-than-engage-with-life-because-nothing-matters sort of way.)

So, what is a funk? It's when shit is piling up around you and you just can’t find the motivation to deal with it.  The “simple” tasks of life feel about as easy as slaying a dragon. Is your house a mess? Absolutely. Is your life a mess? Highly probable. Is it more important than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns and eating Twizzlers? Absolutely not.

Is there some sort of invisible “funk” creature that attaches onto us without realizing? One day we’re fine, and then the next our idea of a balanced meal is strawberry sorbet and potato chips. How does it happen?

Well, let’s look at these so-called ‘funks’ from a Chinese medicine perspective. As far as depression is concerned, the culprit is usually the Liver. Now, let me remind you that Chinese medicine is a system that takes into account not only the physiological functions of the organs but also the energetic effects that they have on the body. So, what does the Liver do?

In Western medicine, the Liver filters toxins from your blood and aids our metabolism. It also stores bile, which is necessary for digestion. In Chinese medicine, however, the Liver is responsible for the free-flow of qi. If our Liver is not functioning well, then toxic chemicals, feelings, and energy starts building up in our body resulting in what Chinese medicine calls ‘Qi Stagnation’. Each of the organs are ruled by one of the five elements in Chinese Medicine, and the Element of the Liver is Wood.

The season correlating to Wood is spring. The metaphor of Wood is of a new sprout bursting forth through the snow. The energy of Wood is active; it’s in motion. Wood energy is about pursuing our dreams, overcoming obstacles, expressing ourselves and letting our creativity flow.

When we feel ‘stuck’ or thwarted in life, lack the confidence or ability to pursue our dreams, or find ourselves feeling stressed out and unhappy most of the time, all of the ‘forward motion’ energy gets stuck in the body and basically turns in on itself, creating the exact opposite—couch potato syndrome.

According to the Foundation of Chinese medicine by Maciocia, symptoms of Liver Qi stagnation include a feeling of fullness and distention along the base of the ribcage, frequent sighing, abdominal bloating, melancholy, depression, apathy, irritability, feeling a lump in the throat and cold hands and feet. For women, it’s described as having irregular periods, PMS, distention of the breast before the menstrual cycle, and propensity towards binge-watching seasons of Sex and the City and the L word. (That last part I added.)

             

   If you are in a funk, you might not want to get out of it. It’s nice there, all cozy on the couch with cheesy curl crumbs glued to your chest. If this is you, feel free to stop reading. This post is for the person who wants to take charge of their life, improve their self-esteem, health and well-being.

Of course, there are varying degree of funks. They can last for days, for weeks, for years, and for some sad cases, a lifetime. But regardless of the severity, there are things you can do to help yourself. So. How do you get yourself out of a ‘funk’ once you’re in it?

I’m glad you asked.

#1 Notice when you’re in a funk.

            It’s hard to decide to change something if we don’t even notice that there’s a problem, to begin with. So, this means paying attention to the preliminary signs that you are entering into a funk. Is it a feeling of boredom? Is it finding yourself at the fridge when you’re not hungry? Is it a heaviness that’s settled down on your chest?  There are always subtle preliminary clues that cue us in to realize that we are entering funk territory. Whatever it is, it’s important to notice and decide to do something, right then, to change your mental state. Not an hour from then, not the next day—but the moment you realize that you’re starting to amble down that dark dreary path towards the land of funk.

           

Liver qi stagnation begets liver qi stagnation. You can think of this as the metaphor of a balance beam. The more off-center you become, the harder the pull of gravity gets and the harder it is to come back to center. The exact same rule applies to the funk. The moment you notice something amiss is the moment you need to decide to take action. So, what are some actions you can take?

#2 Clean your house or simply get a change of scenery.

            Ever notice how it’s hard to feel depressed in a beautiful garden or on top of a mountain? That’s because our environment has an immediate and direct effect on our emotions and well-being. It can be hard, incredibly hard, to get the motivation to do the dishes or take out the kitty litter when you are in a funk. But according to Chinese medicine (and several other spiritual philosophies) qi (or essential life energy) is everywhere. It flows through your body just as it flows through your home and cleaning has a direct and immediate effect upon the energy in your body.

Cleaning is the first and most important step to shifting your mood in a more positive direction, but if you really can’t find the motivation to clean, change your surroundings some other way by going to the library, a coffee shop, or getting out into nature.

#3 Exercise

            We’re not always in the mood for a full-body cardio workout, but even getting yourself outside for a walk can make a huge difference in the way of freeing up some stagnant qi in the body. Studies have shown that regular exercise is more effective at elevating mood than anti-depressants.

#4 Go on a cleanse (or at the very least lay off the booze).

            When the liver is physiologically overloaded with toxins, it impacts its ability to regulate the free-flow of qi in our bodies and it affects our emotions negatively. So going on a cleanse can help relieve qi stagnation by giving your Liver a break. There are a million types of cleanses but the cleanse I prefer is a simple one, which involves cutting out all sugar, processed foods, meat and dairy for three days. I make a lot of quinoa and vegetable stir-fries with tamari sauce and apple cider vinegar during this time.

If restricting your diet that much for three days feels daunting, you can make smaller goals that will still be helpful, like laying off of alcohol or fried/ greasy foods (which are especially taxing to the liver) or trying to add an extra serving of vegetables to your meals per day. Even eating slightly smaller meals can give your Liver a break.

#5 Do some deep breathing or relaxation exercises.

            The internet is a deep well of resources for these types of things. Simply search “relaxation/meditation” on youtube and you will come up with a million options. When we relax through breath-work or meditation, it actually allows a ‘restart’ for our bodies.  There are two modes of the nervous system; flight/fight and rest and digest.

Physiologically, stress creates stagnation in the digestive and hepatic system because our blood and energy is going to the systems involved in the sympathetic (flight and fight) response. Ensuring the smooth flow of food in your digestive system helps the flow of qi in your overall body. (There is a reason why people poop in the morning, after a night of rest. Just saying.)

            The depth of meditation/ relaxation is up to you. In my experience, it typically takes at least five minutes to get the body out of a sympathetic response. The more you do it, the more you will benefit, but even taking just five minutes twice a day can be immensely helpful.

#6: Stop treating your emotions as the enemy.

           

Essentially, we have to realize that emotions, in themselves, are not good or bad. They can have positive or negative effects on our life, but that relates to how we deal with and channel them. At their core, emotions are just energy. And if you’re in a ‘funk’, it is 100% possible that it’s because you’re not letting yourself feel something that wants to be felt. The emotion of the Liver and Wood element is anger, but not expressing other emotions can create stagnation, too.

Whether it’s anger, fear, loneliness, grief, or shame, you have to DO something to move the emotion! If you struggle with allowing the feeling of sadness, put on a sad movie. (My Sister’s Keeper, the Fountain or the Fault in our Stars are all excellent tear-jerkers, by the way.) If you’re feeling angry, sign up for a kickboxing class and go beat the shit out of an inanimate object that can’t retaliate. If you’re feeling guilty, reach out and make amends. There are so many different ways to connect to our feelings.

Creativity is helpful as a means of expressing emotion because it often involves shutting off the ‘logical’ part of our brain. Different ways you can express yourself creatively include abstract painting, poetry, stream-of-consciousness writing, music improv, and dance. 

            #7: Call a friend.

            When you’re struggling to get yourself out of something, reaching out to a friend can be immensely helpful. Not only does it help to feel supported and cared about, but hanging out with a friend is a great way to shift your mood. Friends can also provide a fresh perspective, and it’s therapeutic to share your thoughts and feelings with someone.

(One disclaimer, however: this may be less effective if your friends are just as miserable and depressed as you are. Or if you don't have any friends. If that’s the case…well, that might be a whole other blog post…)

            #8: Look at the sabotaging beliefs you hold about yourself.

           

            Do you stay complacent in life because you truly believe that you’d fail anyways even if you tried? Do you feel like it’s pointless and effort is futile? Do you think you don’t deserve good things in life? Well, if you believe that, then it’s going to be really friggin’ hard to get yourself off of the couch. Unfortunately, life doesn’t come with our own personal cheerleaders installed. So you have to be your own cheerleader!

When negative thoughts enter that say; “I’m not good enough” or “I can’t do it,” turn the belief around! Tell yourself that you can and you are worth it to lead the life you want, tell yourself that you can meet your dreams and accomplish your goals and you instantly increase your chances of actually doing it a hundredfold. It’s ok if you don’t believe your affirmations at first; just keep repeating them anyway and eventually you will start to, I promise.

            #9: Watch funny cat videos online. 

           I don't know if this one needs explaining, really. 

            And finally, #10: Let yourself be in a funk.

            So, you’ve employed steps one through nine, and you’re still in a funk. What do you do, now? Well, my dear, the answer is to just let yourself be in a funk. You’re thinking; “what? But Jessica, you just said that we need to pay attention and get ourselves out of a funk as fast as possible!” Well, yes. I did say that. But then there’s also this inconvenient life thing that sometimes presents us with incredibly difficult situations.

If you just lost a loved one, are going through a bad break-up, are exhausted after a move or lost your job, you may just need to cozy up with some Ben & Jerry’s for a bit and ride the funk out. This is the art of balancing self-discipline with self-compassion.

The key here is giving yourself a time-limit. Don’t say to yourself; “I’m going to stay on the couch until I feel 100% better and magically motivated to conquer all of life’s daunting tasks!” (aka: never.) Say instead; “Alright. I’m going to take tonight to just lay around and watch movies,” or maybe two. Or maybe a week. It’s your call. And then, after the time limit you've set, try steps one through nine again. Just remember that even if you are in a funk, you will get out of it. Especially if you utilize these tools I’ve provided for you.

            So, there you have it, ten ways to get yourself out of a funk. I have absolute faith in you. I did it, and so can you! Good luck!

References:

Maciocia, G. (1989). The foundations of Chinese medicine: A comprehensive text for acupuncturists and herbalists. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.