TCM Acupuncture and how it can help with Grief
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, a meridian is a channel through which qi, or energy, and the other fundamental substances flow. The meridians function as a network throughout the entire body. Meridians, unlike systems of Western medicine are not physical entities.
The Twelve Principal Meridians are divided into Yin and Yang groups. The Yin Meridians are lung, heart, pericardium, spleen, kidney, and liver. The Yang Meridians are large intestine, small intestine, triple burner, stomach, bladder, and gall bladder.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine grief is governed primarily by our lungs. The Lung meridian’s function is to descend and disperse qi. Unprocessed grief can quickly lead to a disharmony in the lung meridian and eventually create a disharmony in other meridian pathways.
One unique function of the lung organ in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) is that it also governs our wei qi. Wei qi is best translated as our defensive qi or our immune system. This helps explain why, when we are experiencing grief, we may feel low energy, fatigued or notice our immune system not functioning as efficiently as it normally does.
The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The stages of grief coexist with one another, not everyone experiences all stages and not everyone experiences the five stages in order. It’s common to cycle through each stage or repeat stages but typically there is one stage of grief surfacing more than the others. This is why the way we each experience grief varies and remains unique to every individual. In a one on one treatment we would create a tailored acupoint prescription for each individual.
A glimpse at some acupuncture points that may be used in assisting with grief and why we might use them:
- Lung 3 – Tianfu: The translation of this point is heavenly palace. It is really beneficial for grief. It can help with things such as forgetfulness, muddled thinking, depression and it is known to help someone talk or express feelings about the person/thing that they are grieving.
- Lung 7 – Lieque: This point is all things wei qi. This can help someone boost their defensive qi and by doing that we will also see improvement in any feelings of fatigue or low energy.
- Heart 7 – Shenmen: This point falls along the heart meridian. The translation of this point is spirit gate, meaning, the gate or door that allows access to our mental/emotional/spiritual side. This point is great for calming the mind. It can also help with anxiety, insomnia, stress, heart palpitations or chest tightness, forgetfulness and muddled thinking.
This is just a small portion of points that might be used in an acupuncture treatment. With over 300 acupoints one of our TCM acupuncturists would be sure to find the most beneficial points for you and any symptoms arising on your grief journey.