Understanding Anxiety
One of the most consistent complaints we’ve been seeing in the clinic lately is anxiety. Even if you and your loved ones have been lucky enough to stay healthy and safe, these past couple of years have been a whole lot to process.
As an acupuncturist, I used to think of anxiety in two basic categories: the occasional feelings of worry that we may experience as a response to stress, and persistent feelings of worry or stress that interfere with daily activities- the latter typically being thought of as a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). In the case of GAD, I prefer to work with patients in conjunction with mental healthcare professionals so that they can have multiple treatment options at their disposal. However, we’re living through a time where, let’s face it, a lot of bad stuff is happening, and our level of engagement with/exposure to these things is higher than ever. My patients’ experience of heightened stress and anxiety has been near-universal, and I’ve had to adjust a lot of my thinking about more persistent forms of anxiety, both in the treatment room and in my own life.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) thinks of anxiety as a depleting force, burning through our body’s vital energy (Qi) and fluids. This disrupts the ability of different organ systems to do their jobs smoothly, especially the heart, liver and kidneys. Once this energy has been depleted to a certain point, we often see the Qi stagnate and start producing what we call “empty heat”, which causes agitation and disharmony. Because of this, anxiety may make us experience uncomfortable physical symptoms like heart palpitations, spontaneous sweating, insomnia, or frequent urination.
These are the basic, most common patterns, but there are almost infinite variety of ways anxiety can express itself within the body. While there are certain acupuncture points that are pretty universally good at calming anxiety, different treatment approaches are necessary depending on how the anxiety is manifesting. As TCM practitioners, it’s our job to look for patterns in the body that help us discern which organ or meridian systems are most affected, and thus which points will be most effective at correcting the imbalance.
One of the primary ways we diagnose these patterns is by listening to what our patients tell us verbally, but also what their bodies tell us through palpation and pulse diagnosis. The guiding light of TCM pattern diagnosis is known as the Eight Principles. The Eight Principles are four diametric pairs that help us categorize imbalance in the body. These pairs help us to break down really complex issues into their most basic parts and administer treatment accordingly. The Eight principles are as follows: Yin and Yang, Interior and Exterior, Hot and Cold, Excess and Deficient.
Management of anxiety in this new era is going to require some major resourcefulness, not only from healthcare professionals, but from those of us who are experiencing it in more persistent forms for the first time. The first thing to remember is that it is OK and sometimes totally necessary to get help! Even if you don’t think you suffer from a clinical anxiety disorder, if you are struggling to manage your stress and anxiety, don’t be afraid to enlist some professional support. Talk to your doctors (even your acupuncturists!) about what options are available- we can help point you in the right direction.
Next, try to listen to what your anxiety is telling you. None of us is likely to come up with a cure for the world’s woes, but we can help manage how they affect our day to day stress. For this, and any problem that seems overwhelmingly complex, I like to fall back to what the trusty Eight Principles have taught me - break it down into its smaller, simpler parts. Is my anxiety asking for more action or for more rest today? More boundaries or more openness? Are these worries coming from inside me or outside me? Do I need to find more control or do I need to let go? Sometimes these questions aren’t easily answered, and sometimes even when we have the answer, we don’t always have the privilege of honoring it. But understanding what our minds and our bodies are trying to tell us when they act out is an incredibly important step toward better balance.