Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is one of the few truly holistic medical traditions in the modern world. What does this mean exactly? Well, a skilled acupuncturist looks at health and illness differently than does a typical Western doctor. A holistic form of care is one that focuses on:
- The effects of the mind (beliefs, perceptions, attitudes) on the human body
- The role that nature plays in health and disease
- The relationship between emotional and physical health
- The subtle ways that energy is distributed through the human body
- The energetic processes that underlie physical and emotional imbalances
Holistic medicine is interested in the connection between body, mind, and spirit. For instance, when diagnosing your various health issues, the acupuncturist will look at:
- The relationship between your beliefs and predominant emotions
- Physical imbalances that may be contributing to emotional turmoil
- Dietary habits
- Exercise habits
- The degree to which you are engaged with and loving your work
- Social support systems
- Spiritual awareness and meditation practices
- Intimate relationships
All of these factors are potential inputs into your current level of health. From a holistic perspective, anything that we have attracted into our lives that strengthens the momentum of our current health issues needs to be considered as a potential avenue for therapeutic intervention. In this sense, a skilled acupuncturist is often seen as a guide as much as they are a healer or a doctor.
The beauty of Traditional Chineses Medicine is that it truly accounts for your individual and unique makeup. You may have noticed in Western medicine that there are three or four medications that are used for all kinds of anxiety and depression. Prozac, Paxil, Effexor, etc. are standard treatment options regardless of the patient’s specific energetic, physiological, and emotional makeup.
In holistic medicine, anxiety and depression are considered generic labels that do not capture the unique dynamics of the individual. For example, in TCM one person can experience a grief-based depression due to the loss of a loved one while someone else is depressed because they are internalizing a lot of anger and don’t know how to express themselves. In Western medicine, these two very different patients would likely receive the same medication. In TCM medicine, there are entirely different approaches used to complement the specific emotional dynamics of the patient. Grief and anger are very different emotions and need different therapeutic inputs in order to be liberated. In this sense, Traditional Chinese Medicine treats the person, not the disorder.
Traditional Chinese Medicine asserts that the body mirrors the mind which reflects the condition of the spirit. Physical issues may also be the result of attachment to limiting viewpoints that suppress the spirit. The life force of the human spirit is what animates the body and provides its deepest source of nourishment. If this is blocked by difficult emotions, the body will be vulnerable. To the extent that we are spiritually embodied and free of distorted beliefs, our bodies will thrive.
Chinese medicine is a way of making suggestions to the body/mind to release any blocks to one’s spirit so that this deep source of health and well-being can finally be accessed.
