Blood deficiency and the inner critic

Over the past few months, I took a small pause from writing this newsletter. Life got a bit complicated, and I felt my mind stretched in many directions, some opposing. I temporarily stopped taking on new clients. I directed my writing energy toward finalizing some research (which finally did get published!). And I put a lot of attention toward developing as a jazz musician and less attention toward some other things.

For maybe the first time in my life, I chose not to pursue everything I was inspired to do at once. It was effortful to hold back. It still is. The tendency to try to do so many things simultaneously is one of my longest-standing struggles, and I often can become self-critical when my mind gets snagged on the idea that I’m not doing enough. Maybe you can relate.

Chinese medicine helps us understand the importance of nourishment alongside the dangers of depletion. I want to share a few reflections about depletion, especially regarding the blood and its connection to our internal dialogue.

First, a bit about blood:

I’ve talked about the Chinese medicine concept of blood in previous newsletters, but let’s quickly review. In Chinese medicine, blood is understood not only as the powerful red substance comprised of cells that carry oxygen throughout the body, but also as a source of nourishment for the whole person. The function of the blood is to nourish the organs, the Qi (vital energy), and the Shen (spirit or consciousness). The blood houses and anchors the mind. The blood stores the emotions.

Blood can become deficient if a person has a low volume of blood (think traumatic injury or childbirth) or if a person is depleted nutritionally, emotionally, energetically, or otherwise. The latter is much more common in our everyday lives and can happen when we are exhausted and overworked, when we have been ruminating and overthinking, when we don’t have adequate nutrition, and when we spend too much time on screens. (You can probably sense that there are a lot of habitual behaviors in modern life that contribute to blood deficiency.)

How can you tell if you’re blood deficient?

Blood deficiency shows up across different aspects of health. One of the most common signs I see in practice is insomnia. Headaches, dizziness, difficult menstrual cycles, missed periods, anxiety + heart palpitations, brain fog, poor memory, hair loss, chronic fatigue, and constant feelings of being cold are all signs of blood deficiency.

If these signs seem somewhat unrelated to you, remember that in Chinese medicine, the physical and emotional aspects of health are valued equally and, as I mentioned earlier, the blood is in charge of both nourishing the qi and housing the mind + emotions. So the blood truly is a central part of psychophysiological health. Blood deficiency can also present with low energy and low self-esteem. A blood-deficient person may feel too tired to create things and feel a lack of creative inspiration.

There is a lot I could say about blood deficiency. For today, I just want to highlight the point that critical internal dialogue and chronic self-criticism can negatively affect the blood, leading to deficiency and a more difficult, less sparkly experience of life in the day-to-day. Further, when blood is deficient, there are other ripples in health, such as tightness in the liver, which can result in irritability, pent-up anger, and painful periods.

This is one aspect of Chinese medicine I find so astonishing and beautiful. Even though these concepts are a thousand years old, we can look through them with our modern eyes and see how the pieces of our physical, psychological, energetic, and spiritual health fit together with a kind of timeless poeticism.

Next week I’ll write more about how to care for your blood with food and herbs, and how to nourish yourself if you find that you are blood deficient.

Warmly,

Artemisia

innervillagehealth.com

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