Recalibrating normal

One of my lifelong interests has been the expansiveness of human potential.

(At least in my adulthood. I’m not sure I was thinking about this as a child. 😆)

Ideas about human potential led me into the cognitive and psychological sciences and steered my path into the fascinating world of Chinese medicine.

Yes, maybe this seems like a big topic, but to bring it down into the reality of daily life, I think often about the way our outlook can widen or shrink the realm of possibilities for ourselves.

For example, if we think we need to get started with everything we want to try before age 30, we might miss out on the possibility of becoming a great painter in our 60s.

This concept is relevant in my Chinese medicine practice because I think sometimes people shrink their realm of possibility by accepting certain health conditions or symptoms as “normal” that actually have no place in a normal, healthy life.

Common and normal are not the same.

It may be important to recalibrate our idea of what is normal so that we can move toward our full potential in life.

Let’s think about some examples together:

If we accept that we are bound to have some amount of digestive discomfort after most meals, how does this affect our lives? Do we skip out on certain social events or fun activities because of our regular post-meal burden?

If you (or your daughter/wife/niece) just accept that menstrual pain and cramps are a normal part of a monthly cycle, what is the overall impact on your life? Do you plan ahead for a week of misery each month? Do you miss out on opportunities you want to take?

If a certain condition runs in your family and you just accept that you will be affected in the same way, how is your excitement about the future impacted? Do you see yourself as having less potential for vibrance later in life?

A majority of the people I work with in my practice come to me for support with a chronic health condition.

In the session, we look together through the lens of Chinese medicine and talk about the way the different aspects of health are interconnected.

A key strength of Chinese medicine is that we don’t play whack-a-mole with symptoms. Instead, we are looking at the way your physiological symptoms, emotional symptoms, food choices, sleep patterns, life history, and thought patterns are all related to and affecting each other.

A lot of people in the world today have gotten so used to feeling bad that they may not even recognize their symptoms as anything out of the ordinary. However, in so many cases, there is no reason to accept a health issue as something you need to just deal with for the rest of your time in this life.

Digestive distress is not normal.

Period pain is not normal. (In fact, all symptoms associated with periods are seen as signs of disharmony from a Chinese medicine perspective.)

Regular insomnia is not normal.

Chronic headaches are not normal.

This list could go on.

We do not need to accept a life sentence with these health challenges just because we’ve had them for a long time or we know other people with similar struggles. Common is not the same as normal, and it might be time to reimagine what normal means to you.

Anytime is a good time to get started!

Warmest,

Artemisia

Artemisia O’bi, MA - Chinese Medicine Practitioner, Clinical Herbalist

innervillagehealth.com | @innervillagehealth

You can browse through the archive of newsletters here.

It is always nice to hear from you. You’re welcome to respond directly to this note if you have a question you’d like to send my way. 💌