Tending to grief with Chinese medicine

Last week I didn’t write. I spent a lot of time thinking about the week prior, when I was able to spend several days at the bedside of a family member who is passing from stage 4 cancer. It is a gift, I think, to be able to be with someone during their final days.

This experience brought up a lot of thoughts about health, illness, the present moment, Chinese medicine, perspectives on life, and how to be well.

It also encouraged reflections on grief.

It is generally understood that there are 5 stages of grief, which everyone moves through differently: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Chinese medicine approaches grief by looking at the individual, in their current state, and working with meridians, elements, and energetics that can support balance through the time of grief.

In five element theory, each element has an association with a collection of other aspects. Metal is the element that is affiliated with the lungs and large intestine and with grief. The lung meridian allows for emotions to move and flow throughout the body. Through five element teachings, we understand that an influx of grief can lead to a disturbance or imbalance in the lungs and/or large intestine.

In addition, each element “controls” or exhibits a direct influence on another element. Metal controls wood. Wood is associated with the liver and gallbladder, along with anger and irritability. When the wood element is out of balance, a person may feel more irritable, impatient, or overwhelmed. Since the metal element controls the wood element, when the metal element is out of balance, it is not able to effectively control the wood element as it normally would, and emotions can become overpowering.

Grief and sadness, especially when pushed aside or left unattended, can cause qi stagnation in the body, as the metal element is not in balance and the function of the lungs is impaired. Qi stagnation can result in a multitude of other health imbalances, as the free flow of qi is central to life.

When we tend to grief with the support of Chinese herbal medicine, we look first at the constitution and current health status of the individual (we ask questions like: how is digestion going? what foods are agreeable with this person’s body? what are they normally like emotionally? do they tend to run hot or cold?) and we consider herbal formulations that calm the Shen (spirit), balance emotions, clear the mind, and/or support the release of emotions.

Chinese medicine acknowledges the deep connection between emotion and digestion, so an herbal formula that is selected to help support an individual through a time of grief will also be designed to support digestion as well.

There is something particular about grief - it is a complex of emotions that never seems to become familiar.

It can be comforting to turn toward Chinese medicine in these times.

Warmly,

Artemisia

Clinical Herbalist | Chinese Medicine

innervillagehealth.com

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