Grief
By Dr. Renae Haldeman · New to some of these words? See the glossary.
“I cannot live without my life!” wrote Emily Brontë in Wuthering Heights. The hard fact of death, or of not being treated with respect and decency, brings some of us to the deepest despair.
A patient named Sandra went through a terrible tragedy when she lost her baby in an accident. The pain was overwhelming. She struggled to cope with the loss and had to learn to live without her child. She did not want to live. Anger and grief were both trapped inside her. She turned to alcohol to cope. She saw that this was not a good answer, and she decided to move forward the best she could.
Thankfully, she had loved ones who helped carry her through the pain of grief. Later in life, she took up sailing to escape the pain and take her mind off her problems. She got better at sailing over 10 years, and then her hands began to lose function. She could not use them the way she used to. She was upset about losing her strength. She went for medical imaging to find out why, and no clear answers were given. It got so bad that she could not even brush her teeth.
She did not want surgery, and in desperation she tried acupuncture. In Chinese medicine, the Lung is in charge of the whole body’s function. Interestingly, the Lung is also in charge of the emotion of grief. The Lung’s qi (say “chee,” the body’s vital energy) was out of harmony because of her grief over losing her child decades before. This helped explain why she lost the use of her hands. After 6 treatments, she had her strength and the use of her arms and hands back!
Grief can rob us of our energy. Acupuncture can lift us out of loss, and we can wake up to joy! If you have felt the sadness and heartache of loss and are struggling to recover, think about scheduling an acupuncture treatment. It can help you cope with past losses and move toward a brighter future.
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This article is educational and is not medical advice. Individual results vary. Please talk with a licensed healthcare provider about your own health.