03/09/2020
Self healing, not 'self harming'
Consider a different perspective.....
Within Chinese Medicine the concepts behind diagnostics are very different to those of Western Medicine. In the West doctors often consider a condition or a dis-ease as a stand-alone thing. They give it a name and then try to resolve the cause. If they can't resolve the cause, or simply don't know the cause, they try to resolve or correct the symptoms. In Chinese Medicine the causes of dis-ease have been reduced to a handful of factors, making understanding and finding the cause much simpler, and the aim of treatment is to always resolve the cause of a dis-ease.
So consider asthma dermatitis, arthritis, IBS, insomnia, carpel tunnel, tennis elbow and anxiety. In the West these are all different issues with different causes. In the East these are all the same issue, one of localised heat, just affecting different parts of the body. And here you see how treatments become simpler (on the surface at least). If a dis-ease is caused by heat then if you remove the heat and cool down the area then the issue will resolve.
In a nutshell it really is that simple, and it works. The skill and training comes into understanding this deeply and knowing how to cool the area appropriately and where to treat. There are some simple methods such as treatments with cooled tools or even ice. There's gua sha, or rubbing and scraping. Acupuncture is very effective and even blood letting. Not masses of blood, just a little blood lets out a lot of heat, especially emotional heat. For emotional heat one of the best areas to treat are the forearms or the head. Try it, next time you feel emotionally charged try running your wrists, neck or head under cool water. Or even a cool shower. Or maybe a walk in the cool evening air.
Possibly most strangely is that all this is known by us, somewhere deep down, we all do things that naturally heal the body. Rubbing 'that spot' on your neck or temples to clear a headache. Rubbing your belly clockwise to clear IBS. Massaging your head or the bridge of your nose to help you sleep. It's simply that Eastern doctors spent a few thousand years noticing patterns and making the common solutions into protocols.
This may seem like a long winded introduction to Chinese Medicine and 'natural' healing but I'm getting there.
Consider 'self harmers' as a wide group. They are often people with high emotional charges, possibly introverts or not big talkers. They may not have a support system that allows them to be able to speak freely, or they may be afraid to speak out, or simply not understand and be able to express the truth behind the emotions.
It is sad to say that there has been multiple cultural shifts and pressures that have created blocks in communication and made emotional baggage all too common:
Fear of judgement for 'being emotional',
Not being listened to,
Being talked over,
Being told to stop complaining and get on with it,
It could be inherited from family members or friends,
Or stem from a time or cause you can't remember or maybe don't want to remember.
Whatever the cause, this lack of self expression causes a backlog, stagnation in the system and a lot of heat. Emotional heat from the feelings of fear, anger, anxiety, worry, grief. And then more heat from the strain of keeping it all in.
Something always gives in the end. We can only hold it in so long.
Rages, tear tantrums, violent acts, ticks, twitches, illnesses, disease ...
Or 'self harming'.
This label comes with a stigma as being 'bad' or 'wrong' or 'unhealthy' but who can honestly say they haven't bitten their nails till they bled, or rubbed their thumb or wrist or earlobe till the skin was raw, or punched something hard and broken the skin. Whilst on the surface we say it's all different but it's not.
Why do we do it?
Simply...To make us feel better....
The wrists and hands are key areas on the body linked with our emotions.
Rubbing the skin brings blood close to the surface and allows the body to cool faster (vasodilation).
A drop of blood reduces a massive amount of heat from the body.
So does scratching wrists till they bleed sound so bizzare now? Does it help you to understand the why, at least a little?
When we do these things we are not 'self harming' we are trying to self heal. We're just doing it in a way that is harmful to our bodies.
We know this intuitively but were never told it and certainly never taught that doing these things safely could help us to reduce our emotional load without physical trauma.
It can, it does and we can do it safely.
With cool water or a little ice on the wrists, neck or head we can cool the excess heat in the body.
Treatments such as gua sha, when taught and used correctly, can help massively.
Acupuncture by a trained professional can do many things to help rebalance the emotions, the mind and the body.
Better yet, taught correctly you can have the tools to help you self heal for the rest of your lives, AND help others to do the same. And no this is not a sales pitch for our courses. We can teach you this over a day, a week or a few years if you want to delve deeper into it, but the basics of self care can be taught in a few hours if you're willing to learn.
Imagine if schools taught basic self healing methods, instead of some of the scary alternatives I've been told about. A sweeping statement I accept but one I stand by. Meditation in schools is a great start but imagine a new generation of tolerant, understanding, self empowered children and adults with the tools and knowledge for self understanding, self care and self love, with permission to help others achieve the same....... sounds nice right?
True, methods like this don't always help to resolve the underlying trauma, but they can give you the headspace to sleep better, think more clearly and process what needs to be processed in the long run.
And finally let's address the stigma. If you or someone you know is doing any of the habits I've mentioned or similar it may be that they simply have unprocessed emotions and are trying to make it through the day without blowing up. They are none of the negative phrases that get thrown around too easily. They are just trying to cope and heal but don't how to. They are self healing, just not as well as they could be.
If any of this rings true then we can help you to help yourself and others, if you'll let us x
Private message or give us a call to book in and chat.
(Client confidentially is of course part of our oath as therapists)
Sent with love x
