Emotions and TCM
February 27th 2007 22:01
I have a disagreement with Traditional Chinese Medicine. I have trained in Shiatsu, Oriental Massage and Acupuncture. I am convinced that these therapies work, sometimes for things that Western Medicine doesn’t work well for. I also think that because it is a lighter technology Traditional Chinese Medicine can solve the West’s problems with funding health care. So I want to say that I think Traditiona Chinese Medicine is valuable, effective and important for many reasons.
Now to the disagreement. It’s about the place of emotion in our lives. I think that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) sees our emotions negatively. Many disagree with me on this: they say that it is only when emotions are too strong that TCM. But then why are strong emotions a problem? When are emotions too weak?
For me the decisive thing that shows that TCM treats emotions negatively is in diagnosis. In diagnosis the emotions are used as indicators or an imbalance, they show that there is a problem.
So, despite all my problems with the West’s medical model approach to health, as far as the emotions go, I think the West well ahead of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
My feeling is that Traditional Chinese Medicine has a view of the healthy person as always calm and unruffled. This does not fit with experiencing strong emotion.
Yet for me, and it may just be my western upbringing, I can’t conceive of a healthy person being indifferent. For me health means being in touch with where we are – with beauty as well as misery, with suffering as well as elation.
Naturally we all are more prone to some responses than others, and we prefer some things to others. To lessen our responses, to make us less sensitive seems to be a backward step to me. I think it makes us less, not more, healthy.
Now to the disagreement. It’s about the place of emotion in our lives. I think that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) sees our emotions negatively. Many disagree with me on this: they say that it is only when emotions are too strong that TCM. But then why are strong emotions a problem? When are emotions too weak?
For me the decisive thing that shows that TCM treats emotions negatively is in diagnosis. In diagnosis the emotions are used as indicators or an imbalance, they show that there is a problem.
So, despite all my problems with the West’s medical model approach to health, as far as the emotions go, I think the West well ahead of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
My feeling is that Traditional Chinese Medicine has a view of the healthy person as always calm and unruffled. This does not fit with experiencing strong emotion.
Yet for me, and it may just be my western upbringing, I can’t conceive of a healthy person being indifferent. For me health means being in touch with where we are – with beauty as well as misery, with suffering as well as elation.
Naturally we all are more prone to some responses than others, and we prefer some things to others. To lessen our responses, to make us less sensitive seems to be a backward step to me. I think it makes us less, not more, healthy.
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