Category: Pain

Acupuncture, Pain, and Stress - A Healing Experience

11/3/2017

The anticipated outcome from acupuncture treatment is something that is never guaranteed. In fact, the same is true for every form of medicine, including, and especially, prescription drugs. There are only results that are directly affected by the mind's and the body's openness to receiving the recommended course of action albeit allopathic or alternative. Few can argue, though, the frequent and near-immediate results and consistent efficacy of acupuncture and oriental medicine for those with diagnoses of abstract origins presenting through symptoms of immeasurable bounds.

I can think of two clear and simple examples that fit this description: pain and stress. Although strongly correlated through the progression of disease, the treatment of the former has catalyzed a disastrous and life-threatening epidemic fueled by opioids. Lives have been lost, and many still are being ruined, at the cost of not simply saying "I do not know the cause of your pain and suffering." Humility is the first step in treating these experiential illnesses of the individual, not the collective. Healers must accept the fact that they do not know the origin of one's pain or one's stress. And if, by chance, or by skilled interaction, we arrive closer to the source of suffering, we must at all costs avoid the most cursory of responses, judgment coupled with arrogance. As a health advocate and licensed medical practitioner, I can firmly state that the duty of every healer, doctor, or scholar is not to know the answer to every question of health, the human body, or the human experience. I say experience because these two unfortunate, yet necessary, diagnostic mysteries are exactly that; experiences. And once someone in a healer's position begins to understand and witness the experience of another's pain or stress without distraction by insensitive imperception, then, and only then, can the gate of healing be pushed open.

I also have witnessed acupuncture and oriental medicine having a broader approach to and much longer lasting effect on the transformation of, and occasionally the ending of, one's pain and suffering. Ultimately though, the capability of the practitioner will have the largest impact overall, which could potentially negate my initial comment of how acupuncture and oriental medicine can produce astounding results by simply broadening the perspective that healing is a partnership created via the openness of sharing joined harmoniously with empathic listening. It requires not a specific brand of practitioner, but rather, a unique and compassionate individual with the capacity to listen between the words and look beyond the thick surface of superficial suffering.

You must search for a healer and practitioner whose ears are not clogged and whose eyes are not veiled by the learned behaviors grounded in the need to fix everything.

Almost all pain and stress stems internally and is usually a sure combination of physical manifestations fed upon by emotional disturbances generated by self-made lifestyle patterns. Once the process of categorizing these diagnoses begins, the need for experience ends. Your unique, individual experience is then aligned with another's based on commonalities found in your personal descriptions, which are then confirmed by a professional's analysis of them. At this very moment, the uniqueness of your suffering is ignored, the path to its origin is overlaid, and your living, breathing experience has been slayed by the label of pain and/or stress.

All hope is not lost though. You must search for a healer and practitioner, such as myself, whose ears are not clogged and whose eyes are not veiled by the learned behaviors grounded in the need to fix everything. Instead, I wish to understand your experience. I wish to hear your story of what you and the rest of society call pain or stress. Share with me, if you will, your personal experience and invite me along to learn and explore the landscape of the unique road of health you have been traveling on. I believe your story has purpose and is full of meaning for us both because an experience is a journey that is enjoyed twice as much in the company of another. So, I invite you to allow me to share this journey with you. For I am ready when you are.

Peacefully,