Case Study

by Karen Johnson, R.N., M.Ac.

One of my patients said something one day that struck me as so well-stated, so succinct and so true that I have held on to the thought ever since. I mention it quite a bit to others, who also recognize the truth in it. Before I tell you exactly what he said, I'll give you a little background.

"D" initially came for treatment because he felt uncomfortable and off balance. He described feeling like his head was moving when it was not - "like a lava lamp is in my head" was how he put it. This was accompanied by a feeling of being off balance, and then feeling anxious about being so off-balance. It became worse in stores, in front of people and in stressful situations. He had been through a thorough medical examination and no pathology or physical abnormality had been discovered. He turned to acupuncture as a last, somewhat dubious, resort.

So we started talking. I learned that his past few years had been quite stressful. There had been some unusual events starting several years back, culminating with a particularly challenging current year that included the birth of a beautiful third daughter, a move to a new home, his mother being unwell and sizeable demands on him at work. He began to lose weight, became increasingly light-headed, and felt increasingly anxious about these symptoms.

Fortunately (and to his skeptical surprise, I'm sure), acupuncture theory and diagnostics have a language and framework within which to describe and treat a situation like this. He decided to proceed. As the next few weeks rolled by, his symptoms began to change. First, fewer moments of being off-balance. Next, not feeling anxious because he was off-balance. Soon, the freedom to go places and do things he hadn't been able to do for awhile and thinking less about being off-balance. By the time the holidays came around, he "felt like a different person." Then he began to notice the connection between the symptom and the situation ... a slight chest tightening and restricted breathing just before the vague light-headedness, in the presence of something worrisome.

By then, he had developed the ability to work it through and move ahead. This is when he said one day, "Well, it happens sometimes, but it doesn't define me anymore."

I loved that line, "It doesn't define me anymore." It captured my experience and the experience of many people I have worked with, people who have learned that "body language" really is a language, a tool for the body to speak to the busy operator. Absent English, an alternate somatic language exists! ("I just have a feeling ...") If these signs and symptoms are listened to early, they can provide guidance, perhaps redirection. It's sort of like a conversation, a comment, an objection maybe, but not the last word or the definition of the person or event. (This is not to be confused, of course, with physical symptoms that indicate the need for medical attention.)

So "D" is doing well, preparing now for a public speaking event. He thinks he will do just fine. I do, too.