Five ways you’re not living with chronic illness
I absolutely LOVE this article. The author shares insight that only a sufferer of chronic illness could have. I have included the article in its entirety here (with links to the site that originally published it and the author’s website) because I believe it is so important and insightful. by Ilana Jacqueline, freelance writer and patient advocate. Published in The Huffington Post A fine line, ladies and gentleman, its what stands between living with chronic illness and being alive with chronic illness. I’ve straddled... [Read more...]
I had a black dog, his name was depression
In previous posts I have written about the effect that stress and unresolved anger can have on physical and emotional health. Today I’d like to discuss depression. From the point of view of Chinese medicine, depression is the result of unresolved emotions (especially anger) turned inward and “deep-pressed”. When the energy of anger is not allowed to motive us to change our lives and relationships, the eventual result is the energetic collapse that is characteristic of depression. Depressed individuals feel cut off... [Read more...]
Your body as a garden
The concept of gardening gives us an excellent illustration for the theories behind Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and acupuncture. Imagine you are a gardener whose job it is to help a garden thrive. To help nature along, you must provide necessities such as water and fertilizer. You must make sure plants receive the right amount of sun, and you must weed out any undesirable elements. Gardening takes time and effort, but the reward is a beautiful, healthy garden, abundant with flowers and vegetables. One of the philosophies underlying... [Read more...]
An extra hour of sleep increases healthy gene expression
The BBC recently conducted a short study to assess the health effects of an extra hour of sleep. The article is well worth reading. Two high points: During deep sleep memories are consolidated and moved into long-term storage. This consolidation must take place within 24 hours or the memories are lost. This is why it is important to prioritize adequate sleep during times when you are learning new things (e.g. finals week, the first few months in a new job, etc.) The REM sleep phase is the only time, day or night, when the body stops producing... [Read more...]
What to expect from the early phases of treatment
Did you ever notice that the biggest hill of a rollercoaster is always somewhere in the beginning of the ride? This is so that the cars can develop enough momentum from the first hill to propel them through the rest of the course. Getting to the top of that first hill, however, takes some work. The full weight of the cars must be towed up the hill from a standing start before they can be released at the top. In fact, if the ride contains a really gigantic summit, sometimes you are pulled up a smaller hill first and then the momentum from... [Read more...]
Are you suffering from unresolved anger?
As I wrote about here, in Chinese medicine we believe that the primary cause of disease in adults is unresolved emotions. In my clinical experience, unresolved and/or unrecognized anger is particularly common and troublesome. It is unusual for me to encounter patients whose health problems are not caused (at least in part) by unresolved anger (Liver Qi stagnation, in Chinese medicine parlance). At times it can be difficult to identify unresolved anger in ourselves, however. We are so adept at hiding it, even from ourselves, that we think... [Read more...]
Acupuncture…alternative to what?
You have probably heard acupuncture referred to at some point as “alternative medicine” but classifying acupuncture this way is based on two erroneous assumptions. First, it implies that acupuncture is a runner-up or a contingency plan to turn to when medicine inevitably falls short, or should one choose not to utilize medicine in the first place. Second, it implies that acupuncture is a type of medicine, albeit an alternative type. To set the record straight, acupuncture stands alone in the detection and correction of the body’s... [Read more...]
Once I start, do I have to get acupuncture forever?
One of the biggest myths about acupuncture is that “once you start, you have to go forever.” First of all, it is entirely up to you how long you choose to continue to get treatments. Of course, like any other healthy habit, the longer you maintain it, the better your quality of life. But just to clear up some confusion, let’s look at the process of a comprehensive schedule of acupuncture care in another light. Perhaps the most apt analogy for continuing care for the meridian system is reconstructive orthodontics for your teeth. Both... [Read more...]
Are you stuck in first gear?
Imagine you are driving down the road with your gas pedal to the floor. Your car runs great and gets you to where you need to be. All is good. But then you look around and notice that everyone else is whizzing right by you. Determined to keep up with those around you, you take your car into the shop and have the mechanic give it a good once-over. The mechanic finds that while you have been getting to where you need to be, you have been doing so while driving in only one gear. In actuality, he discovers that your car has an entire set of... [Read more...]
Does it hurt?
This is the number one most common question that I get, whether I am talking to a prospective patient or if I’m chatting about what I do for a living at a cocktail party. The simple answer to this question is “no, not nearly as much as you would think”. Most first time patients are surprised and pleased to find that acupuncture treatment is a relaxing and pleasant experience. If I could have a nickel for every time a patient left their first appointment saying “if I had known it was going to be that painless and easy... [Read more...]
Kids love acupuncture!
Voa, age 3, loves acupuncture! She has nine needles in her body in this picture — they are so small that they are hard to see. Really?! Kids can get acupuncture? Yes! Acupuncture works by activating and focusing the body’s own self-healing capacity and, because children’s self-healing capacity is much stronger than that of most adults, we often see remarkably quick and dramatic treatment results in children. While many adults have physical or emotional health problems are very firmly entrenched, children often require much shorter... [Read more...]
Brittany Youngblood, Lorena TX
“I can attest to acupuncture helping with fertility and pretty much everything else! For 6 years I have been treated by countless doctors, too many fertility specialists to count….and none of them…NOT ONE…. has helped to get my body to do what it’s supposed to do. After one month of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine the improvements are monumental. It’s helping my body do things the natural way. Not forcing it with lab created hormones. Acupuncture is not only treating my ‘woman problems’... [Read more...]
Are we headed for a post antibiotic era?
In my last post I described a protocol for handling sinus infections without resorting to antibiotics. Over the weekend I read this article and it reminded me that it is important to spread the word far and wide — we need to stop resorting to antibiotics to treat ourselves and our children as routinely as we do today. Rather than trundling off to the doctor’s office for an amoxicillin prescription as soon as our child develops a sniffle or a fever, we need to take the common sense watch and wait approach that many public health... [Read more...]
Karla Patterson, Teague TX
“Kristen is amazing! I have never met a more caring and gentle healthcare professional.” Read More →
Marian Naik, Waco TX
“My allergies absolutely were alleviated by Kristen’s acupuncture and as an added bonus, I made a new friend. Kristen’s a great person and great listener. I’d definitely recommend her to anyone and have!” Read More →
