Hong Kong is a vibrant and exciting city, with a fast pace of life. It is challenging. Pushy crowds, hot and sticky weather, noisy construction, dirty air and long working hours, mean life can feel topsy-turvy.
I remember meeting Tracy, a 41-year-old woman who after living in Hong Kong for three years, could not cope any more.
She had recently started a new job and was having difficulty managing her 13-year-old son. Her husband traveled a lot with his job and was not around to help. She was constantly ‘on edge’ and found simple tasks like dressing for work and organising dinner difficult. Her evenings were worse. She would lie in bed for hours trying to sleep. Sometimes she would wake in the middle of the night with her heart thumping in her chest.
She had little appetite, mainly because when she ate, she felt pain in her tummy. She suffered from occasional constipation. She complained about feeling tired all the time and found it hard to focus and concentrate at work. One occasion when she was on the MTR, she started to panic and couldn’t breathe.
Her friends had recommended that she try Traditional Chinese Medicine as a safe, effective and natural treatment for her anxiety.
Prolonged or intense emotions can affect the internal balance of organs and cause disease. There is no separation of mind, body and spirit in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Emotional pain can cause physical pain. The high level of anxiety from which Tracy was suffering gradually affected her sleep, energy, appetite, digestion and breathing.
Tracy was diagnosed with an imbalance called ‘Liver and Heart Blood Deficiency’. According to traditional Chinese medicine, this type of blood deficiency predisposes a person to feelings of anxiety. When blood is deficient, a person’s spirit is not anchored in the Heart and so will ‘float’, causing feelings of restlessness and anxiety. In Tracy’s case, she was also experiencing panic, which can occur when blood deficiency combines with heat.
Tracy had weekly acupuncture to clear the physical and mental distress in her body and regain balance. By inserting fine needles into specific pressure points along the body, acupuncture works with your energy in order to relieve you of mental suffering and to promote insight. By removing energetic blockages, acupuncture restores balance and harmony while strengthening other parts of the body. After eight treatments Tracy’s sleep patterns improved significantly and she felt a greater sense of self-worth and well-being.
Despite Hong Kong’s vibrancy, it can consume our energy and wear us down. In such a way that everything feels like a struggle. Traditional Chinese Medicine can offer you a gentle and effective way to build strength and restore inner peace and harmony.
