Supporting Lyme by Calming the Mind
One of the basic concepts of integrative, naturopathic, and Chinese medicine is that given the right conditions and support, the body has an inherent ability to regulate and heal. This can take a long time when something as noxious as Lyme disease and its co-infections have set in, but healing is possible and we are here to support you. Chinese medicine works with the body’s life force, not against it. When the body and mind feel fragile, hypersensitive, and exhausted, acupuncture can help relieve physical and emotional discomfort by toning down pain and heightened anxiety, and nourishing the depletion of chronic disease to not only relieve fatigue but build stamina and reserves
One practitioner of Chinese medicine, Dr. Heiner Fruehauf, who has been studying and treating Lyme for over 20 years, aptly described the way people with Lyme often feel—“as though somebody put a hex on them without anybody being able to see what was really going on.” There are ancient records in Chinese medical texts of these types of patients who are exhausted from the chronic inflammation that has depleted their reserves. This is the case in chronic infections that have gone on undiagnosed, often perplexing medical practitioners, until finally Lyme is detected, or at least suspected. Chinese medicine including acupuncture, herbs, and nutritional therapies can be used alongside antibiotic therapy to greatly increase healing. Having been bitten by ticks twice myself experiencing both acute and chronic Lyme, I can attest to this!
In general, in the modern day society we live in, our nervous systems are challenged perhaps more than ever before in history. We’re expected to keep up at a rapid pace and perform well with a lot of multi-tasking. So, when an illness like Lyme sets in, this can cause great physical, mental and emotional suffering. “And for most Lyme patients, two steps forward and one step back- and plateauing in between- are the normal form of progression on the road towards recovery” (Heiner.) Because Lyme primarily infects the nervous system, with the digestive system secondarily, the emotional state can feel fragile due to cognitive challenges which can feel like a rollercoaster at times. The anxiety experienced with Lyme is real, and although anxiety is pervasive in our modern day living, Lyme does activate both physical and emotional symptoms. I’ve talked to patients who have never considered themselves anxious until they had Lyme.
Acupuncture can be a very helpful modality to allow yourself to slow down. The points chosen can help facilitate physical, mental and emotional relief with clarity of thought and mind beyond your treatment time. One of these points is Governing Vessel 20. The Chinese name is Bai Hui (pronounced ‘bye whay’) which translates to One Hundred Meetings, said to treat 100 diseases. It is the uppermost point on the entire body located at the center of the crown of the head on the scalp. This point has many actions (what it does) such as benefiting the brain and calming the spirit, and indications (what it is used for) such as headache, dizziness, prolapses in the organs, even loss of consciousness.
Being located so close to the brain, it helps to nourish this vital organ. From a more mental and spiritual perspective, this point can help with disorientation which can happen if we are so busy and become overwhelmed and lose focus, as well as with poor memory and sadness by helping to “move a person forward to a different level of understanding and being” (Worsley.) If there are feelings of tightness and tension this point can calm and lift the spirit, clear the mind, and calm feelings of overwhelm to help bring about peace and clarity from within.
You can meditate on opening this point by focusing on the very top and center of your head and if you’d like you can apply gentle pressure. Most people really like receiving acupuncture at this point. Feel free to request it at your next treatment!
Sources:
Classical Pearls Herbal Formulas Clinical Reference Guide “Lyme Disease: An In-Depth Interview with Heiner Fruehauf,” 2012.
A Manuel of Acupuncture, by Peter Deadman
Spirit of the Points by J.R.Worsley, Lonny Jarret, et al.
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