Withdrawal Pattern

This essay on withdrawal is from the book “Acupuncture and Moxibustion Treatments for Mental Diseases.” It introduces the cases by Dr. Jin Shu Bai that are about withdrawal, 11 cases altogether.

Withdrawal pattern is marked by mental abnormalities. The primary manifestations can be depressed essence-spirit, irregular joy and anger, chaotic intellect, disordered speech, or talking to one’s self. There may be feeble-mindedness, apathetic emotions, and behavioural impediments. A special feature of this [pattern] is reduced motions and increased stillness.

Eruptions of withdrawal pattern are usually from depression of the 7 effects, or else not attaining one’s plans, or grief and anxiety in excess that damages the liver, gallbladder, heart, or kidney, and leads to phlegm and qi depression and binding, confounding and clouding the heart-spirit, and instigating spirit-orientation irregularities. Because of unique circumstances for each patient and dissimilar symptoms at different stages in the development of withdrawal, the clinical types of withdrawal are often separated into

[1] heart-spleen depression and binding,
[2] phlegm clouding the heart portals,
[3] obstruction of yang qi of the governing vessel,
[4] heart-liver blood vacuity,
[5] yin vacuity and fire effulgence,
[6] dual depletion of the spleen and kidneys,
[7] debilitation of the life gate fire,
[8] heart-kidney insufficiency, and
[9] liver-gallbladder temerity.

When treating this illness, besides generally regulating yin and yang, it is suitable to perfuse depression and transform phlegm, clear the heart and quiet the spirit, support the correct and secure the root. This is because withdrawal is frequently a vacuity, a disease of heavy yin, that is governed by phlegm and qi. Generally speaking, for depressed binding [qi] and phlegm clouding it is suitable to course stagnation, open portals, and sweep phlegm; for obstruction of the governing vessel and inhibited heart qi, suitable treatment is freeing the governing vessel yang and dis-inhibiting heart qi. For yin vacuity with phlegm congealing a suitable treatment should nourish yin and transform phlegm. For heart-liver, heart-spleen, spleen-kidney, or heart kidney cases of vacuity and injury[?] one must then emphasize supplementing and boosting as the governing treatment methods.

In treating this pattern one only needs to do a clear pattern identification, apply appropriate treatment, find the correct points, and have agility in the hand technique. In addition, the key to reaping fine cures is to be patient in making refined adjustments to the treatments.