(c) alaine duncan, 2014 restoration & balance tm alaine d. duncan licensed acupuncturist somatic...

(c) Alaine Duncan, 2014

Restoration & BalanceTM

Alaine D. DuncanLicensed AcupuncturistSomatic Experiencing Practitioner

Chinese Medicine’s

Gift to Survivors of Trauma



Designed clinical intervention for a VA Merit Grant Research on PTSD-Related Insomnia, DC WRIISC, 2010.

Lead Acupuncturist, Designed Intervention for TBI & Chronic Headaches Research Study, WRAMC, WRNMMC, FBCH.


Central Nervous System

Neocortex/Forebrain Rational - Consciousness, memory, presence, complex thought

Brainstem/Reptilian Brain Instinctual – breathing, circulation, digestion, sexual arousal, fight/flight/freeze. Understands sensation-based language

Limbic Area/Midbrain Relational – Feelings/ emotions, governs social engagement, attachment dynamics

Words and Concepts

Thinking, language, higher brain functions, consciousness

The Upper Jiao(c) Alaine Duncan, 2014

Neocortex/Frontal

Emotions


Gutsy, juicy, emotional, rapport, social brain

The Middle Jiao

Limbic or Mid-Brain

Sensations

Instinctual center - fight/flight/ freeze; breathing, circulation, digestion, reproduction - things below conscious control.

The Lower Jiao


Reptilian/Brain Stem


Vibrational Medicine for Vibrational Illness

Acupuncture’s greatest contribution to the world of healing is its understanding of qi – life force, or vital energy.

Understanding Qi and its regulation can be a major resource for understanding the dysregulation caused by traumatic stress.

Rest and digest

Daytim

e, summer

Nighttim

e, winterAw

ake and alert

YANG/Sympathetic Arousal

YIN/Parasympathetic Restoration

Inha

le Exhale

Balance is a constantly changing state. It exists in a dynamic and fluid interplay between our

more substantial, dense yin aspect and our more insubstantial, active yang aspect.



Daytim

e, sum

mer

Awak

e an

d al

ert

inha

leexhale

Sympathetic Activation - Stuck “On”

Parasympathetic Collapse - Stuck “Off”

Nighttim

e, winter

Rest and digest


Vibrational Medicine For Vibrational Illness

Disrupted, depleted, stuck, disorganized Qi


Low tone or high tone in tissues and mental processes

Difficulty in processing or interpreting physical sensations

Phobias and hyper- or hypo-arousal with touch, sensations, smells

Manifestations Of Disorganized Qi

Compromised capacity for relationship

Engages in re-enactment behaviors

Gets triggered by remotely similar circumstances

Wrecks havoc with sleep, immune, metabolic, cardiac, and endocrine systems.

Animals in the wild instinctively discharge

very high levels of traumatic activation.

Why don’t humans?


The Threat Response



The Five Phases of Chinese Medicine interface seamlessly with the five steps of the Self Protective Response.

The correspondences of the Five Phases can deepen and bring nuance to your service to trauma survivors.


Lung – sensate function, the “animal soul”.

Skin as boundary organ wakes up with “goose bumps”

Hair on back of neck stands on end.

“Something is amiss” in Colon.

Message sent to Liver to look, orient to possible threat.

Sympathetic activation.

Increased focus and alertness.

Afferent firing in the enteric brain – “something is amiss”.

Stop, Notice

The Threat Response


May Happen Simultaneously With Arrest Response

Startle – Signaling Threat

Kidney – fear/ terror signals threat response

Control cycle alerts pericardium. Relationship attempted.

Pericardium alerts heart. Whole body goes into full alarm.

High level of sympathetic arousal.

Amygdala alerted – wakes up HPA axis.

Adrenal secretion of cortisol.

Mobilization of all systems to respond.


Kidney yang/kidney essence give rise to mobilization in Liver.

Liver alerts joints, tendons and ligaments to prepare for fight or flight.

Very high level of sympathetic arousal.

Rapid conversion of glycogen stored in the liver into glucose in the blood stream.

Threat Determined to be High

Mobilization Response Initiates


Increased Tone In Sympathetic Nervous System

Meridian

Accelerates heartbeat Heart/Lung

Dilates pupils Liver

Dilates bronchii Lung

Inhibits peristalsis and secretion of bile Spleen/StomachLiver

Accelerates conversion of glycogen to glucose Spleen/ Stomach

Secretes adrenalin and noradrenalin Kidney

Inhibits bladder contraction Bladder

The Whole Body Is Engaged

The Autonomic Nervous System

c) Alaine Duncan, 2011

Sympathetic Nervous System Element Involved Parasympathetic Nervous System

Accelerates heartbeat FireMetal

Slows heartbeat

Dilates pupils Wood Relaxes pupils

Dilates bronchii Metal Constricts bronchi

Inhibits peristalsis and secretion of bile

EarthWood

Stimulates peristalsis and secretion of bile

Accelerates conversion of glycogen to glucose

Earth Accumulates damp and phlegm

Secretes adrenalin and noradrenalin

Water Inhibits secretion of adrenalin, slows metabolism

Inhibits bladder contraction Water Contracts bladder

Every Element Is Involved In The Stress Response


Threat Does Not Materialize

Completion 1

Heart returns to resting state.

Peace in the kingdom of the body.

Balance restored between yin and yang.

PNS Tone Increases

Heartbeat slows

Bronchii soften

Pupils relax

Bile secretion, peristalsis return

Adrenalin secretion slows

Metabolism slows

Bladder constricts


Mobilization response completes

Liver cools, restores yin. Benevolence returns.

Freeze response melts, restores kidney yang.

Balance in kidney/heart axis restored.

Heart returns to peaceful state

Increased Tone In Parasympathetic NS

Heartbeat slows

Bronchii soften, relax

Pupils relax

Bile secretion, peristalsis returns

Adrenalin secretion slows

Metabolism slows

Bladder constricts

Successful Defense

Completion 2

Yin and Yang flow in dynamic and co-regulating tension.

Spleen/Stomach digest, harvest and embody lessons of the experience.

Lung/Colon let go of what needs to be let go of. Take in inspiration and holds big scope.

SNS and PNS flow in dynamic and co-regulating tension.

Metabolic, immune, cardiac and all body systems return to normal.

Open, curiosity, relaxed alertness.

Sense organs awake and available; not “activated”.

Exploratory Orienting Returns


Every aspect of our body, mind, and spirit is affected:

Our organs, tissues and cells.

Our thinking, cognition and focus.

Our fundamental experience of God.


Too Much Too Fast

The flight/fight response mobilized but didn’t complete.

They remain “stuck” in what was a successful survival approach – but now the danger has passed.

Their instinctive survival responses are unreliable.

There is a cascade of physical and psychological symptoms.(c) Alaine Duncan, 2014

The Incomplete Threat Response


Freeze – collapse of Kidney yin.

Sends message to heart that death is imminent.

Consumes Kidney essence resulting in a shorter life expectancy.

High tone in PNS

Pain minimized. Metabolism slowed.

Highly charged brace response remains under an appearance of collapse.

Life threatening impact on metabolic, immune, endocrine, cardiac function.

Incomplete Threat Response

When the nervous system is not restored to balance, symptoms can develop weeks, months, years later.

Our traumatic disorganization, dormant for years, can reappear with aging, illness, vulnerability or a triggering memory.


Onset of symptoms is usually 6-18 months after the event and can be years later.

The Threat Response

Insomnia/HypersomniaIrritable Bowel

SyndromeMemory lapsesCognition problemsMigraine headachesStomachachesAnxietyDepression

TerrorRagePain PatternsMetabolic disturbanceAuto-immune

disturbanceEndocrine disturbanceCardiac symptomsWeight gain in the

middle


The Threat Response

Our response to trauma is not about our values, courage, or choice.

It is an instinctive, highly adaptive and successful negotiation for survival.

Fight

Flight

Freeze(c) Alaine Duncan, 2014

It’s Not Wrong


5 Types of Traumatic Stress

Water/Kidney TypeFear or the lack of fear predominates. Eyes can’t sit still; scan constantly in anxious and fearful attention.

Can’t sink deeply and often won’t sleep out of fear of what may come in the night.

Manifests as hyper-vigilant alertness or collapsed and frozen, agoraphobic at extreme.



Anger or a collapsed lack of capacity for assertion predominates

The Liver/Gall Bladder type

Will look for obstacles rather than see openings -- or will be frozen, imploded, suppressed, and hopeless.

There is a mountain of rage whether visible or invisible.



Sadness predominates: flat eyes, flat emotions; slow memory and cognition, socially inhibited, anxious.

The Heart type

Heightened sexual expression, without intimacy, connection, engagement.



Digestion shutdown; can’t receive or hold onto anything, can’t digest, integrate experiences. May manifest with irritable bowel syndromeor GERD.

Undigested, their trauma story goes around and around; “victim” identity.

The Spleen/Stomach Type



Grief is predominate emotion. It is hard to inhale, to receive life — or to exhale and let go.

The Lung/Colon type

“How can a loving God allow bad things happen to good people?

Shallow breathing, deeply soulful survival guilt.


Our Job:

The Gumb

all Princi

ple


Alaine D. Duncan

Licensed AcupuncturistSomatic Experiencing Practitioner

[email protected]

301-806-4003(c) Alaine Duncan, 2014

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(c) alaine duncan, 2014 restoration & balance tm alaine d. duncan licensed acupuncturist somatic...

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