Treatment Cave

On 1 May 2011, the European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products 2004/24/EC will come into force. This Directive has far-reaching (negative) consequences for acupuncturists, herbalists, the herbal medicine industry and consumers of herbal medicine. Quite simply, this is a draconian Directive that limits our freedom to use herbal medicines as practitioner and consumers. Make no mistake, contrary to what our bureaucrats are telling us, this Directive has nothing to do with the protection of the consumer: it has everything to do with the desire and need of Eurocrats to regulate and control . In this age of the Internet when high-quality information is readily available, the consumer is perfectly able to satisfy him- or herself about the standard of quality controls and efficacy of a particular herbal remedy. For example, hundreds of clinical studies on herbal medicines are available online. The main motivation for this draconian European Directive is the European political ...

Giovanni has a new Twitter account which will be dedicated to short messages on all aspects of Chinese medicine, some with links. @gmaciocia.

Since the previous Clinical Tip was about guilt as an emotional cause of disease, it makes sense to discuss now shame as an emotional cause of disease. I think that shame is as common as guilt in Western patients while it could be argued that Eastern societies are more prone to shame than guilt. Shame may be caused by a feeling of shame about one's behaviour in breaking society’s rules or customs; more commonly, it is an in-born feeling of shame due to one's upbringing. It is a feeling of blame which often makes one feels “dirty”; with shame, one feels that one has to hide from the frowning look of society. One feels observed all the time. According to Solomon, in small doses, shame is an affirmation of one's autonomy, a confirmation that one will live by one's standards and accept responsibility. In small doses, shame is conducive to self-esteem. However, in larger doses, shame is overwhelming and it is self-demeaning, making one extremely defensive and impotent. As a ...

The draconian European Directive on herbal medicines is coming into force very soon (at the end of April). This will stop the sale of herbal remedies. We must all make our voice heard to stop this infringement of our freedoms that is being pushed by the European Union under the influence of pharmaceutical multinationals. Please support the Alliance for Natural Health, the Benefyt Foundation and the European Herbal Practitioners Alliance. Please watch the video http://www.savenaturalhealth.eu/ and sign the petition.

Nancy has often asked me “why do you think I am an alcoholic and you’re not? ”I don’t know because I have learned that the disease of alcohol and drug addiction is extremely baffling and confusing. Why Nancy and not me makes no difference, she is I’m not. Over the years the drinking became worse and our relationship was definitely going south. Then came the day we all pray for….the day she asked for help. For Nancy, help came with admitting her powerlessness over the disease, the desire to recover, the willingness to accept help, and her admission into treatment. Read more...

The English Mountain Recovery program for alcohol and drug addiction, offers treatment stays for 90 days and longer. Our program includes, but is not limited to lectures, films, family sessions, 12 Step introduction, equine therapy, creative arts, individual and group sessions. During this time the individuals learn how to overcome self-defeating patterns , develop new patterns of behavior and establish positive attitudes. The most effective treatment is when the family is involved in the process. The family begins to understand the dynamics of the disease of addiction and the recovery process necessary for all. Our addiction rehab program seeks family healing and teaches how to resist anger, demoralization and how to be supportive of one another.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God 1 Romans 3.23 In the previous Clinical Tip I discussed sadness and grief deriving from loss as a pervasive emotion in Western patients. In this Clinical Tip, I discuss another common emotional cause of disease in Western patients, i.e. guilt. Guilt is a pervasive emotion in Western patients. It is completely missing from Chinese medicine books and one could say that it simply does not exist in the Chinese psyche. It could be argued that guilt is intrinsically related to the Judeo-Christian religions and especially the Christian religion with its concept of “original sin.” I have never seen expressions referring to “feeling of guilt” as an emotional cause of disease in modern or old Chinese books. It could be argued that this is due to the fact that a feeling of guilt is more or less absent in Eastern societies. In fact, the concept of guilt is totally absent in all three major Chinese religions/philosophies of Confucianism, Daois...