Observations placeholder
Hallucinations and health problems from mis-application
Identifier
000763
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Incorrect stimulation can go wrong, which is why a system is needed and an understanding of the trigger points and their inter relationship and effects.
Although the example here is from Qigong, it would be wrong to single out this system as being the only source of health problems. All the systems from yoga to shiatsu, have resulted in much the same problems when people go too far too quickly and become obsessive about the approach, or when they try things without understanding the underlying theory. They go from nothing to an all out onslaught on a 2 week course and the results can be serious – damaging.
The following offers a solution..........
Qigong disease –What to Do about It - Bob Flaws, Dipl. Ac. & C.H., FNAAOM
At the very first sign of qigong disease, the practitioner should stop doing qigong or their practice should be immediately monitored, assessed, and modified by a competent teacher.
If symptoms persist, both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can be used to treat any of the above three patterns. Therefore, practitioners with qigong-induced symptoms which do not spontaneously go away when they stop practicing may want to see their local acupuncturist or professional practitioner of Chinese medicine.
However, one of the foundations of Chinese medicine is to treat disease before it arises, and the best way to prevent qigong disease is to insure that the type of qigong you are practicing is right for you and that you are doing it correctly. When the right person practices the right kind of qigong in the right manner, then qigong can be a wonderful practice. When practiced wrongly, it can cause mental-emotional disease, hypertension, and heart disease and may lead to stroke.
It's good to remember that, in Chinese medicine, health is seen as a matter of balance, and too much qi is just as unhealthy as too little.
A description of the experience
From Qigong disease – What it is - Bob Flaws, Dipl. Ac. & C.H., FNAAOM
The Chinese medical literature describes three main patterns of qigong disease. These are:
1. Qi stagnation & blood stasis pattern
The main symptoms of this pattern, of qigong disease are emotional instability, crying and laughing without constancy, paranoia, tension, visual hallucinations, delusional thoughts, chest and ribside fullness and oppression, headache, generalized body pain, a dark, stagnant facial complexion, a dark red tongue or possible static spots or macuIes on the tongue, dark purple, engorged sublingual veins, and a bowstring, choppy pulse. Emotional impetuosity, difficulty staying still, emotional instability, crying and laughing without constancy, etc. are all symptoms ……………
2. Phlegm fire harassing above pattern
The main symptoms of this pattern of qigong disease are emotional tension and agitation, impulsive movement, breaking things, mania, difficulty controlling oneself, profuse phlegm, chest oppression, a bitter taste in the mouth and bad breath, headache, red eyes, reddish urine, bound stools, a red tongue with thick/ slimy, yellow fur, and a bowstring, slippery, rapid pulse.
If there is habitual bodily yang exuberance (as there often is in young males) or addiction to alcohol and/or tobacco, or excessive eating of fatty, greasy, thick-flavored foods, phlegm dampness may congest and become exuberant. …..lf the qi does not gather in the channels, it is difficult for it to control itself. This then leads to spontaneous sensations of qi discharging chaotically around the body and inability to control oneself………..
3.Yin vacuity-fire of effulgence pattern
The main symptoms of this pattern of qigong disease are emotional depression, difficulty thinking, poor memory, mumbling and speaking to oneself, fright palpitations, generalized fear and dread, auditory and visual hallucinations, vexatious heat in the five hearts (meaning the heart and the centers of the hands and feet), a dry mouth and throat, insomnia, night sweats, a red tongue with scanty fur, and a fine, rapid or surging rapid pulse.
If one is already habitually kidney yin depleted and vacuous (as are many thin people, women, and the elderly), doing too much or erroneous qigong may cause excessive psycho-emotional tension. In addition, compulsively chasing ones thoughts or a desire
The source of the experience
Ordinary personConcepts, symbols and science items
Concepts
Symbols
Science Items
Activities and commonsteps
Commonsteps
References
R Lim and K Lin “ Cultural formulation of Psychiatric Diagnosis. Case no 03. Psychosis following Qigong in a Chinese Immigrant”
Culture and medical Psychiatry 20 1996