Author: editor

  • My Position As a Practitioner

    My Position As a Practitioner

    I often ask myself what role a practitioner should play, and what is our position in the journey of patients’ healing. I believe we have to consider how to lead patients to think positively and awaken their own healing potential.

    When patients come for a follow-up appointment, I always ask how they felt in the past week. Often they don’t really remember the details of what has happened, and some offer to make a note next time. I used to think this would be a good way to keep track of their symptoms. However, patients may then return with a long list of “symptoms”, logged every few hours of every day. This cannot be right! This kind of diary just reminds patients to look for negative symptoms, even on a “good day”. As soon as I realized this, I stopped suggesting that patients make notes.

    For a few years, a lovely lady has been visiting my clinic for stress and anxiety; she is a “natural worrier”. About two years ago she made an appointment to see me saying she felt quite strange. In fact, she was simply feeling good; sleep, energy, mood, everything was fine. She was not used to it, and therefore was feeling “strange” and thought she might need a treatment.

    I asked her “If you feel good, why don’t you trust yourself”? “Should I?” she replied hesitantly. I said, “Look at the lovely sunshine outside. I suggest you do not have treatment today. Save the time and money, have a nice walk on the beach and use the money to buy yourself a nice meal and bunch of flowers, and enjoy it”! She happily left without a treatment. I did not charge her anything. I may have lost one hour of business, but I built up the trust and the patient built up her confidence. It is well worth it.

    The same happens again and again when patients take holidays. Some patients are very nervous before they go, asking me if they should take enough herbal medicine to cover the whole time away. Unless it is absolutely necessary, I often ask patients not to take any medicine, just to relax and enjoy the holiday. The result is always positive! I never lose any long-term business because of this.

    I always position myself as a companion in my patients’ journey of healing, not in opposition to them, not superior over them. This works!

  • 5 A Day or 5 Times A Day?

    5 A Day or 5 Times A Day?

    The clock is changing back today but it has not happened in my body. Waking up at 6 am and could not go back to sleep again. I got this unexpected extra hour to write something.

    When I give patients consultation at clinic, I like to ask them “how do you feel of your health”? Most of the time I got answers like “I am very healthy; I eat healthily and eat a lot of vegetables…”. It seems there is an equal sign between “eating a lot of vegetables” and “being healthy”. Interestingly when I ask more detailed questions such as “Do you have any discomfort after eating? or How is your bowel movement”, the answers are not always convincing: “oh, I feel bloated every time I eat”, “I have bowel movement 5 times a day, very loose”…

    Is that what we call healthy?

    5 a Day is based on the advice from WHO to lower the risk of serious health problems. There is no need to discuss the benefit of it. Many people feel that raw vegetables can offer even more benefit than cooked ones. There is no doubt that raw vegetables can reserve heat sensitive vitamins like vitamin C, and some research shows it is more beneficial for anti-cancer functions than cooked ones. We also have to admit though eating raw vegetables is not only a choice of health, but also becomes a fashion for some people. They are proud of “eating healthily”.

    That is fair enough! There is only one more thing to make it all perfect: listening to your body! Every individual body is unique; therefore the standard of being healthy is different. I personally do not believe a healthy diet should make you feel bloated and give diarrhoea a few times a day. According to Chinese medicine theory, the “Spleen” is the system in charge of processing the food and drink and turning them into the energy the body needs in forms of Qi and Blood. It covers the function of our digestive system. The Spleen is also a vulnerable system and can be weak or weakened from your constitution, your lifestyle, your diet, your emotions, or the performance of other systems of your body. If you have a weak Spleen, the food you choose will have to be warm, nourishing and easy to digest. You need to look after your Spleen to make it work better for you. Many people tend to listen to their doctors, listen to their friends, listen to what people say on the internet, but they do not listen to their own body.

    Is that logical?

    I like 5 a Day, but I do not like running to the toilet 5 times a day.

  • Ne’er cast a clout till May be out

    I have seen a few patients in the last two weeks with typical cold symptoms: stuffed nose, cough, headache… and the courses are very similar: enjoying the sunshine, sitting on the beach with summer clothes…

    This reminded me an old English saying:

    “Ne’er cast a clout till May be out”.

    Interestingly we have similar saying in Chinese language as well: Chun Wu Qiu Dong, which means Keep warm in spring and stay chilled in autumn. Chinese medicine believes human body is an integrated part of the universe and there is a natural, inseparable rhythm between our body and the nature. In spring time, Yang energy (you may come cross the concept Yin and Yang from somewhere) starts to develop and grow from the dormant state after the long preservation through the winter; new plants start to shoot up and a new life circle begins. However, the Yang energy at this stage is still weak and the new life is still vulnerable. That is why we still need to keep the new plants covered in the nursery. Covering or keeping warm is a way to protect and nurture the relatively weak Yang energy and to help it grow stronger for the summer. For the same reason, in autumn, stay chilled is a way to help the Yang energy to go inwards and into reserved status.

    In spring, Yang energy is changing and unstable. We can see the weather changing every day. When is the best time to pack your winter clothes? It is normally suggested wait until the temperature stabilized above 15℃, and then you can safely embrace and enjoy the summer.

    Our grannies are always right!

  • Chinese Medicine Brighton

    Chinese Medicine Brighton

    Welcome to our new website. I hope this will be a platform we can use to share information which you may be interested in and answer questions you may have.

    Earlier this month during British Acupuncture Council’s Acupuncture Awareness Week (03/03-10/03) we offered one week free consultation. One day I gave an elderly lady consultation for lung diseases. She had some complicated conditions and we spent quite a long time to make sure she understood everything clearly. At the end, the lady said she needed to think about it before making any decision. I said that is absolutely fine. She was a bit hesitant and asked how much she should pay me because we spent so much time with her. I said “we are offering free consultation. When we say free, we mean it. You have no pressure of buying anything or doing anything”. She was very impressed and said she actually did a lot of research before she phoned us for a consultation. The reason she came to us was because we have very good reputation from everyone who knows us.

    I felt touched and honored by her comment. Is there anything more important than a good reputation? We have been practicing acupuncture in Brighton (Hove actually) for 16 years since 1998. If you ask people for recommendation about where to do acupuncture in Hove, we are quite likely on the top of the recommendation list. This is not only because we are near Hove Town Hall with easy access; good reputation is our invaluable asset through our hard work in the last 16 years. Reputation comes from knowledge and heart. They are equally important. We are quite lucky living in Brighton and Hove, because this is a lively and energetic city. There are many excellent acupuncturists and herbalists, but relatively fewer practitioners qualified for both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine and offer integrated treatment.

    We feel so proud and privileged, because we know what we are doing, and we love what we are doing!