A Ghost Story

This Hallowe’en, would you like to hear a story of ghosts and spiritual possession?

You would? Well, I hate to disappoint you, but when you hear references to such things in relation to Chinese medicine, it might not be exactly what you think.

Certainly, in Ancient China, the veil between this world and the next was considered to be extremely thin, with ghosts able to cross over and possess the living, causing physical and mental problems as varied as mania, epilepsy, anxiety, nightmares and headaches.

 

Over the years the cause of these conditions became more pragmatic, and less to do with interventions from beyond the grave. Acupuncture was found to be helpful, and in the 7th century a physician called Su Simiao (pictured below) developed an effective protocol of 13 acupuncture points that are now known as the ‘Ghost Points’.

The protocol itself is now rarely used in its entirety, but the chances are if you’ve been for acupuncture you’ve had one or more of the points included in it, because most are frequent choices for needling.

 

Spiritual treatment is still a major part of what I do, by which I mean using acupuncture to help people suffering from addiction, mental health issues, stress, disturbed sleep and (yes) nightmares, to name but a few.

 

We might not refer to ghosts as such in the 21st century, but the action of Chinese medicine acupuncture is the same: balancing qi, ridding the body of unwelcome visitors (ie blockages or pathogens), and therefore providing relief from unpleasant symptoms.