Migraine pattern #2 – Ascendant Liver yang This migraine includes dizziness, sudden anger, light sensitivity, and ringing ears. Liver yang rises when liver yin is deficient – and that happens over time from kidney yin deficiency, which can be due to overwork, too much sex, or too many warm herbs like ginseng and other sexual tonics. Too much coffee over a long period of time could contribute to this pattern, too (many people insist that coffee helps their migraines, and it can, but only temporarily. It may make underlying problems worse at same time). Acupuncture and migraine for this type might include Liv2, K3, K6, GB39, and GB43.

Migraine pattern #3 – Cold reversal pattern This migraine features pain at top of head, feeling of chill during attack, vomiting clear liquids, and a sensitivity to wind. This is a sudden attack of migraine only. It happens when influences of stress (liver) attack digestion (spleen). Acupuncture and migraine here might include moxa on ST36, Ren6, Du20, K7, and needling P6 and Ren13.

Migraine pattern #4 – Phlegm reversal pattern This headache comes with dizziness, heavy-headedness, feeling like there’s a tight band wrapped around head, vomiting of phlegm, stuffiness in chest, and a lack of appetite. It’s a severe complication of digestive deficiency. Phlegm comes from dampness, which is a diseased fluid problem due to poor digestion. Acupuncture and migraine to remedy this would be points like ST40, Sp9, L5, and ST36.

Migraine pattern #5 – Blood stasis obstructing network vessels This is a stubborn, stabbing headache that doesn’t change locations. It may be due to injury to head, or blood may have stagnated due to qi stagnation. Points that fix this one are LI4, Sp6, SP10, and Liv3.

Acupressure resources- you can check out a free acupressure chart on my website at http://pulsemed.org/free-acupressure-chart.htm. For more help with acupressure, you should buy my book, Powerful Body, Peaceful Mind.

It appears to me you more likely have a yang excess.

The 8 Principles of Chinese Medicine Up to now, we've only talked about 6 of 8 principles. The 8 principles are a general categorizing system for diagnosis... They are

internal/external cold/hot deficient/excess yin/yang

One Chinese physician proposed adding downward/ upward direction to this, for a total of 10 principles.

So for you - so far - we have: yang, hot and excess.

Is Disease Internal or External? Causes of external heat are usually viruses, flu's etc. And external diseases are usually recent, not chronic. Nor do they often have severe emotional effects... unless they've been around for a while and caused other internal problems. Usually emotional issues are due to internal causes. Sources of emotional trauma may be external, but disease processes are still considered to be internal. I'm going to assume your disease is internal, but if your symptoms are only a recent development, then an external pathogen is a possibility.

Zang Fu Syndromes of Social Phobia Now, if we take our 8 principle diagnosis of internal, hot, excess, and yang over to article on Social Phobia... in particular section on Zang Fu syndromes (opens another window for reference)

We see 5 Zang Fu syndromes listed. The first two are deficiency. The last three are excess. So, we can further differentiate by seeing which symptoms of your fit those syndromes. Here is where Tongue and Pulse diagnosis become key, and where a one-on-one with a Chinese Medicine practitioner is indispensable. Also, I don't have enough information from you to make this further differentiation.

Just for your information, 5 Social Phobia Zang Fu patterns in terms of 8 principles are:

Heart and Kidney Yin Deficiency = internal, hot, yang, deficient Spleen and Heart Qi and Blood Deficiency = internal, no temp, yin, deficient Heart Fire or Excess Heart Yang = internal, hot, yang, deficient and excess Phlegm Fire Disturbing Heart = internal, hot, yang, excess Liver Heat and Blood Deficiency = internal, hot, yang, deficient and excess

Diagnosis by Zang Fu vs. Diagnosis by Type Now, these 5 Zang Fu syndromes are not end-all-be-all... this is what is called "diagnosis by type." It is not exactly same as "pattern differentiation." It's a process by which we start with a disease (in this case Anxiety), and look at what Chinese Medical scholars believe to be differential diagnosis. This style of diagnosis is fairly new... so it is in development. But it's a good place to start.

Once we have a type, we can take representative herbal formula and modify it more specifically to you. This part is based on pattern differentiation and a knowledge of actions of various chinese herbs. There are hundreds of herbs to choose from. We can fine-tune your formula over a few visits to eliminate side effects. For more about how herbal medicine can be effective without side effects, read article, "Healing Without Side Effects?"

One on One Help Probably best thing for anxiety would be to see a Chinese Medicine physician who can get you right herbal formula, and give you acupuncture to regulate your nervous system.

Other Helpful Therapies for Social Phobia Along with this, it would be good to see a counselor who can guide you through some self-reflection about your social phobia... especially if it's been a recurrent part of your history.

It may take all three of those things- and in addition to counseling, prayer and meditation can be powerfully transformative. It's not easy to confront deeply held fears, and mistaken ideas about ourselves and world, but it's well worth it. You can't really run from them- not in any constructive way. They'll just hang around and wait for you to deal with them... and you won't be happy until you do.

In fact, wasn't it Eleanor Roosevelt who said that best way to destroy fear is to do thing you are most afraid of? Try toastmasters - most people are more afraid of public speaking than death! Toastmasters is a support and learning group for public speaking, and first lesson is how to use fear to your advantage!

BEST WISHES in your healing... and if I can help further, please let me know.

All best, B