Post traumatic stress disorder is an all-too-common effect of military life as well as life’s other more shocking moments or big changes. It can feel as though there is no hope of ever returning to how you once were, and it can put a strain on the relationships you hold most dear.

Within the body, there are yin and yang energies. Yin is a cool, calming, relaxing, lazy energy. Yang is a hot, active, hardworking, adrenaline-pumping, fighting energy. They work together to create a balance, and when in alignment, bring health and vitality.

Most war or traumatizing situations have an overriding energy of fear and being out of control. These feelings, compounded with a lack of sleep, too much deep thinking, sadness, strong emotion, and a general sensory overload, all make for a very extreme situation for your body. It’s much like pulling an elastic band. If you pull and pull on it over and over again, eventually it will either pull back to a state that is unlike how it was to begin with, or it will snap and break. Either way, what you are left with is an elastic band that is no longer in its original shape.

Everyone’s body is individually programmed, and when that programming is altered, you feel the change. We call this an imbalance, and it produces a sickness in one way or another. The four constitutional types have organs that work together like yin and yang. In these situations, Tae Yang In types would see their lungs acting as yang energy and their liver acting as yin energy. Tae Um In types see the opposite, with their liver energies becoming over excited and their lung energy trying to balance it. So Yang In types have an over excited spleen, pancreas, and stomach energy, while their kidneys try to pull them back to normal. So Um In types have the opposite, with their kidneys becoming over-excited and their spleen, pancreas, and stomach trying to balance them once more. This entire energy imbalance causes the brain to be out of balance as well, and so PTSD happens.

Korean Constitutional acupuncture, herbs, and diet can balance these organs, yin and yang energies, normalize your brain cells, and return your “elastic band” back to its original shape. It should be noted that it’s not a one-time shot. It takes time to mold your body back into its original state, but it is all natural, working in concert with your body without side effects, to treat the root cause. Once you are balanced, you’re able to process your experiences in a balanced way. Strong medication cannot say the same as it normally causes an up and down effect that does not cure the real problem.

In addition, your entire body benefits greatly from exercise, especially stretching exercises like Pilates. Breathing exercises also help return the balance of yin and yang energies as it changes the state of the diaphragm and muscle support around the organs and helps the six “weather conditions” of each organ. Positive thinking is also a must. It takes effort to retrain yourself and Korean Constitutional Medicine can be extremely helpful to anyone wishing to heal the mind-body connection and get it back to its original balanced state.

Dr. Lee’s office is located at 175 McMurray Road, Suite G, Buellton. Dr. Lee also has an office in Los Angeles and Paso Robles. To make an appointment call (805) 693-5162 or (310) 666-8021.