5 Phases, Pt 3
5 PHASE PATHOLOGIES
In the past couple of posts, we’ve learned a little about the 5 Phases and taken a look at how they normally relate to each other. In this final post on 5 Phases, we’ll examine their pathological interactions.
Just as yin and yang can be out of balance, creating issues, the 5 Phases can also become unbalanced and create issues or pathologies. 5 Phase pathologies occur when the physiological relationships described earlier are out of balance.
Usually, 5 Phase pathologies arise from an issue with the restraining cycle.
There are two ways that the restraining relationship can cause problems. In the first situation, one phase exerts too much pressure on the phase that it should restrain, gradually weakening the restrained phase until it overpowers it.
PATHOLOGY 1: OVERWHELMING
If we imagine the restraining relationship between two elements as arm wrestling, this becomes much easier to understand. Imagine that the phases of Wood and Earth are two teenage boys arm wrestling. They are fairly evenly matched, and no one is really winning.
However, if we replace the Wood teenager with a much larger and stronger opponent, like a pro-wrestler, the dynamic of the match quickly changes. Now, instead of an even match, the much stronger Wood wrestler is easily able to overpower the Earth teenager and win the match.
Afterwards, Wood runs around celebrating his victory, completely out of control, while Earth sits in the corner crying because Wood hurt him.
A perfect example of this pathology in the human body is appropriately called “Wood overacting on Earth.” As we’ll learn more about later, the liver is associated with the Wood phase and the digestive organs are associated with the Earth phase. Stress really affects the liver in Chinese medicine, and much like the steroids our pro-wrestler is probably taking, stress makes the liver’s energy large and out of control.
Like the teenager in the arm wrestling analogy, the digestive organs are no match for the juiced-up liver, and are quickly worn down and weakened. As a result, they stop functioning properly, leading to signs like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, and poor appetite. If you are someone who suffers from tummy troubles in times of stress, you may have had first hand experience with the pathology of Wood overacting on Earth.
NOTE: Chinese medicine relies on a system of pattern diagnosis. All of the signs or symptoms discussed in this post could be due to causes other than the patterns described here.
PATHOLOGY 2: REBELLING
The other pathology that can occur as a result of imbalance in the restraining cycle is called rebelling. In this case, one of the Phases becomes so strong that it is able to rebel against the Phase that is supposed to restrain it.
For example, let’s imagine Wood as a burglar and Metal as the metal bars of the jail cell that she is in. Normally, the Metal bars are strong enough to restrain her. No matter how much she tries to bend the bars to escape, she cannot.
However, if while in jail, the burglar gets bitten by a radioactive spider and suddenly has super strength, the metal bars are not going to be strong enough to keep her in jail where she belongs.
This can happen in the human body as well. The lungs are associated with the Metal phase, and as we said earlier, the liver is associated with the Wood phase. When Metal and Wood are functioning normally, Metal helps to restrain Wood, keeping it in check.
Now, normally, if you are stressed out (remember, stress and the liver are best buds), taking a few deep, calming breaths can really help make you feel better. This is a healthy relationship, where the lungs are able to restrain the liver’s energy. However, if you are having a particularly stressful moment, the liver’s energy can get too strong, and it may start feeling hard to breathe.
In Chinese medicine, this is seen as the Wood phase (liver) growing too strong and rebelling against the Metal phase (lungs).
PATHOLOGY 3: MOTHER STEALING SON’S QI
(CREATION CYCLE PATHOLOGY)
Although 5 Phase pathologies usually occur in the restraining cycle, it is possible to have pathology in the Creation cycle.
You might remember that this cycle is also called the “Mother-Son” cycle, where between any two consecutive phases, the mother is the phase that creates, and the son is the phase that is created.
Pathology can arise in this cycle if one element becomes too weak. The weak phase will “steal” energy from its mother to try and become stronger. This, in turn will weaken the mother. For example, if the Earth phase is weakened from prolonged worrying or a poor diet (both of which weaken the digestive organs), it can steal energy from the Fire phase to try and get stronger. This is referred to as the son stealing the mother’s qi.
The heart is related to the Fire phase, so if after a prolonged period of worrying or eating badly, someone develops palpitations, it could be possible that they are experiencing a creation cycle pathology.
NOTE: This blog is meant for educational purposes only — please don’t try to diagnose yourself using it! If you have a medical issue, please seek guidance and treatment from a licensed medical professional.
© 2017 Alli Urbanik Kimmel
