Dr. Mercola evidently did a post on the stages people go through to get well from chronic illness. A patient just sent me an excerpt from that article. I did not read the original. I am going to post it down below.
Although it is brief, it touches on some ideas that are interesting. When people feel defeated at the time it sometimes takes to make positive changes in their body they can become saddened and defeated. But, in reality, it can take quite some time to change the imbalances going on. There are so many ways in which to view these types of changes. Chinese medicine goes into very detailed descriptions on these types of things. Dr. Mercola touches on these and also, he westernizes some of this. I like to do this as well bc Chinese medical terminology is so foreign.
In any case, I thought you all might enjoy this little tidbit of information. As small as it is, it is quite insightful:
Yin and Yang
We differentiate between Yin states and Yang states, and much of our decision making is based on an understanding of both.
A Yin state is an internal state, in which healing, regeneration and detoxification occurs. It is accompanied by increased parasympathetic tone and the client may show related body signs: slowed heart rate, increased flow of saliva, increased bowel motility, feeling of relaxation or neutral emptiness.
The 12 acupuncture meridians are paired: one is Yin, one is Yang. The ones channeling the Yin energy are the ones we cannot live without (heart, liver, lung, etc.), the Yang ones are the ones we can live without (Gallbladder, Colon, bladder, etc.).
Yang states are states of increased strength, increased sympathetic activity, outgoing energy, in which the person is alert, awake, and able to move and respond and interact with the environment in well adapted and intelligent ways. The person is strong, but not blocked. Sympathetic tone is increased while parasympathetic activity is not suppressed.
We differentiate carefully between Yang and blocked regulation. On the surface both look similar. In blocked regulation the client is also strong, but only with increased sympathetic activity, without the accompanying increase of parasympathetic activity. In blocked regulation heart rate is increased, adrenalin is increased, skin is dry and cold. There is tension and anxiety.
In a Yang state the skin stays warm, the person stays relaxed – aware of his/her strength.
The 2-phasic Nature of Illness
When any illness starts, the person is in phase I: a state of initial sympathetic arousal – the immune system fights and attends to the incoming illness-producing energy (microbes, toxic metals, etc). If this lasts a few days and is successful, the system goes back to a compensatory Yin state which may last for a few days.
In chronic illness, the system is unable to succeed and becomes stuck in phase I - a sympathetic mode and regulation becomes blocked. In this state hands and feet are cold, there is tension, pain, constipation, dry skin and many other signs of increased sympathetic tone.
Only after therapeutic intervention and resolution of the illness can the system go back into phase II: the parasympathetic healing state, which may last as long as the months or years of illness.
In this state the person often goes backwards through the same symptoms that occurred during the illness. However, they last much shorter, are milder and do not require treatment. It is a self limited process. In this phase hands are warm, the bowels move, there is deep psychological exploration and healing with the gaining of insights and inner peace.
