A new season is upon us and with it comes an inspiration to review our life practices. What summer or fall or winter or spring mean at one stage of life is not going to be the same as the years pass and the decades accumulate. Especially when we live with complex conditions, the weather and the demands of one season or another shift and ask more of us (or less, depending).
How, as a person with complex chronic illness, can you make the most of each season? How can you shift and go with the flow in a healthy way?
I’ve written about Chinese medicine and the seasons in other blog posts, both here and at Two Hearts Wellness, my original website. I will share some snippets of other blog posts, but in this one? I want to focus on seasons and their linked emotions and how these emotions might affect how we live with our chronic conditions. Each person’s experience with EDS and the common comorbid conditions changes with the weather, with their diet, and with their framing of it (among many other things). Being able to tend to one’s emotions in response is a useful skill indeed.
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~~Late Summer~~
As I write this essay, we are in the waning period of what Chinese medicine views as a fifth season: late summer. This is that in-between period starting in mid-August and going through to the fall equinox on September 22nd. Also called long summer, this is a neither this nor that stretch that has, as all Chinese seasons do, its specific associations with organ, mood, and more:
“Late summer is associated with the Spleen and Stomach, the color yellow, and the earth element. Its flavor is sweet and its emotion is worry.
—Late Summer: Health, Happiness, & Strategies
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As the yang of summer turns towards the yin of fall and winter, living creatures begin to shift their habits. Animals prepare for winter by in various ways, and their tactics include slowing down in preparation for hibernation, movement to warmer realms (migration), fattening up, growing a thicker fur coat, and/or stockpiling food resources. Humans do similar things, if you ponder it.”
We are no longer in the midst of the more enjoyable (if you like heat) periods of summer. Things are winding down. What about you? Are you relieved that the summer is coming to an end or are you worried about the cold of fall and winter?
Now is the time for people with chronic pain to start thinking about colder-weather self-care. For all of us, it’s a moment to feel the pull (and perhaps some anxiety) of the new upcoming season… but we want to take special care of our Spleen and our tendency to worry. Rumination and intrusive thoughts are a sign of Spleen deficiency. Is it time to make an appointment for acupuncture, or to see about getting herbs or nutritional support from your practitioner?
Pay attention to a tendency towards worry now, and soften the edges of anxiety with Chinese medicine, some gentle and consistent movement, and mindful planning for the upcoming season.
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~~Fall~~
Autumn, or fall, has its beauties and it also has its challenges. As the weather becomes cooler and things slow down, we may want to be aware that this season’s organ, the Lung, is associated with grief. There are practical considerations too:
“Each season has an organ and its pair associated with it. For autumn, this would be the Lung and the Large Intestine and these, you will notice, are the organs of inspiration and elimination. During fall, colds and flu are on the rise and cold weather does actually affect our digestive process. Even normies need to worry about allergies, asthma, and skin conditions more than usual during the fall. Anyone who lives where it’s truly cold might have already noticed that the weather can affect digestive process, whether or not EDS is a factor.”
—-Living With the Seasons According to Chinese Medicine: The EDS Version (Are You Ready For Fall?)
If you find that you feel melancholy or even grief-stricken during the fall months, it may be time to consider reviewing your support systems. Maybe it would be wise to seek therapy. Another option, of course, is going to be working with an acupuncturist to bolster wellbeing, both physical and emotional.
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~~Winter~~
According to Chinese medicine, shock shatters the qi and fear pertains to winter’s organ, the Kidney. This is one correspondence that most people understand, because the idea of shock shattering qi isn’t so far removed from the idea of having an extreme burst of adrenaline when panicked. Not everyone agrees with the term adrenaline fatigue, but we probably all know what it’s like to be exhausted and worn out from chronic stress and pain.
“The Kidney in Chinese medicine is associated with fear, and too much of this emotion can damage them. Western medicine isn’t altogether that different if you think about the adrenal glands and what happens during a fight-or-fight episode. This is something to consider with extra gentleness when we live with chronic conditions, though. Living with EDS, MCAS, and/or POTS is not for sissies. It’s exhausting, it can leave a person fearful, and there’s usually at least a fair amount of pain each day. We already know about plowing forward despite pain, uncertainty, and even fear.”
—-Living With the Seasons According to Chinese Medicine: The EDS Version (Are You Ready For Winter?)
Winter is the time to nurture ourselves, and to rest. Stay warm, eat nourishing food, and give yourself permission–extra permission–to rest. Anyone who feels guilty for being a little more slow or lacking in energy during winter is being unduly harsh. If you think about it, even normies get a little torpid during the colder season. Winter is a good time to check in with one’s fears and then let them go. There are bigger fish to fry in winter and the number one focus should be on rest combined with staying warm and well-nurtured.
Your freezing feet and aching joints will thank you for being extra kind to them in winter. And yes, your acupuncturist can set you up with herbal formulas, nutritional guidance, and excellent treatment to make this happen.
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~~Spring~~
It may seem that all the organs in Chinese medicine are negative in terms of emotion, but that’s not the case. It’s more an issue of excess than anything else, and the association of the Liver with anger is the same.
“Mood: Spring is the time of excitement, expansion, and growth. If you’d like to avoid the excess of Liver qi stagnation or the deficiency of Gallbladder weakness, then take small and doable steps to work with the season rather than against it.”
—Living With The Seasons According To Chinese Medicine: Spring Tips For Health And Happiness
Liver qi stagnation is when you are cranky and blocked, not ragingly angry, and if you ponder it, it’s a matter of going against the season itself. Spring is not the time for blockage; it’s the time for growth. The Gallbladder, Liver’s pair, is deemed large when a person is courageous and small when they are fearful. Either way, this too is a matter of the sort of energy we’d expect from this season. We’re going from the extreme yin of winter towards the extreme yang of summer, and that means (and requires) movement and growth.
Is this a good time to add a little movement into your program? Qigong and tai chi are both gentle options for beginners, and milder weather may open space for walks or swimming or other ways to get going. For many of us, gentleness really is key but that doesn’t make what you’re doing lesser or not valuable. Chair yoga is just as worthy as any other endeavor that gets a body moving.
Pay attention to emotion during spring and see if you are a little more volatile or crabby; if so, your acupuncturist can help you with specific herbal formulas that pacify the Liver and help you to feel much better.
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~~Summer~~
When we get to summer it’s time for some joy. Not too much, or it become mania, but the pleasure of being warm and having some downtime is enough to spark joy in anyone, don’t you think?
“And this brings me back to mood. A question for you, then: can you try to find your bliss and be present for any small moments of success or reprieve? If your challenges have gotten to you, can you mindfully practice trying to remember feeling happy? Can you cultivate joy in your life? When it is miserably hot out, people get cranky. Digestion gets disrupted. If you can’t eat much to begin with or you’re struggling with depression or anxiety (all things exacerbated by dysautonomia, POTS, MCAS, and/or EDS), the weather is going to crush you if you don’t fight back.”
—Living With The Seasons According To Chinese Medicine: Summer Tips For Health & Happiness For Zebras, Potsies, & Masties
Now is the time to eat watermelon and mint (or whatever cooling thing you love) and to count blessings. Another year has passed and before we know it, late summer will give way to fall.
It can be easy to become trapped in an eternal now of trauma, especially when we are in pain or otherwise challenged by chronic illness. And yet… and yet. When we become aligned with shifts in season and mood, we expand our possibilities. It’s not the same-old, same-old, unchanging and unchangeable. We do have some agency here.
What have you done in order to take good care of yourself, and what will you do in order to keep a good flow of self-care in action?
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Dr. Paula Bruno, Ph.D., L.Ac., is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist, an AOBTA-CP traditional Chinese bodywork therapist, an author, and a health coach. She maintains an active and growing practice at Two Hearts Wellness, her Austin, TX office. Dr. Bruno is also available for distance appointments for wellness consultation or coaching.
In her first career, she was a Spanish professor.
Dr. Bruno’s specialties as a Chinese medicine practitioner include: • Musculoskeletal health (acute or chronic pain relief; Ehlers Danlos syndrome & hypermobility support) • Digestive support, gut health, and weight loss • Aesthetic treatment, including scar revision • Men’s health • General preventative care and wellness support for all persons.
She is the author of Chinese Medicine and the Management of Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome: A Practitioner’s Guide.
When you are ready to discover what traditional medicine plus a vibrant and engaged approach to holistic health can do for you, either contact Dr. Bruno or book an appointment online.
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Note: Material on this web site site is not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease, illness, or ailment. A Chinese medicine practitioner in Texas identifies syndrome patterns but does not diagnose illness. Material on this web site does not purport to identify syndrome patterns.
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Holistic Health and hEDS 