I apologize for my impromptu hiatus from blogging. Two months ago, I was given the great opportunity to expand my private practice and to add a fantastic licensed massage practitioner, Tyhra Owen, to our clinic. The act of expanding a private practice, renovating a new office space, and moving an existing office to a new space created a deluge of decision making.

At times, I was making so many daily decisions, that I felt as if my brain was melting in my skull. Whenever my brain felt all melty in its quagmire of decisions, I would start to giggle.  Not from delirium, but because the timing of it all aligned perfectly with Chinese medical theory about the season of spring and the cognitive function of getting sh*t done, i.e.- major decision making. 

Chinese medical theory views the spring as a season associated strongly with the liver and gallbladder meridians (or pathways) in the body. Decision making, planning, strategizing, and bringing goals into fruition,relate strongly to the gallbladder meridian. To read more on this topic, check out my earlier springtime post: https://stickoutyourtongue.org/2014/03/26/springtime-tips-for-a-happy-liver/.

Even though springtime is the season of an outburst of new growth, we can run the risk of over extending ourselves. Paired with the feeling of new vigor and energy from the springtime greenery making its appearance, we can easily tackle too many projects, too much, and too soon. Or, in my case, you have a short burst of projects, it is important to make sure you weave in enough rest during and after the projects are completed, to recuperate properly. Hence my reluctant, but necessary break from blogging.

If when faced with a deluge of projects you do not balance it with adequate self care, you the run the risk of overloading your gallbladder and liver meridians. In the specific example of decision making, at first, the decision making process is exciting. As the project gets underway, there are big decisions and little decisions that quickly start piling up, making even simple decisions like, what are we going to eat for dinner, feel like a monumentally overwhelming choice. It can freeze you in place, and maybe create some irritability if anyone dares ask you to decide what to make for dinner.

If you have ever experienced a time period where every decision becomes challenging and overwhelming, look at what lead up to it. Was this during a high period of stress from work or home? Where you immersed in a few big projects at the time?

This is a sign that your body needs a little extra self care. It is also a time that we are tempted to take the ‘easy’ way out, and eat out at restaurants or fast food, give up exercise, and cut back on our sleep. These are the opposite of what we need to keep our decision making ability sharp and effective. Eat well, especially sweet root vegetables, dark, leafy greens, and some sour flavors, such as vinegar, and lemon. These food items help sooth the energetics of the liver and gallbladder meridian. (This is also explained more in the previous springtime post). Drinking roasted dandelion root tea can also help aid the liver’s detoxification ability. If we keep the physical processes of the liver and gallbladder moving along smoothly, it also ensures that the mental/emotional aspects of the liver/gallbladder pair function well. 

Watch yourself for further signs of stress overloading your system. When decision making becomes a burden, you may start to have physical pain and symptoms along the gallbladder and liver meridians. These organs are in charge of every part of you that pivots- i.e. the joints. Joints can start to ache and flare, but especially the neck, jaw, temples and shoulders. Just imagine standing on a hilltop, looking out on the horizon for all of the decisions, projects, and stuff that needs to be completed. Your neck is the main pivot point that allows you to scan the horizon for possibilities and necessary decisions. It is often the first area of pain that starts to show up when the gallbladder and liver meridians become overloaded with stress and decisions.

Luckily, keeping a self care routine through the tough times can help mitigate these body symptoms. If you are unable to, then acupuncture and East Asian medicine have many tools to help you unlock your neck and your decision making potential. But try the self-care method first, it truly is the best medicine.

I look forward to be back as a blogger, now that our office move is nearly complete. Cheers!