Lions, Tigers and Bears, oh my! What do TMJ/TMD, Bloated Bellies and Constipation/IBS have in common?

What do TMJ/TMD, Bloated Bellies and Constipation/IBS have in common?
This unlikely combination of symptoms all have in common one thing...they are representative of the body's desperate effort to get you to slow down!

Swimming in the pond of alternative health care with my fellow practitioners, we all observe and work with clients/patients who manifest variations of these three common symptoms. The level at which those who suffer with these symptoms are going to to get relief is heroic!

Millions are spending thousands of dollars on cures and treatments with no real relief and certainly without resolving the underlying cause. Look at the stats!

• Americans spend an average of about $4 billion yearly on treatments for temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ/TMD). Many patients face significant out-of-pocket costs, with some individuals reporting expenses exceeding $200,000 over their treatment journey.

 

• Approximately $136 billion is spent annually on gastrointestinal diseases, which include conditions like inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and gastroesophageal reflux disease, SIBO and gut disorders.

 

• The all time high cost irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is  30 billion total economic of indirect costs related to absenteeism and lost productivity. For treatment, Americans spend an estimated $10 billion annually on direct medical costs for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Wrap constipation into the gut disorders and IBS, add it to the cost of cancer treatment, autoimmune disorders and that's an even bigger pile of money and health care costs we are all paying for.

What! That's insane. Here's a look at what that money gets spent on...

• Clenching and holding jaws so tightly TMJ/TMD sufferers are given Botox injections, mouth guards, electro stimulation ie. tens unit therapy. Many seek myofascial release and craniosacral practitioners to relieve the associated neck and shoulder pain that accompanies this symptom of the nervous system. Many patients with TMJ/TMD prescribed "tranquilizers" a.k.a. Benzodiazepines are oblivious to the hellish downside this form of medication comes with.

 

• The myriad of magic pills and cures for gut issues to be found online and on social media platforms is mind boggling. It is not uncommon for a client to come to see me having already been to multiple practitioners in a desperate attempt to relieve the unpredictable phenomenon of a bloated belly. Medical treatment revolves around the introduction of antifungals claiming that SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is the underlying cause of this disturbing difficulty. There may be an imbalance of flora in the small intestine, but that is not the root cause. Let us ask ourselves how did the bacteria get so out whack? Generally there is a preceding set of symptoms relating to constipation/IBS manifesting a digestive system that is not happy, therefor the individual is also not happy! There is no cure for most patients with gut issues because the underlying issue, unhappiness remains unaddressed. Antidepressant and anti anxiety medication use is a consistent precursor to gut issues in any cases.

 

• Those with chronic constipation a complex disorder manifested by the inability of the vagus nerve to provoke the signal that produces the normal usage to evacuate. It is not uncommon for patients with chronic constipation to have an average transit time for eliminating stools to anywhere from seventy two hours to seven days. A standard comment from an MD is likely to be, "that's normal for you.". This in response to what amounts to a backed up sewage system is absurd. The myriad of health issues related to constipation is huge. Take look at the Chronic Constipation blog for an indepth look at the suffering this condition brings.

 

• IBS, chronic constipation's evil twin is a nervous system sounding an alarm that the house is on fire. This symptom has the nourishment of food moving so quickly through the body it is release in waves of peristaltic spasms that over take the sufferer without notice. If you are one who suffers, you know you are living on guard constantly out of fear of an "attack". Treatment from the standard medical perspective starts with anti diarrhea medications, in some cases antispasmodics as well. Suffers are subjected to the FODMAT diet plan and are instructed to undertake multiple disciplinary efforts to overcome what is basically a case of "nerves", an old school term for being jittery and out of sorts with the world. There is a clue in that homespun diagnosis!

Enervation a feeling of being drained of energy or vitality
Is the common denominator for these conditions. Enervation is otherwise known as nervous exhaustion. This condition harkens back to the 1800's and sending someone off the coastal climes for a good long rest...right on! But, what exactly is nervous exhaustion?

That is, living in the body in a way that is overdrawing on the bank of stored energy the body expends for daily functions. This includes what we busily do each day to live and be in the world. It also includes the systematic maintenance of the organ systems to detoxify and restore themselves daily. When we have overdrawn funds from the bank, we are charged a fee as a penalty. Symptoms of TMJ/TMD, chronic constipation/IBS and gut issues are the penalty for doing over much...burning qi. Keep reading to discover how we are taking out more than we have.

As a wellness practitioner, I rely on the concepts of Taoist medicine in which the energetic manifestation of symptoms are the clues to resolving them. Nervous exhaustion is the manifestation of overspending Qi.

Let look at qi as understood by the Taoist's.
Qi is energy and information from source. However one chooses to define the energy that emanates and sustains all of the creation, it comes from somewhere! The "where" is Tao...the way. Tao is flowing and available to us as it is within us.

Tao is the source of all knowledge.
For the individual this would be wisdom and discernment. We find the knowledge the Tao offers us through awareness. As we come to be more attentive to awareness we are able to notice how we feel. How we feel is found in the visceral messages of the body. How do those who suffer these complaints feel?

• TMJ/TMD are feeling so overwhelmed they clench their jaws to the point of breaking teeth, igniting trigeminal nerve spasms and extreme referred pain. The clenching and grinding represent anxiety to an extreme. These patients often are completely unaware of how anxious they really are!

 

• Gut bloating is agony, it brings your day to a stop!  It is the nervous tummy ache we suffered when we didn't want to go to school, for whatever reason. This symptom manifests energetically as though it is saying, "stop the world, I want to get off"!  It is literally a spasm of the small intestines brought on by low production of salvia and weakened production of digestive enzymes. When the food we eat is not properly digested because of innovation, the small intestine, which is responsible for sorting out the undigested contents of the stomach is basically having a freak out! Undigested food molecules are getting into the bloodstream manifesting sensitivities to foods, allergies, and immunity issues. The small intestine is literally saying stop, something is wrong here! It feels like something is not right up top, because that is true...the body never lies!

 

• Constipation is a feeling of being stuck. Manifesting as an inability to release what you no longer need, stool. Metaphorically the constipation sufferers are literally stuck. The vagus nerve system that regulates evacuation of stool does so through a complex set of messengers. When one is exhausted and overwrought the vagal response is low or lacking tone. It's signal to release is so dampened the digestive system is unresponsive. Other symptoms related to low vagal nerve tone are GERD, acid reflux, gastroparisis, chronic hiccuping or coughing, spasms of the throat and psoas.

 

• IBS is the overactive version of this equation wherein the individuals fearfulness getters on the verge of panic! The urgency of the bowels is a symptom manifesting a state of overstimulation of the vagus nerve brought on by chronic flight/fight response. Evacuations are triggered by the elevated adrenaline of the fear response. IBS suffers are likely to swing back and forth mercilessly between not being able to stop going and not being able to go...constipation. The vicious cycle of this is in and of itself exhausting.

The consistent common visceral message of these conditions speaks to the level of exhaustion due to overstimulation of the nervous system, due to over expenditure of qi...the bank is overdrawn. This condition is so pervasive in our culture that few people recognize it as the root cause of most health problems!

Here it is...How do we become overdrawn on our bank of Qi?

• Doing too much, work'aholic, driven, materialistic urge to live beyond your means, a need to keep up with the Jones's, being in debt!

 

• Being a martyr! Sacrificing oneself for  the family, the company, for your partner. Doing obsessively for others as a means of feeling wanted, needed and secure.

 

• Striving to be the best, most fit, most well informed, most accomplished often driven by a sense of low self esteem, unmet needs of childhood.

 

• Believing that somehow someway you will be able to get everything done, fueled my the myth that if you have control over your environment and you get it all done all will be well with you...OCD a huge driver.

 

• Trauma and emotional pain another hidden driver, may not manifest in over activity but burns qi just to hold in the unresolved energetic charges that come with the inability to process through the fight flight response and rest the nervous system. 

I see these drivers manifested in all my clients who suffer from nervous exhaustion. Denial is what keeps them from seeing it. "I have it under control", "the endorphin rush from an extreme workout makes me feel better", "I will be able to slow down when I get to X. Y, Z!", "if only my_____, fill inthe blank wouldn't do this, would stop doing that everything would okay"

Add to this equation the qi burning layers of emotional states such as frustration, anger, resentment, unforgiveness, undigested hurt feelings and it's no wonder folks are cranky, drink too much and seek relief in zoning out or say yes to psych meds!

All the medications and meditation techniques and therapies and modalities won't do a person who's suffering from this condition any good at all until they learn not to overdraw the bank of qi. Going beyond that as they learn to cultivate qi they will gain an extra strength and stamina that will help them to maintain a healthy body throughout their lifetime.

What does that mean? This means first we have to learn not to overdo. Americans are always working at something to their own harm. We think because we push and push we're getting more done, but the truth of the matter is all that pushing is usually very ineffective and not moving us any further down the road of accomplishment. It is a very attachment to accomplishment that is a driver in this endless frenzy of overstimulation and over activity.

Cultivating qi means that we are actively able to achieve a state in which we can receive more wisdom, more intuition, more understanding and more power. This is a result of drawing close to the source of all energy, the Tao, God, the Godhead... by, whatever name you call it. It is the source of the life that we live. We were created to enjoy our lives and to bring joy to others. This source is LOVE. When we slow down we naturally become more aware of how we feel, we are able to receive the information that we would be best served by taking better care of ourselves. This is self LOVE.

The individuals who suffer from these symptoms of commonality are suffering, primarily from a lack of self love.
I can offer any one of these people a protocol that would resolve their symptoms in a relatively short period of time. It would seem miraculous to them, because it is miraculous. The body's ability to heal is beyond our understanding, and most of us fail to avail ourselves to the power of the body has to heal.

• Although I have the solution for your suffering, I cannot make you do the things to care for and love yourself into a state of recovery.

 

• The average person is so geared up with anxiety, frustration, angst, and emotional pain that they are completely unaware of how they feel, and therefore they cannot heal.

 

• Through my wellness practice, I teach people to heal...if they are willing to slow down and come back to themselves. Utilizing a multifaceted combination of holistic modalities I am able to facilitate a resolution of symptoms without fail, when the client becomes willing to feel. The results are miraculous.

Resistance
The average person's resistance can best be described as chasing down a kid who is completely exhausted and needs to take a nap. Literally getting to the point where one might need to sit on that flailing child screaming, I'm not tired, I'm not tired! Only to have them literally pass out from exhaustion within moments of being held still. RESISTANCE to what we need to feel better is another common denominator! What is your resistance all about? You cannot know because you don't know how you feel!


Vanessa Goldeen Wellness Consultant and Educator, author* and holistic practitioner is the founder of Bridge to Health offering Online Learn and Heal Courses as an affordable recovery option for those who seek healing.

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