Posts
Keeping my thoughts straight and myself on task has been something I’ve struggled with since I was a child. School was hard, good grades never came easy and I often felt “stupid” compared to other kids in my classes. When I was a child I had no idea that I was struggling with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which is a neuro-psychiatric disorder. It wasn’t until I was a young adult that I learned about ADHD and associated the symptoms that I have had and continue to have with it. Google along with peers told me that my symptoms could be treated with medication, but I’m a bit of a minimalist when it comes to ingesting things. So, I decided to go another route, increased physical activity. Which looking back to my childhood playing sports and physically tiring myself out seemed to help stabilize and reduce my symptoms. A few years back when I decided to go back to school to obtain a Bachelor of Health Sciences I thought it was best, in order to do well in school, to get my ADHD diagnosed and treat the symptoms. With my new-found knowledge and interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), I have found yet another way to manage, and possibly cure my symptoms outside of Western medicines way of treating my symptoms with medication.
For those of you that do not know what ADHD is, it is a neuro-psychiatric disorder, “a blanket medical term that encompasses a broad range of medical conditions that involve both neurology and psychiatry”. (Wolfsdorf 2018). Western medicine defines ADHD as a “biological condition that’s caused by differences in the development of the brain anatomy and wiring. It involves a group of key skills known as executive function”. These functions influence the way a person is able “to focus, organize, use working memory, and other skills”. (The Understood Team). At some point in our lives, everyone has shown or have had symptoms of ADHD but in comparison, people with ADHD have a much harder time dealing with the above problems.
Symptoms of ADHD include hyperactivity, inability to keep still for any period of time and limited attention spans. These symptoms typically tend to cause problems for a person that affect their home lives, schooling and relationships with people. There are three types of ADHD that a person can be diagnosed with. These are inattentive type, hyperactive/impulsive type or combined type. Please visit https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/adhd/what-is-adhd if you would like to see the different symptoms for each type listed above.
ADHD is diagnosed through medical evaluations and checklists. Once diagnosed, Western Medicine uses behavioral therapy, medication and parenting as treatment options. Medication treatments include stimulants such as methylphenidate and amphetamines and non-stimulants such as atomoxetine and guanfacine. These medications come with a list of potential side effects. Here are some side effects of stimulants; disruption in sleep, loss of appetite, weight loss, moodiness and irritability, increased blood pressure among many other things. The following are only a few of the potential side effects of non-stimulants; nausea, loss of appetite, mood swings and fatigue. It is said some of these side effects tend to diminish after a few days of taking the medications, but some may last the entire duration of treatment.
There has been research done in regard to the effects of massage with people who have ADHD. The Pacific College of Oriental Medicine’s blog reflects on a study that showed that, “adolescents who took ten massage treatment classes for two weeks rated themselves as more content than those in comparison who participated in recreation therapy.” (“Treating ADHD With Massage Therapy” 2014). In further support, the Silicon Valley Massage therapy group backs that massage is indicated and very beneficial for treatment of ADHD symptoms. Their blog discusses how “two recent studies conducted by the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami reported that regular massage therapy can be an effective treatment for kids and adults with ADHD”. (“ADHD: Why Massage Works” 2014). Even with the above research, Western medicine still relies heavily on medication to treat the symptoms and not the root of ADHD.
From a TCM point of view, “ADHD is a condition affecting the mind, thought, and emotion. The main affected systems are the heart, liver, spleen and kidney; the pathogenesis is caused by the imbalance of yin-yang and dysfunction of the Zang-fu (viscera) organs”. (Ni, et al. 2014). With ADHD, or any disease there is a disharmony within the body. By bringing the body back into harmony by use of Chinese Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, Tui Na (Chinese medical massage), Tai chi chuan and TCM diet therapy, symptoms of ADHD can be decreased and improve overall quality of life. It is important to know that with the above TCM therapies, there are specific contraindications with each of them. These can be found here, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265647687_Traditional_Chinese_Medicine_in_the_Treatment_of_ADHD.
An article written by Erik Goldman discusses how Dr. Cowan, a pediatrician who takes a holistic approach to healing, and author of “Fire Child, Water Child: How Understanding the Five Types of ADHD Can Help You Improve Your Child’s Self Esteem and Attention” uses the Five Elements ideas to figure out how to help your child based on their specific personality and type of element that they mirror. Goldman states that the Five Elements idea is a “theory that every human, in his or her essence, belongs to one of these five “types which colors how one asserts oneself in the world, what one finds attractive or repelling, how one copes with stresses, and how one seeks comfort.” Dr. Cowan uses this theory to educate children and their parents, based on what type of element they are, “how to both nurture the core elemental tendencies while simultaneously balancing them, so they become assets rather than hindrances.” (Goldman 2007). This is done by suggestions on diet and nutrition in conjunction with “acupuncture, guided imagery and other mind-body techniques.” Treatment with this method is unique to each person. Just as medications affect people differently and may take several times to get things right, treating and tailoring a plan of care to a person’s element type is necessary to achieve success.
In conclusion, TCM and massage therapy have been proven to be very beneficial with those struggling with symptoms of ADHD. I can attest to this, as I have decreased medication usage significantly since starting school at Alaska Institute of Oriental Healing, Acupuncture and Massage Therapy. It has been months since I’ve taken any medicine and I managed to write this research paper without any medication at all!! Doing Qi Gong twice a week, meditation and the occasional massage have done my mind body good!!
References:
Wolfsdorf, Jack. “Neuropsychiatric Disorders.” Nicklaus Children's Hospital, 22 Feb. 2018, www.nicklauschildrens.org/conditions/disorders/neuropsychiatric-disorders.
The Understood Team. “Understanding ADHD.” Understood, Understood.org USA LLC, www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/add-adhd/understanding-adhd.
“ADHD: Why Massage Works.” Silicon Valley Massage Therapy Group, 25 July 2014, https://svmassagetherapy.com/blog/2014/07/25/adhd-why-massage-works/.
Ni, Xinqiang, et al. “Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of ADHD.” Research Gate, Oct. 2014, www.researchgate.net/publication/265647687_Traditional_Chinese_Medicine_in_the_Treatment_of_ADHD.
Goldman, Erik. “The Five Faces of ADHD: A Chinese Medicine Approach.” Holistic Primary Care, 1 June 2007, www.holisticprimarycare.net/topics/topics-a-g/acupuncture-a-oriental-med/12-the-five-faces-of-adhd-a-chinese-medicine-approach.html.
“Treating ADHD With Massage Therapy.” Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, 22 Dec. 2014, www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2014/12/22/treating-adhd-massage-therapy.
No comments:
Post a Comment