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Executive Burnout
by Brian Benjamin Carter
& Annika Paraskeva
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Christina was an executive in the European division of a
major technology company. She had a wonderful several years
working and learning. She traveled more than 150 days per
year. In the last year and a half, she was no longer learning
anything new and the travel miles began to wear on her. |
She became fatigued and depressed. Finally, her
doctor prescribed a short leave of absence. She was anxious about
going back to work and relieved when she got an extension. She
came to San Diego to relax.
Rootless & Homeless
Christina was pale, thin, and exhausted. We talked for a while...
she described feeling like she had no root. She was engaged to
a man who also worked at the same company. They had been forced
to make a no-talking-about-work rule at home. She had her own
apartment, but lived more often at her fiance's. She felt she
had no real home.
From a chinese medical pattern differentiation perspective, she
had physical symptoms and signs [For the sake of brevity, the
details are excluded from this short case discussion] of Kidney
and Spleen deficiency, Heart & Liver blood deficiency, and
Liver qi stagnation.
Her feelings of no root and no home fit with her physical pattern
diagnosis. In Chinese Medicine, the Kidney is the root. She had
clear symptoms and signs of Kidney deficiency. The Spleen and
Stomach belong to the Earth phase which is associated with home.
She had clear symptoms and signs of Spleen deficiency.
Settling Down and Building a Home
When I mentioned this, she agreed that she had been wanting to
be at home more. I observed that she was reaching that stage of
life where you settle down, establish a family and build a home.
I said, "I don't want sound out-moded or sexist, but many
women - once they've found a man they can trust - experience a
natural desire for family and home-building." She confirmed
that she did trust her fiance, and had been experiencing those
feelings. "It is an instinct," she agreed.
Three Herbal Formulas in One
In accordance with her pattern differentiation, we wanted to
prescribe Gui Pi Tang. Gui Pi Tang would cover the Spleen qi and
Heart blood deficiency. We also wanted to tonify her root (Kidney),
so we added You Gui Wan. We were concerned about the Liver qi
stagnation and the cloying herbs in the first two formulas, so
we also added Shu Kan Wan (Chai Hu Shu Gan Wan).
Using the TCM
Formulas herbal prescription service, we were able to get
one-third of each of these liquid herbal formulas in one 4oz.
bottle for $25. This is a great way to avoid patients having loads
of half-used bottle of herbs in their cupboards... and it saves
them money !
"Do you guys ship to Europe?" Christina asked, thinking
about refills.
"We do now," I said. "Our first European customer!"
Christina took the herbs for a week and was feeling great. Then
she went on a trip and forgot to bring them. She crashed again.
Now she's going back on her herbs!
Find a licensed acupuncturist here: "Resources
for Finding Acupuncturists and Herbalists"
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