The patient complained of increasing anxiety, prolonged grief reaction, and exacerbation of the headaches after her mother's death from breast cancer the year before. The patient witnessed her mother's acupuncture for pain control prior to her death. Three French Energetics-based acupuncture treatments for her own pain relief evoked memories of the terminal phase of her mother's illness. The patient experienced a close connection to her mother, and visualized her as a healthy, pretty, young woman, wrapped in a soothing bright light. The etiology of headaches is multifactorial, encompassing anatomical, biochemical, neurohumoral, constitutional, and psychological factors.
Traditional medicine tends to support a body-mind duality paradigm.
The result may be treatments which address these causes in a fragmented fashion. The treatments proposed by Oriental medicine integrate these multiple etiological dimensions. Treatment evoked powerful images of her deceased mother. The acupuncture experience appeared to promote resolution of grief and anger toward this parent. The result was increased vigor and stress relief.