for the people

After not updating a blog for 2+ weeks, it's hard to know how to begin again.

Lately, things have been stressful, and with FMS, stress cause flare-ups. As I've only recently been learning, the pain, fatigue, depression, confusion, etc. come and go in cycles. I'm in the middle of (or hopefully just coming out of) a cycle of badness right now. When you're exhausted, can't move your neck, and hopelessly behind on your schoolwork, it's hard to justify taking some time to update a blog. Thank you for your patience.

Because of the flare-up, I abandoned my elimination diet for now. But some healthy changes are being made. Alcohol is (basically) gone, caffeine consumptions are way down, Daniel and I stocked up on lots of non-wheat and non-cow-dairy snack options (since it turns out most FMS patients can tolerate these things), yoga has been good. I'm also on two new medications that I'm hopeful will help in the long run, but I'm still getting used to them. But one of the best things lately, and in general, has been acupuncture. And thus a segue into the topic of the day: community acupuncture.

In Eugene, on south Willamette, there's a wonderful little clinic called Acupuncture for the People. I discovered them in what some might call "my darkest hour": I was in excruciating pain, had tried all kinds of things that didn't work, had no idea what was wrong, and had just gotten a full MRI of both my feet. The results came in: normal. No injuries. Nothing wrong. I was horrified and ashamed, how could this be possible? I felt I had reached the end of the road. Then I talked to a friend of mine in acupuncture school, who suggested that it might help. So I did an online search, found Acupuncture for the People, and set up an appointment. Two days later, August 20, 2009, I went in for my first appointment, and thus started a whole new chapter in my life. After trying so many things that didn't work, this crazy mysterious needle treatment basically brought my feet back to life. 3 treatments a week, and in a little over a month, i went from not being able to walk half a block (no joke) to walking–even hiking–2 or 3 miles at a time. And I still go in at least once a week, it really helps to keep my symptoms at bay (most of the time at least).

Frequent acupuncture can be really expensive. Luckily, places like Acupuncture for the People make it possible for poor grad students like me to get as many treatments as they need without breaking the bank. Everyone gets treated in one big room together, and the acupuncturist on duty is able to take care of way more clients in an hour than would be possible in a private practice. Additionally (according to the acupuncturists), having people share a healing space dramatically amplifies the healing energy. Sometimes you can almost feel a pleasant, warm static feeling when you first walk into the treatment room. This is how they do it in China, and how it's been done for centuries (or maybe not as much in the post-Mao era, I don't really know). Over there, acupuncture is something everybody does on a regular, sick or healthy, to generally be in the best state possible. And so a system was created for easily accessible, affordable, preventative health care. Acupuncture is really effective and really easy. You don't need a whole lot of time or fancy equipment to perform acupuncture: just needles and a place to sit.

Acupuncture for the People, and a bunch of other community acupuncture clinics around the country, think it's silly that such a simple treatment is so hard to get in the U.S., due to the privatization of medical practices. So their mission is also a social one: our communities suffer so much from a lack of affordable, preventative health care (although that'll be changing soon... right?), so community acupuncture strives to fill that gap as much as possible.

Acupuncture is SO bizarre, I have no idea how it works, and would kind of like to keep it that way. How is it that sticking a needle in the top of your foot helps you with your liver? Or at the base of your big toe, to remove "damp"? What the hell is "damp", anyway? And why needles? Why do tiny metal things inserted in your body promote healing? The mystery of it makes it more fun. But there are some things I know about acupuncture. The basic premise: we are, and are in, a network of qi (energy? life? something?) that is in constant motion. Qi moves through us and through our environment. Your life is an ongoing exchange of qi between yourself, others, and your environment. When you are sick, or are in pain, it is because your qi isn't flowing properly. This also means that you are out of sync with the world. Acupuncture activates, calms, or unblocks your channels, which puts you back in alignment with the world around you (TCM people: is this right???). This makes sense if you're someone who gets achy when it rains, or invigorated when the sun's out, or energized by spending time with others. Our well-being is not reducible to our bodies. As someone who's interested in the role of environment on our thought, as well as the role of human communities, I think that this approach to healing is great.

On May 1, I decided I needed to give back to Acupuncture for the People, they had given me so much. I volunteered for an open house in which they gave 100 free acupuncture treatments in 6 hours. It will hopefully be a huge boost for the business, with all the new people coming in. But more than that, it's really extraordinary to think that this tiny little clinic offered free health care to 100 Eugenians. 100 people's days were made better, which in turn probably spread to the people, places and things with which those people interacted. And it felt really extraordinary to be a part of that day.

I'm too tired to write anything more right now, but this is probably sufficient. If you live in Eugene, seriously consider checking out Acupuncture for the People: www.acupunctureforthepeople.org
And if you live not-in-Eugene, there are community acupuncture clinics all over the country (especially Portland, there are probably like a billion). To search for a clinic near you, go here: www.communityacupuncturenetwork.org

for the people!