The Outside Affects the Inside

After finding out that outside forces could possibly be at the root of my sinus issues, I did a bit of thinking. As someone who had never had a sinus infection in my life, the sudden onset of my first one was a surprise. My boyfriend (at the time) and I had just moved to another apartment. It was the second time that we'd had to move because of issues with neighbors. This time things got very, very ugly; so much so that I was on the verge of getting my own place. When I broached that subject with him, he became as cold as ice. I was torn between preserving my sanity and being with the man that I loved. The man that I loved won out, but things were never really the same between us. After that, I think I bottled up a lot of pain and anger. In many ways we began going through the motions and our relationship probably lasted about a year longer that it should have.

Even after we broke up, the sinus issues persisted. I got at least one sinus infection every winter. This upcoming winter will be my first one since I did my acupuncture treatments, so we'll see how it goes. During my first treatment Beata put one of the needles right in the middle of my chest because of the pain I felt about the relationship. When she palpated that area, there was actually a physical ache. During my quiet time, after she had inserted all of the needles, I let myself feel the pain and sadness that was trapped inside me. I left feeling a bit better.

During that second session, I finally forgave myself for my part in what caused the relationship to go wrong. If I had walked away sooner, maybe I could've saved both of us a lot of pain. But as we all know, what's done is done. In later sessions we were able to focus more on my actual sinuses and the non-medicinal things that I could do to get some relief. One of the most important ones is acupressure. Beata taught me great acupressure techniques that I use whenever I feel sinus congestion or pain. Since I started with her, I haven't taken a single antihistamine or used any nasal spray. I'm good for now, but will probably need a tune-up later.

Wondering What I've Been up To?

I can't believe I haven't written a post since February! Since then I've been working on myself. I think I mentioned in a previous post that I have sinus problems and that an allergist said that my problems were caused by an allergy to my cat. I've refused to believe that since the day that I was told that by the doctor. After multiple sinus infections and horrible dry-mouth from antihistamines, I gave reflexology a try. The relief I felt from reflexology was amazing. When I filled out my intake form for my first visit I mentioned that I had sinus problems, so the reflexologist specifically worked on the area of my foot that corresponds to my sinuses. I saw her every two weeks for a while, but then her health declined and she passed away. Of course I could've gone and gotten reflexology from someone else there, but it's not something I could see myself doing.

Another winter came and I got another sinus infection. Despite the fact that I'm supposedly allergic to my cat, my sinus issues were exacerbated by the cold and also by extreme changes in the temperature. After another round of antibiotics I started taking the antihistamines and using the nasal spray again, but I thought to myself "There's gotta be a better way." As it so happens, one of my friends from the yoga studio that I attend and at which I used to work the front desk told me about the wonders of acupuncture. I must admit that I've always been interested in getting an acupuncture treatment. My friend referred me to her acupuncturist and I emailed her to set up an appointment.

When the day of my appointment rolled around I wasn't really sure what to expect. One thing I will say is that acupuncture is similar to psychotherapy in that it helps you to search for the root cause of your problem. My acupuncturist, Beata, asked me if I could remember when I initially started having problems. Many people who have sinus issues have had them for their whole lives, but mine actually started after things got really bad with my boyfriend (who is now my ex-boyfriend). I'm sure a lot of you have heard that physical ailments can be manifested by emotional or mental problems that we're having.

Anyway, once we pinpointed the beginning of my symptoms, we were able to name the feelings that caused the symptoms. Of course I got the needles and she also taught me some acupressure. In my next post I'll tell about the feelings I had bottled up, and how I let them go.