Zou huo ru mo (medicine)

Zou huo ru mo (走火入魔) or "qigong deviation" (氣功偏差) is a Chinese term applied to a psychological and physiological disorder associated with improper practice of qigong and other self-cultivation techniques. This condition is characterized by the perception that there is uncontrolled flow of qi (life energy) in the body.[1][2][3] Other complaints can include localized pains, headache, insomnia or uncontrolled spontaneous movements.[1]

Contents

What is zou huo ru mo?

The term zou huo ru mo ( 走火入魔 ) literally means "catching fire entering demon". In recent times this syndrome has also come to be known as "qi gong pian cha" (氣功徧差) meaning "qigong deviation". The term is applied to undesirable effects experienced during or after the practice of the broad range of Chinese self-cultivation exercises known as qigong. Similar syndromes have been observed in other forms of self-cultivation practices such as yoga (Kundalini syndrome),[4] meditation,[5] and hypnosis.[6] Symptoms are often identified as being in one of the following three categories: 1) perception of uncontrolled movement of qi in the body, 2) sensory problems such visual or auditory hallucination, and 3) belief that the practitioner is controlled by qi or other entities such as spirits or negative energies.[1]

Diagnosis

When a qigong practitioner experiences a negative reaction during or after qigong exercise, the practitioner can seek help from within the qigong community or treat the experience as a psychology problem. Within the qigong community, the negative reaction is explained using the theory of qi. In psychology, both the Chinese Society of Psychiatry and the American Psychiatric Association have diagnostic guidelines to determine the practitioner's condition. The difference between the two psychiatric viewpoints is that in China the psychiatrists do not use the psychosis terminology, preferring "qigong deviation".[7]

Chinese psychiatry

In the second edition of the Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders (CCMD-2) published by the Chinese Society of Psychiatry[8] the diagnosis of “Qigong Deviation Syndrome” is based upon the following criteria [9]:

Occidental Psychiatry

In the West, there was no equivalent experience until the adoption of qigong practices by the public. When the Western medical community encountered abnormal conditions presenting in patients practicing qigong, they used the term Qi-gong psychotic reaction and classified the disorder as a culture-bound syndrome in the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association. It is described as: "A term describing an acute, time-limited episode characterized by disassociative, paranoid, or other psychotic or non-psychotic symptoms that may occur after participation in the Chinese folk health-enhancing practice of qigong. Especially vulnerable are individuals who become overly involved in the practice."[10][11][12][13]

The DSM-IV classification has been criticized by other Western psychiatrists on the grounds that "It is not clear how the architects of the DSM-IV can logically defend labeling a syndrome as aberrant in the context of a diagnostic system while simultaneously placing that syndrome outside of conventional Western nosologic categories that serve as basis for determining whether a syndrome is or is not aberrant and therefore a disorder."[14]

Causes

There are many explanations for the appearance of those symptoms during or after qigong practice. The explanation differ depending on the viewpoint. In the Chinese qigong community, the symptoms indicates inappropiate qi circulation. In the psychiatric community, the symptoms represents a latent psychosis.

Qigong interpretation

Within the qigong community, various causes of qigong deviation have been identified. For example [15]:

Latent psychosis

In cases of psychosis, the Western psychiatric view is that qigong is a precipitating stressor of a latent psychotic disorder to which the patient is predisposed, rather than erroneous qigong practice;[16] a type of reactive psychosis or the precipitation of an underlying mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or posttraumatic stress disorder.[17] The Chinese medical literature includes a wider variety of symptoms associated with qigong deviation; the non-psychotic symptoms correspond to conversion disorder and histrionic personality disorder in Western classifications.[16]

Treatment

Within the qigong community, there are specific treatments for addressing different forms of qigong deviations.[15] In Western psychiatry, antipsychotic drug may be prescribed.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c Chen, Nancy N. (2003). "Chapter 4. Qiqong Deviation or Psychosis". Breathing spaces: qigong, psychiatry, and healing in China. Columbia University Press. pp. 77–107. ISBN 0231128045. http://books.google.ca/books?id=Q5-Gk8jBCUUC&lpg=PP1&dq=Breathing%20spaces%3A%20qigong%2C%20psychiatry%2C%20and%20healing%20in%20China.%20Columbia%20University%20Press&pg=PA77#v=onepageq=Breathing%20spaces:%20qigong,%20psychiatry,%20and%20healing%20in%20China.%20Columbia%20University%20Press&f=false. 
  2. ^ Palmer, David A. (2007). "Chapter 6. Controversy and Crisis". Qigong fever: body, science, and utopia in China. Columbia University Press. pp. 158–170. ISBN 0231140665. 
  3. ^ Ownby, David (2008). Falun Gong and the future of China. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 181–186. ISBN 978-0-19-532905-6. 
  4. ^ Upadhyaya, Pt.Rajnikant (2006). Awake Kundalini. Lotus Press. pp. 26. ISBN 8183820395. 
  5. ^ Nelson, James M. (2009). Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality. Springer. pp. 470. ISBN 0387875727. 
  6. ^ Gibson, Hamilton Bertie (1991). Hypnosis in therapy. Psychology Press. ISBN 0863771556. 
  7. ^ Liu, Lydia He (1999). Tokens of exchange: the problem of translation in global circulations. Durham [N.C.]: Duke University Press. pp. 315. ISBN 978-0-8223-2424-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=TItoIpT8hFcC&pg=PA315. 
  8. ^ The Chinese Society of Psychiatry (1989). "66. Qigong deviation syndrome". Chinese Classification and diagnostic criteria of mental disorders (CCMD-2) (Beijing) CCMD-2. 
  9. ^ Rights Watch, Human (2002). Dangerous minds: political psychiatry in China today and its origins in the Mao era. New York, N.Y.: Human Rights Watch. ISBN 978-1-56432-278-4. 
  10. ^ DSM-IV-TR, American Psychiatric Association, p. 902
  11. ^ Schatzberg, Alan F.; Hales, Robert E. (2008). American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.. pp. 1551. ISBN 978-1-58562-257-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=2RzFWRIAsPAC&pg=PA1551. 
  12. ^ Vuong, Ngan Kim (2006). "Cultural Bound Syndromes: Qigong Psychotic Reaction". In Jackson, Yo. Encyclopedia of Multicultural Psychology. Sage Publications. pp. 142–143. ISBN 978-1-4129-0948-8. 
  13. ^ Sandhu, Daya Singh (1999). Asian and Pacific Islander Americans : issues and concerns for counseling and psychotherap. Commack, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers. pp. 231. ISBN 978-1-56072-663-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=NfEt6s7i4RwC&pg=PA231#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
  14. ^ Robinson, Bruce H. (2007). Biomedicine: A Textbook for Practitioners of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine. Blue Poppy Press. p. 434. ISBN 978-1-891845-38-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=bL4X1HiasqEC&pg=PG434. 
  15. ^ a b Xu, Xiangcai (2000). Qigong for Treating Common Ailments. YMAA Publication Center. ISBN 978-1-886969-70-4. 
  16. ^ a b Robinson, Bruce H. (2007). Biomedicine: A Textbook for Practitioners of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine. Blue Poppy Press. p. 435. ISBN 978-1-891845-38-3. http://books.google.com/?id=bL4X1HiasqEC&pg=PG435. 
  17. ^ Sing, Lee, & Kleinman, Arthur (2002). "Psychiatry in its Political and Professional Contexts: A Response to Robin Munro". J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, 30:120–5: 122. http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/reprint/30/1/120.pdf. 
  18. ^ Robinson, Bruce H. (2007). Biomedicine: A Textbook for Practitioners of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine. Blue Poppy Press. p. 436. ISBN 978-1-891845-38-3. http://books.google.com/?id=bL4X1HiasqEC&pg=PG436.