Managing Mental Health: Eight Extraordinary Vessels.

Living in the age of Coronavirus disease [COVID-19] (WHO, 2023) and the frequency of mass shootings, the rise of mental health is at the forefront. Populations throughout the world experienced a variety of mental health challenges with the advent of COVID. The global impact is that “...individuals affected in the pandemic may have a high epidemiological burden of depression, anxiety disorders, stress, panic attack, somatization disorder, sleep disorders, emotional disturbance, PTSD symptoms, suicidal behavior, and many more mental health problems” (Hossain et al., 2020, page 10). Prolonged days in quarantine showed increases in these same mental health areas (Shah et al., 2021). A survey by the American Psychological Association (APA) reveals that 79% of Americans are stressed by mass shootings (APA, 2019). It was noted that almost the same percentage were stressed about healthcare. One third of the population are avoiding places and events due to mass shootings (APA, 2019). Although options abound with counseling, medications, mindfulness practices, such as meditation, a less well-known choice may be found in Chinese Medicine. Regularly activating an energy system referred to by various names such as: Eight Extraordinary Vessels, Strange Flows, and Qi Jing Ba Mai can help foster inner peace and joy. Qi Jing Ba Mai translates to Odd, Strange or Mysterious Meridians and Eight Vessels. They are also extraordinary because they treat mind, body, and spirit (Bianco, 2019). What are they? Chinese texts, dating back 4500 years, refer to these meridians or vessels and some believe that these circuits formed prior to the Meridians (those energy rivers in the body used by acupuncturists and other energy workers). The Eight Extraordinary Vessels have also been called by the Chinese, Strange Flows as they do not follow a set pattern or path. They may be thought of as a “distributor” as they distribute energy from the Kidney energy system to where it is needed in the body. In addition, they help to take any excess energy away from the Meridians to other areas. As regulators, they manage blood and Qi (also known as Chi or Ki, an intrinsic energy that animates all life forms) in the Meridians. One study showed that these vessels appear 8 weeks post conception (Dorsher et al., 2018) while others contend that they appear at conception (Bianco, 2019). “ ‘Extraordinary vessels’ are frequently used to treat at the same time neurological, psycho-emotional and muscular diseases, and the constitutional issue of the patient, because they represent the deep expression of the emotional history and of the character style, with his self-defense mechanism, that follows all the childhood experiences shaping the personal way of adapting to the evolutionary stress: it has been proposed that treatment based on extraordinary vessels can increase self-recognition (Bianco, 2019, p. 198).” Acupuncturists and Energy workers utilize these vessels to help with emotional imbalances. In a hospital setting they have shown to “...improve cognitive, intellectual and psycho-motor patterns after even severe brain injuries” (Inchauspe, 2018, p. 93). Essentially, these Vessels help improve the neuroplasticity of the brain. One study with pregnant women who had symptoms of depression showed “...reduced depression, stress and distress, whilst also being well-tolerated and free from adverse events” (Ormsby et al., 2020, p. 82). The Eight Extraordinary Vessels was utilized Managing Mental Health: Eight Extraordinary Vessels