The Body Holds What Society Denies: Acupressure for Constipation
Constipation is two to three times more prevalent in women than in men. (1) While there are many different causes (hormonal fluctuations, dysregulation, diet, medication, etc.), given this massive gender gap, I can’t help but feel its root cause is strongly correlated with societal inequalities between men and women.
With all that I have studied, I don’t believe in examining health issues through a purely physical or mechanical lens. The body is not separate from our thoughts, our lived experiences, or the environments we adapt to. Instead, I believe health issues are best understood through a more holistic, psychosomatic perspective. I’m sure many of you can name a time in your life where your emotions, particularly related to intense stress, has affected your digestion. Your nervous system and your gut are deeply interconnected.
Within psychosomatic and mind-body frameworks, constipation is understood to be the physical manifestation of the difficulty with “letting go”; particularly of old emotions, beliefs, or protective patterns which are the energetic equivalent to waste in our system. We hold on to them due to fear, desiring control, or feeling guilty.
As one branch of the automatic nervous system, the parasympathetic system is known as the “rest and digest” system. We need to have safety and trust in order to relax so that we can release what needs to be let go of. But chronic stress, hypervigilance, emotional suppression, and unresolved trauma all interfere with this process. And this is where the female experience comes into play.
Many women are socialized to distrust their own experiences, minimize needs, override signals in our bodies, and be accommodating in order to be accepted. We are gaslighted into believing our worth doesn’t matter, our discomfort is an inconvenience, and our emotions are irrational or overblown.
As one of many examples, when a woman seeks medical help, their experience of pain is largely downplayed or outright dismissed (2). They’re told to “suck it up” or that what they’re experiencing is “normal” and therefore medical intervention is denied.
Let me stop myself before I get into the fact that a law had to be passed just to require the inclusion of women in clinical trials; that it only passed in 1993; and still today only 2% of all clinical trials are related to gynecology (3), something that affects ALL women, roughly 50% of the earth’s population. Misogyny runs rampant not only in the medical field.
When your lived experience is repeatedly denied, when your reality is unable to be upheld or supported externally, you hold onto it in order to preserve your sense of truth. You hold onto your pain for when you need to recall it for the future, as a way to maintain control over your safety and well-being. Due to the patriarchal structure of society, this is probably the most underrated and overlooked male-privilege. Many men get to take for granted the ability to move through the world without constant threat to their physical and emotional safety.
If acknowledging our painful experiences threatens our belonging, safety, or even legitimacy, why would we express ourselves and thereby allow them to pass through us? This is how our body has adapted to hold on to the painful past. This is why we’ve become energetically bottled up and physically constipated.
Let me make it clear, I’m not saying that constipation is only a woman’s issue; or that it can be healed solely through psychoanalysis alone. The physical body is part of a larger holistic system and I am by no means trying to reduce its complexity into a simplistic emotional explanation. But whenever a friend or client presents with constipation, it behooves me to ask, “Where are you lacking safety? What holds you back from speaking your truth?”
As a resource to all, I created the following video of some common or most-used acupressure points. Acupressure is the needle-free, less intense version of acupuncture so you can use these techniques on yourself without having studied or being licensed.
As mentioned in the beginning, constipation is a symptom, and if this is a chronic condition for you, it’s worth investigating the root cause. If a healthy, fiber-ful diet, gut-focused supplements, and exercise haven’t improved your condition, maybe it’s time to examine the imbalance from an energetic perspective (everything from your physiology to your beliefs).
If you’re looking for guidance, let’s chat. Book time on my calendar or text me via WhatsApp.
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I’d love to know how this piece and/or video landed for you. Let me know in the comments!