amyjenner: August 22, 2019, 12:17am
Musings on the Gallbladder
I’ve been thinking about the Gallbladder…Wondering how my own fear/prejudice of the emotion that moves up
and out has influenced how I use it in this system. It seems reasonable that the poor GB would need support as
much as the next guy…This is not in any kind of refined form, I’m just hoping to spark a discussion. Maybe hear
about other’s experiences. So here goes….
The movement of spring is surging up and unfolding. I live on the coast of Maine were we have 4 distinct seasons.
Here, the sap in the maple trees in late February surges up in the day and drops back down at night. This is what
allows the collection of sap that maple syrup is made from. The incoming tide is like that also. Each wave laps (or
crashes) a little higher on the beach than the last. Or crocus pushing up through frozen soil and opening their petals
to the sun during the day and closing at night. Labor and finally childbirth… This is such a necessary movement to
life, how can we use it to support the unfolding/blossoming/birthing of our patients?
The Gallbladder is responsible for what is just and exact. Determination and decision stem from it.
1. Stores and excretes bile
2. Controls judgment
3. Controls sinews
In the way we are using it, we are most focused on the “controls judgment” function when we are concerned about
misusing it and producing anger in our patient.
I have been gaining more understanding recently of the way in which there are certain aspects of us that are more
at one end of a counterbalance pair and other aspects that are at the other end of the same pair at different points in
time. Using myself as an example, I have lived with seasonal light sensitivity as long as I can remember. In the
winter I have to employ several strategies to prevent seasonal depression. The way it primarily manifests for me is
irritability and sleep disturbance. So, when my husband starts getting on my nerves, I know that I need a little more
support because he is the same guy he is in the summer. So, I can get irritated and short tempered. At the same
time, I will not argue with people. I am happy to explain my point of view, lay out a very reasonable/reasoned
argument but I have very little interest in, or fortitude for, trying to persuade someone of anything. I am way more
likely to figure out a strategy to get around obstacles rather than push through them. So, in trying to picture the
movement in me over time, it seems something like this:
GB xs
PCxs
Most days, I kind of roll along in a pretty balanced way, then something happens and it will push me toward one
end or the other of my range. I have a new patient that really describes himself as being very mellow, he works
with kids at risk and doesn’t ruffle easily despite their violent out bursts. I then asked him what he is like when he30/01/2024, 13:43Musings on the Gallbladder – Sa’am Clinical Insights – Qiological Community
https://forum.qiological.com/t/musings-on-the-gallbladder/524/print2/3
and his wife disagree about something. He said he likes to get it all out on the table and that he gets a little
“lawyerly” and probably passive aggressive. So, there it was, up and out movement, laying out a logical argument
and passive aggressive. Lawyerly, I liked that description.
I have a patient that is a 16 yr old girl. Main complaint anxiety and depression. Skinny, damp skin, chilly, seems a
little bored. She is well groomed/dressed (albeit a bit on the scanty side). She is a good student but doesn’t
participate in any extracurricular activities. I have treated her since December and her anxiety is completely
resolved and the last vestiges of depression seem to be that she lacks motivation to do very much or doing what it
takes to get the things she wants like her driving permit. Although very recently, she got a job a few days a week
but, especially in the summer, she has way too much free time and is home alone because parents are working, and
watching too much netflix. I have gone back and forth between PC and SJ since February to which I attribute her
progress. Anyway, I got to thinking about her like a flower that isn’t opening. Sometimes that happens in a bouquet
you buy at the store, some of the buds just never open. She is just kind of limp, no sparkle, no “I want that thing so
I’m going to figure out how to get it”. So…yesterday I tried GB. She said she felt pleasantly energized and
promptly fell asleep on the table. So, why wouldn’t we need to toggle GB and PC in the way we toggle SI and
Kid? Seems like a good idea at least in this case.
Well, there it is. I would welcome hearing about your experience in working with the GB to help our patients
blossom and fully open into themselves and their fullest potentials.
KristinWisgirda: September 3, 2019, 11:30pm
amyjenner:
Anyway, I got to thinking about her like a flower that isn’t opening. Sometimes that happens in a bouquet you
buy at the store, some of the buds just never open.
The Saam GB is the movement of aggression and anger but also the courage to assert oneself in the world. The
Pericardium is grounded and intelligently follows the rules. One needs both online to live fully.
Thanks for the beautiful post Amy.
amyjenner: September 5, 2019, 12:26am
The way I understand it, Anger is the up and out movement of spring when it is experienced in the emotions. Just
like green is the up and out movement of spring when perceived by they eyes. It is the movement of birth,
creativity, flowers opening, sap surging upward etc. Aggression is a pathological expression of anger in the same
way that mania is a pathological expression of joy. Does that fit with Sa’am?
1 Like30/01/2024, 13:43Musings on the Gallbladder – Sa’am Clinical Insights – Qiological Community
https://forum.qiological.com/t/musings-on-the-gallbladder/524/print3/3
Jeffrey: September 6, 2019, 8:32pm
@KristinWisgirda was making some corrections in some cheat sheets on another thread;
“GB outward activity
SJ outward focus and attention
H outward love” This seems to speak to what you are saying/asking. I’m thinking of it more on a continuum rather
than a genesis of a pathology. Perhaps Kistin can chime in (?). Thanks @amyjenner, I read your quote and have
been pondering on it for some time now.
Tobydaly1: September 7, 2019, 7:25pm
Pathology is the inappropriate expression of one of our fundamental qualities. This expression is due to that quality
having an inadequate counterbalance.
For example, a Gallbladder excess angry outburst due to road rage. This type of rage doesn’t serve us or the other
driver in any way. It is only destructive. However, like Amy’s 16 y.o. patient, we sometimes need to supplement
that outburst quality for a patient that is “kind of limp, no sparkle…a flower bud that needs to open”.
If a patient has a strong and well balanced Pc and GB pair then they will get cut off in traffic and react
appropriately by reasoning it out (“I wonder if they’re in a hurry because a family member needs to get to the
hospital or I wonder how many times I’ve cut someone off and not realized it”) and not react outwardly at all. Also,
they will not become “kind of limp, no sparkle, etc” and waste their free summertime just passively watching
Netflix (“I’m going to volunteer at my local Climate Action Center to combat global warming”, etc)
Jeffrey: September 8, 2019, 12:55am
Thanks for that clarification Toby.
Good examples help