Mind-Body Medicine
Today's post is about what mind-body medicine is and how it can reduce pelvic pain. Click above to watch it!
Taylor Swift, Dance Healer?
In my early days of vulvar pain, I noticed very quickly that my symptoms would worsen when I felt angry and powerless. There was something about that disheartening mix that produced searing pain spikes.
Over the years I slowly learned how to feel angry...but not powerless. I learned how to recognize anger as an indicator that my boundaries had been crossed or my values violated, and that instead of feeling like there was nothing I could do, I could channel that energy for change, either in outside circumstances or how I perceived them.
My emotional boundaries were therefore gifts rather than liabilities, and I learned how to recognize, strengthen, and respect them. Instead of being porous, with everything hitting me right in the heart, I developed a thick skin, allowing me shake off the slings and arrows of life on Planet Earth.
And now, finally, there is an anthem for my newfound freedom... Shake it off, Tay-tay!
International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease
This past weekend, Chicago was the site of the 22nd Biennial Conference on Diseases of the Vulva and Vagina, hosted by the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disorders (ISSVD.) The mission and founding document of the society shed light on why so many vulvar and vaginal patients may be frustrated with lack of quality care. (The bold text below is my own emphasis.)
The mission of the ISSVD is
To promote international communication among gynecologists, pathologists, dermatologists, and related disciplines, and to establish international agreement on terminology and definitions of vulvovaginal diseases.
To promote clinical investigation, basic research, and dissemination of knowledge in this field.
The organization was founded in 1970 at the Federation of International Gynecologists and Obstetricians, with the first meeting being held in 1971 in San Francisco. At this first meeting, the founding fellows signed a resolution as to the reason for their existence:
WHEREAS, diseases affecting the human vulva are not confined to the limitations of a single medical specialty, nor to the borders of a single nation, and
WHEREAS, there apparently exists no generally agreed upon terminology regarding classification of vulvar disease, and
WHEREAS, the free and efficient communication of facts and ideas is necessary, if we are to apply the ever-advancing wave of medical knowledge to the field of vulvar disease,
WE, the undersigned, do hereby resolve that there is justification for an international society devoted to the subject of vulvar disease and do hereby constitute THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF VULVAR DISEASE.”
So...Western medicine dates back hundreds of years, yet a group dedicated to the study of the vulva - the avenue through which most of the world's population is born into the world - didn't start until 1970?! That's less than 50 years ago. Since part of the organization's mission is to agree on terminology, that means we are still finding the words to describe what is going on in women's bodies.
Is it any wonder that there is not sufficient knowledge to keep women's bodies healthy?
Today, the ISSVD only numbers about 300 people. That's 300 people, sprinkled in and amongst the 7 billion people on this planet. That's 300 vulvovaginal specialists for 3.5 BILLION women.
No wonder our lady parts don't get the care they deserve.
While I am saddened that attention to women's care is so behind, I am grateful to the pioneering doctors who are members and I am hopeful that their research will bring much-needed relief to so many women.
The ISSVD has kindly offered me a summary of this past weekend's proceedings, which I will excitedly report back to you when I get it!
PS Isn't the ISSVD's vulva-esque logo rockin' ? More on it's symbolism (besides the obvious) here.
PPS The founding members of the ISSVD were all men; not surprising, given how few women were doctors back in 1970. But still...cray-cray. Thank goodness that while in 1970 women made up 9% of medical school graduates, today that number is 48%. Hopefully this will translate into better care for women over time!
Lazy Late Summer
After coming back from a busy and fun vacation, I found myself craving a bit of quiet time. It felt like I had been going, going, going, since...well, for a long time, at any rate. Rather than jumping back into my old routine, I gave myself the gift of taking it easy, slowly coming back to daily life. I took naps, laid in the hammock, watched the late summer unfold.
I found these quiet moments so nourishing.
As we close in on the autumn equinox (Tuesday, September 23rd), the shorter days nudge my body and mind to take stock of the summer's bounty. The idea for this website poked it's head up in the spring, and finally came into being in the summer. I am so grateful for this site, for this blog, for the opportunity to help raise awareness about pelvic pain.
What crop have you cultivated this summer? How is your life unfolding?
Building Community through Vulnerability
Last Monday I wrote about my big Facebook announcement and how vulnerable it made me feel. Thankfully, the video has generated a number of likes, shares, and comments, all of them positive. That, combined with an earlier post on how community can help or hinder the healing process, has got me thinking about how emotional vulnerability can help us build helpful, supportive, healing communities.
The word vulnerable derives from vulnus, the Latin word for wound, and it means "open to attack, harm or damage." "Open to" - not damaged yet, not broken yet, but allowing for that potential. The second half of the word is, of course "able." This openness to wounding, in a playful moment, could therefore be construed as a capability, an asset.
And indeed it is. Choosing vulnerability implies that we have agency; we had a choice, after all. Being open to harm means that the part of ourselves that we are willing to expose, to open, must be very important to us. If it wasn't important, we could not be harmed by its destruction. Choosing to be vulnerable, therefore, means that we are exposing the most essential parts of ourselves, our truest being-ness.
Emotional vulnerability is therefore a tool, one among many, that is necessary to building a true healing community. Without it, we are not exposing our most essential selves, thereby cutting off the opportunity for deep relationship. Those deep relationships - with ourselves, our families and friends - are the hidden gift of emotional vulnerability. It is where we, in concert with others, cultivate our most essential selves. When we choose vulnerability, we are using our agency to ask for that gift of deep relationship, putting our power and attention behind a decision to grow and change on a deep level. The word heal is derived from a root meaning literally, "to make whole," and we cannot become whole if we leave out our most essential self.
Vulnerability isn't always chosen, though; it is also thrust upon us, as in our infancy. And the experience of vulnerability alone, chosen or no, is not in and of itself enough to build community. Think of all the times you were vulnerable and were treated poorly; those moments erode trust, another factor important for building a tribe. It is vulnerability met with love that leads to healing, and not vulnerability met with anything less.
You can empower yourself on your healing journey by using your emotional vulnerability when you think it will be met with love. Each time you do, you are watering the garden of your soul, building your community, and coming one step closer to healing your mind, body and soul.