Alvaro Porras Toledo Western Abnormal Psychology Class Project Gu Syndrome Gu syndrome is a pathological pattern that according to the

Shiji, The Book of Records, played a big role around 91 BCE by causing thousands of deaths in China. Although there are various written records about this syndrome, Gu has been filtered out of the modern Chinese Medicine texts. The ancient esoteric ways of viewing and describing the Gu Syndrome dont fit into the more materialistic paradigm of TCM. The earliest reference to the term Gu is in the hexagram 18 of the I Ching, where it is translated as corruption, degeneration, or extreme stagnation. Hexagram 18 shows the picture of wind below mountain

Here the gentle wind cannot penetrate the dense area at its base. A place that does not receive air becomes decayed, rotten, and stagnant.i At this stage in a persons life, the pathogen has already made itself home and is physically manifesting signs of disease in the body. Therefore, recognition and careful action must be taken for a problem whose thorns have grown to the point that they can no longer be ignored. The Chinese character for Gu represents a container or vessel with worms. Its a dirty pot that gets forgotten or ignored in a dark corner of the kitchen cabinet and over time becomes the perfect environment for worms to thrive. Chinese Medical texts describe this verminous infestation as being caused by some dark evil or black magic. After the worms mature they become each others prey and its a fight for the survival of the fittest. After a period ranging from 3 to 12 months, only one snake like worm remains which is said to contain the vicious and toxic potential of all the others.ii In the human body, this is the picture of parasites taking over the healthy cells or intestinal flora and causing a variety of physical, as well as psychological, symptoms. Thus, the reason why this was seen as caused by some sort of evil possession. You are no longer fully in control of your actions because of the internal power struggle between self and Gu. There is no reason why this type of syndrome wouldnt present itself in todays modern society. Even though sterilization standards are over the roof, the fast food American diet, the polluted environment, and a stressful lifestyle are enough causative

factors to make our bodies weak, and therefore, vulnerable to Gu infestation. One-third of 5,792 fecal specimens from 2,896 patients in 48 states and the District of Columbia tested positive for intestinal parasites during the year 2000. Positive results were quantified (number of organisms per high-power field on a scale of 1 to 4) from duplicate samples from the same patient.iii The numbers are quite alarming and this only counts for an intestinal type of Gu invasion. But, the scope of Gu Syndrome goes beyond parasites and includes certain chronic inflammatory diseases such as Chron's disease, AIDS, and Ulcerative Colitis. Heiner Fruehauf, PH.D. L.AC., says that about one fourth of his patients are treated for Gu syndrome on some level. It's important to not that having parasites doesn't automatically qualify as Gu Syndrome. Gu syndrome actually means that your body is hollowed out from the inside out by yin dark forces that you cannot seeiv It's a condition in which there is a systemic weakening of the organism. In reality, having parasites is rather normal; if not everybody, most everybody has some parasite(s) even though they don't always necessarily come out through the stool every time you have a bowel movement. Parasites are like prison inmates that must be kept locked out in jail. However, when your guards, i.e. immune system, decrease in number and strength as the prisoners get stronger and bigger, eventually parasites take over the body. The symptoms vary depending on the patient and the type of parasite. According to Dr Fruehauf's clinical experience, virtually always there is a combination of digestive and psychological symptoms, but patients often present with predominance of one type of symptoms, i.e. digestive type. In the sixth century encyclopedia, Beiji Qianjin Yaofang (Thousand Ducat Formulas) , Sun Simiao Says, some of them will cause bloody stools, while others initiate the desires to lay in a dark room; others may bring about bouts of irregular emotions, such as depression that alternates with periods of sudden happiness; others again cause the extremities to feel heavy, and ache all over, and then there are myriad of other symptoms that we don't have the space here to list in their entirety. Its important to learn and take advantage of the lessons regarding Gu Syndrome that we have from ancient Chinese culture and medicine. There are patients that go bouncing from one Doctor to another and getting no recovery. They often get diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Epstein-Barr Syndrome, Leaky gut syndrome, Lyme disease, and others. Western MD's are often at a loss as to what do do, and end up prescribing Prozac to some of these patients. Similarly, Chinese Medicine physicians often dont see behind the scenes and treat this type of patients primarily by tonifying the spleen and kidney. However, if Gu is present, this approach will either make matters worse or not help at all. The Ming Dynasty Encyclopedia, Puji Fang (Common Aid Formulas), explains: The coarse doctor treats the Gu type of diarrhea just like regular diarrhea and this doesn't work.v Therefore, understanding how to properly diagnose and treat this powerful and widespread syndrome is essential for the benefit of our future patients and our betterment as practitioners of Chinese Medicine.

Hua-Ching Ni, I Ching: The Book of Changes And the Unchanging Truth, Sevenstar Communitcations, 1983

ii

Heiner Fruehauf, PH.D. L.AC., Gu Syndrome (Driving Out Demons and Snakes. A Forgotten Clinical Approach to Chronic Parasitism), Journal of Chinese Medicine, 57/10, 1998
iii

Omar M. Amin, Seasonal Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in the United American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 66(6), 2002, pp. 799-803

States During 2000, The

http://members.cox.net/llyee/parasites_2000/parasites_us.html
iv

Heiner Fruehauf, PH.D. L.AC, Treating Chronic Inflammatory Diseases with Chinese Herbs, www.classicalchinesemedicine.org
v

Heiner Fruehauf, PH.D. L.AC., Gu Syndrome (Driving Out Demons and Snakes. A Forgotten Clinical Approach to Chronic Parasitism), Journal of Chinese Medicine, 57/10, 1998