The Five Element Theory is based on the idea that different forces combine in nature to create harmony and balance. The five elements are Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood. In Chinese medicine, the Five Element Theory is an approach to understand imbalances within the body. When elements become unbalanced, symptoms and diseases start to develop.

If only resolving problems were as simple as this absurd Bob Newhart sketch suggests! And yet… there ARE some very simple ways to help bring down stress and anxiety of all kinds.

We all started out as children – vulnerable and needy. Even if we were lucky enough to have nurturing caretakers (& many of us were not), all of us have had times when our needs were not met, or not met enough. Times we were overwhelmed with disappointment, sadness or fear, grief or worry – times when no one was emotionally attuned enough to offer us the empathy, comfort, protection, or reassurance we needed.

We survived; we grew up and became adults. And yet, unless that hurt child received the acknowledgment of the emotional pain endured (and sometimes the physical pain too), the pain remains. Buried deep within us, the inner child remains, unhealed.