In this narrative essay, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner describes the challenge of treating three survivors of a terror attack, all of whom were presenting various symptoms of acute stress disorder (ASD). Working in new and exceptionally demanding circumstances - with thousands of people injured in an extensive and direct terror attack, with relatives taken hostages and entire communities evacuated from their homes - the practitioner looked for an effective treatment strategy to alleviate symptoms of stress response. He found it in the interface between TCM and the function of the autonomic nervous system.
Keywords: Acupuncture; Acute Stress Disorder; Integrative Medicine; Narrative Medicine; Terror Attack; Traditional Chinese Medicine.
© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.