When a man receives a diagnosis that his sperm is not able to get his wife pregnant, a state similar to shock may ensue. This seems to manifest as a type of post traumatic stress disorder. The man may then go through some, or all of the following 'D.E.E.P.' mental, emotional, and physical stages;

Denial: 'not me!', numbness, depression [*this exacerbates the stagnation of Qi].

Emotional: 'why me?' anger, hypersensitive, over-reactive, sad, withdrawal, poor mental function, *humiliation, shame, isolation, 'is anyone else going through this?' [*the Liver and Heart share this load].

Ego: central to being a man is the role of keeping the special woman in their life happy and protected. Being the 'provider' is also fundamental. Some men feel so inadequate with their inability to provide a child that some may even push for divorce.

Physical: damaged pride & shame are a breeding ground for sexual dysfunction, along with a wide array of physiological signs and symptoms (from insomnia to poor digestion, headaches to back pain).

It should also be noted that when a couple decides to go through A.R.T. (artificial reproductive techniques) many invasive procedures and medications are administered to the woman. This can affect the 'protector' aspect of a man, breeding fear for her health, and guilt towards being powerless to keep his wife out of harms way.

Chinese medicine and acupuncture, diet and lifestyle changes, proper supplementation, Qigong, education, and proper counsel to regarding the D.E.E.P. implications of male infertility, will restore confidence, and produce profound effects that show not only on a semen analysis, but also in the everyday wellness of the man and his relationship with his wife.

[*] denotes Traditional Chinese Medicine theory

Spence Pentland of Vancouver BC Canada received his five year Doctor of TCM education from the International College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Vancouver. To complete his studies he spent 500 hours at Anhui Hospital of TCM Hefei City, in the Peoples Republic of China. He is a licensed and registered member of the Canadian Traditional Chinese Medicine Association, is the President of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association of British Columbia (TCMABC), and practices at Acubalance Wellness Centre (http://www.acubalance.ca) where he treats only Men's reproductive health (http://mens.health-info.org) and Women's fertility issues(http://infertility.health-info.org).