People take risks on a daily basis, usually without much thought. Driving a car, crossing a road, operating a power tool and climbing a ladder are all potentially risky everyday events. The risk potential of an activity depends on the individual. Running downstairs is dangerous if people are unstable on their feet. Jumping into a swimming pool is risky if a person can’t swim. Most people avoid taking these kinds of risks. Many Water CFs, however, like to push themselves beyond ‘ordinary’ risks to give themselves much greater challenges. As it says in Ling Shu Chapter 64 ‘The Water type of man has no respect for fear’ (Wu, 1993).

Why do they need to do this? There are a variety of reasons. Often Water CFs of this kind present a rather still exterior. They may suppress their fear and try not to feel it or they perceive that they never experience fear at all. Often they like to feel challenged or they just enjoy the release of adrenaline which accompanies the risk-taking. They may have suppressed their fear and sense of excitement so effectively that life often feels lack-lustre. Participating in activities that adrenalise them is often the only time they feel any sense of vitality or exhilaration at all.

Evel Knievel, America’s legendary daredevil, is an example of someone who took many risks and showed an extreme lack of fear. He finally retired in 1981 having broken 35 bones, been operated on 15 times and spent three years of his life in hospital. When asked about this, he is reported to have shrugged and said, ‘Hey, you have to pay the price for success.’

Not everyone takes such high-profile risks as Evel Knievel. Others take risks by undertaking activities such as deep sea diving, riding motor bikes, hang gliding, rock climbing, parachuting or snowboarding in order to give themselves an adrenaline rush. Sometimes when questioned, however, these people admit that the risks are not carried out recklessly. They often calculate exactly how ‘safe’ the risk is and know how close to the edge they can go.

Others take needless risks in their day-to-day lives. They may knowingly drive too fast or overtake when it is not safe. One Water CF told his practitioner that he was known for a ‘devil may care’ attitude when it came to crossing the road. He described launching himself in front of a car and expecting it to stop. It always did! He said, ‘I know how big the gap is and I know I can make it. I know exactly how far I have gone and what the situation is. One of these days I might come unstuck but it’s a calculated risk.’

The need to cover up fear can also lead people to do risky things to prove to themselves that they are not afraid. Unlike those who calculate the risks, they love the buzz of taking needless risks. Examples of people who are driven to do this are rich people who shoplift, or people who take recreational drugs when they do not know what constitutes a safe dose. The poet Percy Shelley met his death after insisting on setting sail when all the locals warned him not to.

At the opposite end of the spectrum to the risk-takers are Water CFs who fantasise about potential threats. The thought of what might happen can grow large in their minds until it becomes almost a reality. They constantly anticipate an impending disaster. They may describe themselves as constantly on the alert, always having their ‘antennae’ out and taking in all the ‘vibes’ around them to ensure there is no danger. If this tendency becomes too strong then the person may start to get ‘panic attacks’, especially if the imbalance in the Water Element starts to affect the Heart across the ke cycle.

To compensate for any impending crisis some Water CFs plan for emergencies. They prepare themselves by learning first aid, knowing the exits in buildings or becoming skilled in martial arts. ‘You never know what might happen.’

Because of their ability to think of the worst possibilities Water CFs can be very imaginative. Unfortunately their imagination sometimes gets the better of them and they easily think of worse catastrophes and more horrifying disasters than most people. As one Water CF put it, ‘I imagine very dramatic, huge, dreadful things or somebody will say something to really hurt me and it’s like I will dramatise it in my mind and turn it into something much bigger than it really is.’

Some Water CFs are very careful. For example, they may be financially cautious and ensure that they are properly insured, ‘just in case’. Others may drive slowly or even walk everywhere for fear of accidents (the opposite of the risk-takers who drive too fast). Others may be full of trepidation about going out of the house, travelling for long journeys or some may find it hard to embark on new projects, in case things go wrong.

Being over-cautious can also ensure that Water CFs are vigilant and meticulous in their work and life. For example, a nurse who described herself as a cautious person said that she went through all of the possible difficulties before doing anything. ‘Everything has to be gone through in great detail. For instance, my sterile technique. I think of what could happen if I didn’t do it. So I do it very correctly, almost obsessively.’ The nurse said she did it for herself. ‘I admit I’m scared of what might happen to me, rather than the patients, if things went wrong.’

Water CFs often check things that others wouldn’t notice. This can make them extremely skilled in certain areas of their life. For instance, some people who are good businessmen may be Water CFs who appear to take risks when negotiating a business deal. In reality, however, they may have taken their time to weigh up what might go wrong and have looked at every possible dire consequence that could happen before proceeding to close the deal.

Water CFs may react to people or situations with suspicion and one common characteristic in the treatment room can be their wariness. However reassuring, friendly or sympathetic the practitioner is, the patient never really lets down their guard. They may ask questions to gain reassurance and to ensure that the practitioner is trustworthy. The answers Water CFs receive are no guarantee, however, that they will be reassured. Although they often search for reassurance, when it is forthcoming it often fails to make more than a momentary impact on their fearfulness.

People often have to prove their trustworthiness to a Water CF. Trust is not automatically given because the person has a title or honour, job status or because they have received certain qualifications. The questions the Water CF asks will be designed to get below the surface to find out the true ability or integrity of a person or the real state of a situation.

Questioning may lead a person to find out important facts and information. For example, some Water CFs may ring up ‘expert’ friends whenever they need advice. Often they will not accept the advice of only one person but will double-check by looking through books, by finding out more information from the internet or by asking more than one ‘expert’. Only when they have gone to a variety of sources will they put together the results of their research and decide on the action they will take.

Sometimes this double-checking is more frightening than reassuring for Water CFs. For example, if a Water CF has a health problem she or he may look at all the worst possible reasons for a symptom. A minor symptom can be blown up to seem life threatening or at least much worse than it really is. The fear may then prevent the person from getting further help as she or he is too frightened of ‘hearing the worst’ to ask for help.

Other Water CFs can be overly trusting. One Water CF, for example, described how she had a strong sense of trust and assumed that everything would go right in her life. She very rarely prepared for holidays and would go abroad by herself with just a few clothes in a rucksack and would trust that everything would work out. On reflection she admitted that this was really a denial that something could go wrong. ‘I can’t bear to think of what might go wrong because it would build in my mind and become overwhelming, so I don’t think about it at all.’

Other Water CFs who are trusting will project magical properties on to certain people. They may think the person is all-knowing instead of having a balanced view of their imperfections as well as their good qualities. Rather than double-checking an ‘expert’s’ advice (see the example above) they may trust it implicitly. They may then project immense power onto the person. A meditation teacher, for example, may be raised up in the Water CF’s mind to being a mystic. A doctor may be trusted so implicitly that it blinds the Water CF from being discerning about treatments. A psychic may be relied on to give ‘true’ advice about the future.

Imagining that another person can do no wrong allows Water CFs to feel safe and stop feeling frightened whilst under the expert’s ‘protection’. This modus operandi works well as long as nothing goes wrong. If something goes wrong, however, and the expert is shown to be ‘human’, the Water CF may turn full circle and lose all trust, never giving the person another chance.

Trust is an important part of any practitioner– patient relationship and one way for a practitioner to gain a patient’s trust may be to give them a safe space to talk. Many Water CFs find it difficult to talk to other people about their distress. In fact they often become adept at covering up their suffering so that no one can see how bad they really

feel inside. Because of this if they find someone they can really trust it can be a great relief. Even then it may take time for them to open up about their most personal issues.

Knowing who to trust can be a question that preoccupies many Water CFs, even if most of the thinking about it goes on at an unconscious level. So what does a Water CF look for if they are deciding if someone is trustworthy? Steadiness seems to be one of the most important qualities. As one Water CF said, ‘It’s an intuitive feeling as to whether a person is OK or not. One attribute of the person I talk to the most is that she’s not shaken or shocked by anything I say so I know I can tell her anything.’

For many Water CFs the bottom line is less about whether they trust other people and more about whether they trust themselves. For most Water CFs their own judgement is the main issue. As one Water CF said, ‘If I feel someone is trying to reassure me, I think, “If you think you’ve considered every possibility then you’re wrong and that’s because I’ve already done that and I know I’m right!”’

As was stated earlier in the chapter, reassurance is a common antidote to fear. Most people who are not Water CFs will accept reassurance, as long as they trust the source of the knowledge. For instance, if we feel ill we wouldn’t trust our car mechanic to tell us we had nothing to worry about. We would want to go to a trusted medical practitioner. Many Water CFs are not easy to reassure. Their fear is so deep that many say that no one can reassure them.

Because they value reassurance, many Water CFs are particularly good at giving it to others. They are often the ‘rocks’ that others turn to when they are afraid. In fact, when Water CFs have amassed large amounts of reassuring information (see above) they can then pass the material on to others who are in need. All of the information gained from books, talks, the internet and from those with expert knowledge is used not only for themselves but for all others who need help. Deep inside, in spite of this reassuring quality, many Water CFs are still aware that they are feeling fearful inside even when they are at their most reassuring. One Water CF described himself as more reassuring than most people because he knew where someone who’s scared was coming from. But he was really ‘jelly-legged’ inside. ‘I sometimes feel that there’s a chink in how I look when I’m giving reassurance and someone who knows me would see a doubt in me as I gave it.’

Not all Water CFs like to reassure. Some prefer to make threats. Some Water CFs feel so scared that they use intimidating behaviour to defend themselves, even if the threat has not yet arisen. Their motto could be, ‘The best form of defence is attack.’ They may create a climate of fear in those around them, and this may be an important diagnostic indicator. The practitioner may feel unsettled and edgy as a reflection of the patient’s subtly intimidating manner.

When people are afraid they may start to imagine all sorts of catastrophes arising in the future, and earlier in the chapter it was described how Water CFs might exaggerate them. Some Water CFs attempt to motivate others by using fear to illustrate the dire consequences resulting from any ‘unwanted’ behaviour. For example, a mother might warn her child of murder or a serious accident if the child does not come straight home after going out. A teacher may vividly outline the consequences of not working hard at school in terms of failure and misery. A vicar might warn of hell and damnation for committing misdeeds. If these scenarios are told in graphic detail and with sufficient intensity, the Water CF hopes that they will instil fear and dread in the other person. Although it is a negative form of motivation, the hope is that it will keep others safe from harm.

Some Water CFs use the threat of physical violence in order to feel safe. They learn fighting skills such as martial arts, boxing or wrestling. For example, one Water CF who came for acupuncture treatment for a knee injury explained that he was so afraid of his father when he was young that he learnt martial arts to defend himself if necessary. He is now a very skilled karate teacher with many students.

Other Water CFs may intimidate by being prone to anger. Although the Element associated with anger is the Wood Element, a person expressing anger might really be fearful underneath. The anger they are showing can be a show of bravado that is being used in self-defence.

Another more subtle way of threatening others is the use of shock. For example, a patient described being a punk in his past and that he thought, ‘This is who I am. You can take me or leave me. If you can’t get beyond it, it’s too bad.’ People often found him very intimidating when they saw him in the street and he secretly enjoyed it when people crossed over the road because they thought he looked scary. He recently said, ‘I still have a need to shock and it comes out when I feel under threat. When I’m arguing with someone and I know I’m right, they don’t have a leg to stand on. I’ll say something shocking and it feels fantastic!’

Many Water CFs describe themselves as having stronger will than others and may take pride in their powerful drive or determination. Once they have decided on a course of action they follow it through, no matter how hard or how much of a grind it is, and they often carry on with activities well beyond the endurance of other people. They may override their emotional responses in order to prove, often to themselves, how long and hard they can work. By doing this they are pushing through life rather than trusting that life will naturally take them through. For example, a Water CF described how when he first took up running he ran for 10 miles on his first run and 15 on the second. Another said that when she worked she would often go on for 12 to 14 hours without a break ‘just because I could’.

Although the people described above may not have experienced what they were doing as extreme, over time they are likely to pay a price for this lifestyle and their reserves become drained. Sometimes the resulting depletion causes the zhi to compensate still more by giving them even more forward push. A vicious circle begins. The more drained they feel the more drive they have. They may finally end up swinging to the other extreme and being left exhausted.

Some Water CFs have the experience of never having much drive or will. They feel tired at the thought of doing anything and find it hard to get moving to carry out even everyday tasks. Sometimes this is because they are too afraid to act. For instance, one Water CF described how she felt powerless and inadequate if faced with a new challenge at work. ‘I feel terrified and sure I won’t be able to do it. I seem to sit around with no energy feeling too depleted to move. Once I start to act I have an iron will and go under and over any obstacle until my task is completed.’

Other Water CFs feel too tired to move or gather the motivation to do things. For example, a person may sit and watch TV even if the programme is not interesting to them. It may seem too difficult to get up and do something else. Sometimes they may have a good idea but when they check in with their body it says, ‘Oh no! I’m much too tired’, so they don’t act. Sometimes a person eats dinner in front of the TV and then falls asleep while watching. Of course people of all CFs can have this pattern of behaviour for periods of time. Combined with other signs that suggest that the person is a Water CF it can, however, be an indication. Sometimes a person swings between the two states, sometimes feeling unable to rest and at other times feeling totally depleted.

Continual agitation will result in sudden bursts of energy. These ultimately deplete the adrenal glands and lead to exhaustion. When people feel agitated they can sometimes become so restless that they find it difficult to sit still. This also affects their ability to concentrate. Fearful thoughts and catastrophic fantasies race through their minds at such a rate that it is impossible for them to think of any sensible or reassuring thoughts to calm themselves. Other signs and symptoms may be shaking and trembling, sweating, shortness of breath and/or rapid breathing. People may also complain of palpitations, a dry mouth and the inability to sleep.

In a situation of extreme fear, people may find it difficult not to talk about their symptoms. They literally babble with nerves. They may talk to all and sundry about their fears, but never seem to be reassured. At first glance it would be easy for the

acupuncturist to think that these patients are seeking sympathy, as all they want to do is talk about their problems. However, it should become clear that sympathy does not evoke much response and the patient really is looking for steadiness and reassurance from the practitioner.

Agitation can be catching. When a person can’t be calmed it easily passes on to others who also feel the fear. Practitioners also need to be aware of the way anxiety can spread. Sometimes practitioners only realise how fearful their patients are by recognising how anxious the patient is making them feel. In general it is important that an acupuncturist is calm and solid on the outside. If she or he shows anxiety when carrying out a treatment the patient will quickly pick this up and become fearful too. This will dramatically reduce the efficacy of the treatment.

At the other end of the spectrum people can become ‘paralysed’ or ‘freeze up’ when afraid. On the inside they may be a quivering mass of fear. Their mouth may be dry, they may be in a cold sweat and their heart may be thumping loudly. On the surface, however, they may pretend that everything is all right and appear cool, calm and collected. The practitioner needs to look for an unnatural stillness in the body as the patient attempts to lessen the intensity of sensations caused by the descending movements of qi that accompany fear.

Because some Water CFs appear still or calm on the outside it can be difficult for the practitioner to see their fear. Water CFs may learn to be extremely competent and capable in everything they do in order to compensate for their internal sense of paralysis. For this reason some Water CFs can be difficult to diagnose.

A state of paralysis can also manifest in the way a person speaks. This is a less extreme form of what happens when a public speaker ‘dries up’. Under the effect of fear, the person’s mind jams and they find it difficult to maintain fluency.

Some people may be hesitant or faltering when they speak or take time to give an opinion. If they admitted what is going on inside they might say that they need to stop and calculate what they want to say because they are fearful of giving an untrue or inappropriate answer. After deliberating, they will give

their considered opinion. This is sometimes more thoughtful and insightful than an opinion given by others who have taken less time to reflect on an answer.

People who ‘freeze up’ in the face of fear may restrict what they do in order to compensate. Sometimes people may find it difficult to go out and are labelled ‘agoraphobic’. Others may just find that they are extremely nervous when they go out and have their antennae out waiting for an ‘attack’ from the outside even if logically they know they are safe. A Water CF walking in her local town said, ‘It’s like I’m waiting for something to happen. I’m on my guard all the time. In fact I can only relax when I’m tense!’

Water CFs can become frozen when unscripted events ‘jump out’ at them. They may then have difficulty knowing how to respond in such a situation, wanting to change things but being scared to do so. They may feel ‘damned if they do and damned if they don’t’. The result may be that they do nothing. This was the case with a social worker who was charged with the care of a vulnerable child. On trying to visit the child she was terrorised and threatened by indignant parents. Yet she had been told that the child was at risk. She became paralysed and

deliberated for far too long about the situation. She was rightly accused of not acting competently and realised that her good intentions were not enough. She later resigned from the job.

The inability to make changes easily can have a positive side. When this kind of Water CF does act she may have made a very careful ‘risk’ assessment first. This means that any venture she embarks on will tend to be well planned. It might take a long time to be put in motion, but it will be so carefully anticipated that success is almost certain in the end.