| Depression
Depression is an increasingly common emotional
problem in modern society. Many people are weighed down by
relationship difficulties, financial concerns and job insecurities
that seem to be creating stresses everywhere.
These types of stress partly explain the much
larger incidence of mental and emotional problems found in
industrialised countries, compared to traditional cultures.
Depression can be the main cause of disharmony,
or it can come about as the result of another problem. There
is a big variation in what people mean when they say they
are depressed. It can vary from feeling low to clinical depression,
where life is dominated by feelings of blackness.
These symptoms include depression, anger, frustration,
restless sleep, tiredness, lethargy, weakness, poor concentration
and lack of appetite.
Traditional Chinese medical theory explains
depression as an imbalance of the body. The spleen, liver
and heart are the main organs involved as well as their relation
with Qi, Blood flow and Yin and Yang. If the liver channel
is obstructed it will partially fail to deliver Qi and blood
to other parts of the body. Because of the intimate connection
between the liver and spleen, the function of the spleen will
drop down, which is called spleen Qi deficiency in TCM theory.
As the situation worsens, spleen Qi deficiency will slow down
the flow of the blood and affect the Qi of other organs, especially
the heart. Deficiency of spleen and heart as well as a blocking
of energy (because of slow flow of blood) can lead to depression,
tiredness and lethargy, poor concentration, a tendency to
worry, diarrhoea as well as the other emotional and mental
symptoms.
Therefore, individual Chinese herbal medicine
formulas should be used to treat depression problems according
to their type whether it be liver obstruction, spleen and
heart deficiency of a combination of both disorders. By choosing
the way of freeing the liver, strengthening the heart and
spleen Qi, opening the appropriate meridian channel or a combination
of these ways, the body can resume balancing itself and the
patient will gradually get rid of the depression.
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