by Jon Hanlon
Last month I wrote about how extremes of climate can be an external cause of health problems. This month I’m moving on to the main internal cause of health imbalances: emotions. In Chinese medicine there is no separation between the mind and the body, they are linked and rely on each other for proper function. Your emotional health affects your physical health and vice versa.
Feeling emotions is natural, but if an emotion persists for months or years, or is extremely intense, then it can cause complications. The most obvious result would be problems with a strong mental-emotional link, like anxiety, depression or insomnia, but many other issues can occur as well. In particular, many digestive predicaments and some skin and pain conditions can be the result of long-term stress.
Chinese medicine recognises five main emotions that lead to disease: joy, worry, sadness, fear and anger. Each one has a specific affect on the circulation of qi through the body and each is associated with the function of one organ. Take anger, for example: anger causes qi to rise and affects the liver. Since anger elevates qi, many symptoms will affect the head – headaches, dizziness, ringing in the ears, a red face or a bitter taste in the mouth. The liver regulates the free flow of energy through the body. When this function is affected by anger, stagnation occurs, and this typically leads to discomfort, especially shoulder tension and abdominal pain.
I use acupuncture and herbs to rebalance the circulation of energy through the organs and to relieve symptoms caused by the stress. It takes time, but eventually most emotionally linked health issues can be managed.
// Jon Hanlon is a Chinese medical practitioner, raised in the US, trained in Australia, now healing the sick in Guangzhou. You can contact him for a booking on 185 0202 5594 or jon@guangzhouacupuncture.com
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