Anxiety affects many individuals in different ways. It may creep up at unexpected moments, or it can be predictable, and associated with certain events, fears or situations. Never the less, similar symptoms can occur which include: heart racing, chest tightness, feeling light headed, shortness of breath and/or an overwhelming sense of fear or panic.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) considers the cause of anxiety to be from a disturbance within the Zang Organs. The five Zang Organs include the heart, lung, spleen, liver, and kidney. These organs are said to be responsible for one’s emotion. The liver Zang is tied to anger, the spleen Zang to excessive worry, the heart to joy, the kidney to fear and the lung with grief. A disturbance within one or more of these Zang Organs can cause an imbalanced emotional state.
As the Spleen is the organ of digestion, a lot of what we put into our bodies can affect our emotions. The spleen sifts and sorts through what you’ve eaten, takes what is useful, turns it into nutrients to fuel the body and gets rid of what isn’t needed. At the same time, the spleen also sifts and sorts ideas. While the emotion associated with the spleen is worry, a disturbance within this organ can cause one to not be able to sort through and let go of unnecessary ideas.
A combination of Chinese herbs and acupuncture can help heal these disturbances within the Zang organs. Changes in lifestyle and a variety of self-help modalities are also part of the healing process.
If you’re one of the many who suffer with anxiety, contact your acupuncturist today.
References:
Kecskes, Alex A. “Anxiety Disorders and Traditional Chinese Medicine.” Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2014/10/04/anxiety-disorders-and-traditional-chinese-medicine. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.
Linforth, Pete. Anxiety – Stress – Depression. 2016, https://pixabay.com/en/anxiety-stress-depression-1157437/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.
