Treating Stress and Depression with Chinese Medicine

At the heart of every acupuncture treatment is a mechanism for reducing stress and combating depression. Acupuncture moves the Qi, and moving Qi will release the constraint that causes us to feel stressed and depressed. When we get stressed, the Qi of the body stagnates and starts a vicious circle that creates more stress. Over Read More » The post Treating Stress and Depression with Chinese Medicine appeared first on Arkansas Acupuncture Center.

At the heart of every acupuncture treatment is a mechanism for reducing stress and combating depression. Acupuncture moves the Qi, and moving Qi will release the constraint that causes us to feel stressed and depressed. When we get stressed, the Qi of the body stagnates and starts a vicious circle that creates more stress. Over time, this constraint on the ability of the Qi to move as it should depletes the body of vital substances and we often end up feeling depressed and exhausted.

The main function of the Liver is to keep the Qi moving throughout the entire body. An old Chinese saying, “if there is pain, there is stagnation” means that when the Qi is sluggish we experience pain and emotional distress. Pain associated with Liver stagnation is often in the low back and/or the neck and shoulders.

Our emotions are a reflection of the imbalances of the body, and each emotion is related to a different internal organ. The Liver is associated with anger, depression, frustration and pent-up emotions. The emotion associated with the Lungs is grief and the Kidney fear. The Heart’s emotion is “over joy” which most of us think of as manic behavior. Bi-polar is often thought of as a Liver/Heart imbalance, hence manic/depression. The Spleen is related to over-thinking. The Gallbladder controls our will power.

Anxiety is a condition that occurs when there is disharmony between two organs; the heart and Kidney, or the heart and spleen. When we bring these back into balance, the anxiety subsides.

Stress is the catalyst for many of the other emotions since stress blocks the Liver qi and when Liver qi is stagnant or blocked for a long period of time, it starts to effect other organ systems. Many people think that doing a liver cleanse will help, but that is not necessarily true. It is common, especially with women, for the liver blood to be deficient since it is the liver blood that nourishes the uterus. Having blood loss every month, or with several pregnancies often leaves the liver dry. This can lead to stagnant Liver qi. Cleansing the liver in these cases will leave the liver even more deficient. So take care when doing cleanses, especially liver cleanses. The Chinese do not recommend this. When the liver is healthy it will cleanse itself quite well.

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