PREVENTION
Laura Mignosa, CCH
Depression as Seen Through the Eyes of Traditional Chinese Medicine
T
oday, it is estimated that five million Americans are taking Prozac. Un- fortunately, over the last seven years
there have been 31,000 reports of adverse reactions to this powerful drug. More and more people struggling with depression are beginning to ask, “Is there any safe, effective treatment that I can use regularly without worrying about side effects? What is the natural way to deal with depression?” Chinese Medicine may be one answer and it incorporates centuries of experience in dealing with depression. The first medi- cal book, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine, which was written 2300 years ago, contained theories on the origins of depression. In Chinese medicine, mental or emotional problems such as depression are attributed to an imbalance or blockage in one or more of the internal organs and the energy pathways (meridians) that pertain to them. Chinese Herbal therapy and other
Chinese medical modalities have been used in China for over 5000 years, but have only recently become mainstream in the United States in the last twenty-five years. The people who seek help through TCM for their depression are typically those who have already tried everything else. Many times the drugs don’t work even when trying many different types of drug therapy, or the side effects were too unpleasant, or they didn’t want to take anti-depression drugs for the rest of their lives. Since TCM developed almost entirely
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separate from its western counterparts, TCM practitioners do not use the same systems of disease categorization and diagnosis crite- ria. TCM adopts a holistic healing approach and treats depression not only to address the symptoms of depression, but also to correct any underlying imbalance(s) in the body that is causing the illness and its various symp- toms.
Common Western Medicine signs and symptoms for depression are:
• Stress, Distress
• Panic attacks, Panic, Panic disorder • Fear, Phobia, Worry, Nervousness Anxiety disorders, Anxiety attacks
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Though these are the words we use to identify our depression, when visiting a Chi- nese Medicine practitioner, those symptoms need to be translated into Chinese Medicine terms. We are not able to diagnose any Western named disease so our interview includes listening, pulse taking, tongue diagnosis and observation to decide an appropriate treatment strategy. In addition, TCM treatments for anxiety and depression are unique for each patient, as every person has unique constitutions and imbalances. As a patient’s symptoms and issues adjust to the herbal formulas, a practitioner will likely change his or her treatments accordingly. Depression can be described in TCM as stagnant energy within the body. This stagnation can create imbalances that lead to symptoms of “depression”, such as an in- ability to focus, melancholy, anger, fatigue, and a lack of inspiration.
Chinese Herbals address the issue of
stagnation by enabling the energy to move more efficiently, balancing the organ sys- tems and creating homeostasis. The idea is that creating balanced energy better equips a person to manage stress and steady emo- tions. In turn, with the balance in your body restored, one should feel an overall sense of better well-being, besides just recovering from your depression condition.
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