Week 1 Flashcards
TCM focuses on:
Disharmony, but identifying the cause of disharmony is important.
ex) we see a patient with loose stools, no appetite and fatigue. We think spleen Qi deficiency and consider treatment for that diagnosis. (But spleen Qi deficiency is not the cause of disharmony, but merely an expression of the disharmony)
The cause of this disharmony is found to be int he patients dietary habits, lifestyle, relationships, environment, sleep and physical exercise.
Balance is a key to health:
1) rest and exercise
2) Diet
3) Sexual activity
4) climate
Any long-term imbalance can become a cause of disease:
Too much rest (too little physical activity)
Too much physical activity
Too much work
too much or inadequate sexual activity
Unbalanced emotions
Extreme climatic conditions
Internal causes of disease:
Emotional strain
Internal emotions will affect the internal organs first (whereas external causes of disease affect the exterior first)
Emotions include: anger, joy, sadness, worry, pensiveness, fear, shock
View of emotions:
Interactions of body and mind: In Chinese, emotions can be the cause of disease.
Western medicine view on emotions:
Brain is set at the top of the pyramid and emotions affect the limbic system int he brain.
Nerves send impulses down the hypothalamus, and through the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system nerve centers.
Chinese medicine view on emotions:
Rather than a pyramid, the body mind is a circular interaction between the internal organs, emotions and mind.
Emotions become causes of disease only when:
they are either long-lasting, or very intense, or both. It is only when there is a particular emotional state for a long time (months or years) that they become a cause of disease.
Yin organs capture:
energy
Zhong organs store:
yin
Fu organs store:
yang
Yang organs react when they are _____
full
Anger effects the:
Liver
Sadness counteracts anger
Joy injures the:
heart
fear counteracts joy
Pensiveness injures the:
spleen
anger counteracts pensiveness