Week 1

Question 1

TCM focuses on:

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

Balance is a key to health:

Answer 2

1) rest and exercise
2) Diet
3) Sexual activity
4) climate

Question 3

Any long-term imbalance can become a cause of disease:

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Internal causes of disease:

Answer 4

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

Question 5

View of emotions:

Answer 5

Interactions of body and mind: In Chinese, emotions can be the cause of disease.

Question 6

Western medicine view on emotions:

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Chinese medicine view on emotions:

Answer 7

Rather than a pyramid, the body mind is a circular interaction between the internal organs, emotions and mind.

Question 8

Emotions become causes of disease only when:

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

Yin organs capture:

Answer 9

energy

Question 10

Zhong organs store:

Answer 10

yin

Question 11

Fu organs store:

Answer 11

yang

Question 12

Yang organs react when they are _____

Answer 12

full

Question 13

Anger effects the:

Answer 13

Liver

Sadness counteracts anger

Question 14

Joy injures the:

Answer 14

heart

fear counteracts joy

Question 15

Pensiveness injures the:

Answer 15

spleen

anger counteracts pensiveness

Question 16

Worry injures the:

Answer 16

lungs

joy counteracts worry

Question 17

Fear injures the:

Answer 17

kidneys

pensiveness counteracts fear

Question 18

Effects of emotions on Qi:

Answer 18

Anger makes Qi rise

Joy slows Qi

Sadness dissolves Qi

Worry knots Qi

Pensiveness knots Qi

Fear makes Qi descend

Shock scatters Qi

Question 19

Although each emotion has a particular effect on Qi, all emotions have a tendency to cause some _______________ of Qi after some time.

Answer 19

stagnation

Question 20

When Qi stagnates, it may lead to:

Answer 20

blood stagnation

Question 21

Joy:

Answer 21

Joy as a cause of disease is obviously not a state of healthy contentment but one of excessive excitement and craving

Excessive stimulation disturbs the mind (shen) and it may even displace it from the heart blood. When considering our modern lifestyle, there are plenty of factors leading to excessive stimulation, such as alcohol, recreational drugs, advertising, ambition, even sex.

Heart symptoms:
palpations, overexcitability, insomnia, restlessness, red tip on tongue

Question 22

Anger:

Answer 22

Should be interpreted very broadly to include several other allied emotional states, such as resentment, repressed anger, irritability, frustration, rage, hatred, indignation, animosity or bitterness.

If they persist for a long time any of these emotional states can affect the liver, causing stagnation of the liver Qi or Liver blood, Liver Yang rising or Liver fire.

Anger makes Qi rise and many of the symptoms and signs will manifest in the head and neck, such as headaches, dizziness, tinnitus, neck stiffness, red blotches on the front part of the neck or a red face. One of the most common symptoms caused by anger is headache.

Anger does not always manifest outwardly with outbursts of anger, irritability, shouting, red face etc.

Some individuals may carry anger inside them for years without manifesting it.

Question 23

Sadness:

Answer 23

Weakens the lungs, affects the heart, and the lungs suffer in consequence since the heart and lungs are both int he upper burner. Sadness includes the emotions of grief and regret, as when someone regrets a certain action or decision in the past and the mind is constantly turning towards that time.

The lungs govern Qi and sadness dissolves/depletes Qi. This is often manifested on the pulse with a weakness of both front positions (heart and lungs). In particular, the pulse has no ‘wave’ and does not flow smoothly.

Symptoms: breathlessness, tiredness, a feeling of discomfort in the chest, depression or crying.

Question 24

Worry:

Answer 24

Worry knots Qi, whihc means that it causes stagnation of Qi, and it affects both lungs and spleen: the lungs because when one is worried breathing is shallow, and the spleen because the organ is responsible for thinking and ideas.

If worry affects the lungs it will cause an uncomfortable feeling of the chest, slight breathlessness, tensing of the shoulders, sometimes a dry cough, weak voice, sighing and a pale complexion.

If worry affects the spleen it may cause poor appetite, a slight epigastric discomfort, some abdominal pain and distention, tiredness and a pale complexion.

Worry is an emotional counterpart of the spleens mental energy, which is responsible for concentration and memorization.

When the spleen is healthy we can concentrate and focus on the object of our study or work; the same type of mental energy, when disturbed by worry, leads to constantly thinking, brooding and worrying about certain events of life.

Question 25

Pensiveness:

Answer 25

Pensiveness is similar to worry in its character and effect. It consists in brooding, constantly thinking about certain events or people (even though not worrying), nostalgic hankering after the past and generally thinking intensely about life rather than living it.

In extreme cases, pensiveness leads to obsessive thoughts.

In a different sense, pensiveness also includes excessive mental work in the process of one’s work or study.

Question 26

Fear:

Answer 26

Fear includes both a chronic state of fear and anxiety and a sudden fright. Fear depletes kidney Qi and it makes Qi descend.

Examples of Qi descending are nocturnal enuresis in children and incontinence of urine or diarrhea in adults following a sudden fright.

Question 27

Shock:

Answer 27

Mental shock “suspends” Qi and affects heart and kidney’s.

It causes a sudden depletion of Heart Qi, makes heart smaller and may lead to palpations, breathlessness and insomnia.

Question 28

External pathogenic factors:

Answer 28

cold
heat
wind
dampness

Question 29

Bacteria and viruses in relation to ____

Answer 29

wind

Question 30

External causes of disease:

Answer 30

climate

climatic factors as patterns of disharmony

Artificial “climates” as causes of disease.

Fever

Question 31

Pathogenic wind:

Answer 31

Acute respiratory infections were considered to be due to invasion of “wind” or other climatic pathogenic factors.

Question 32

Climate as a factor:

Answer 32

The weather becomes a cause of disease only when the equilibrium between the body and the environment breaks down.

Either because the weather is excessive or unseasonal (for instance too cold in summertime or too hot in wintertime), or because the body is weak relative to the climatic factor.

Question 33

Climatic factors:

Answer 33

-wind
-cold
-summer heat
-dampness
-dryness
-fire