PDF NMT150 - TCM Wk1 Lecture [FINAL] (1).pdf

NMT150: NATUROPATHIC THERAPEUTICS I TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM) WEEK 1 A U T H O R : D R. R O M I F U N G , N D, M. S C , P H. D ( C A N D. ) LEARNING OBJECTIVES Causes of Diseases from a Western and Eastern Perspective Internal Causes of Disease: Emotions External Causes of Disease: Ex...

NMT150: NATUROPATHIC THERAPEUTICS I TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM) WEEK 1 A U T H O R : D R. R O M I F U N G , N D, M. S C , P H. D ( C A N D. ) LEARNING OBJECTIVES Causes of Diseases from a Western and Eastern Perspective Internal Causes of Disease: Emotions External Causes of Disease: Exterior CAUSES OF DISEASE TCM focuses on disharmony, but identifying the cause of disharmony is important Eg. We see a patient with loose stools, no appetite and fatigue. We think of Spleen Qi Deficiency and consider treatment for that diagnosis. But SP Qi Deficiency is not the cause of the disharmony, but merely an expression of the disharmony The cause of this disharmony is found to be in the person's dietary habits, lifestyle, relationships, environment, sleep and physical exercise CAUSES OF DISEASE Identifying the cause of disease is important for the patient We can advise the patient on how to avoid it Minimize it, or Prevent its reoccurrence. If we give a treatment without addressing the cause of disease, it would be like pouring water into a container with a leak at the bottom CAUSES OF DISEASE Balance as a key to health: Rest and exercise Diet Sexual activity Climate CAUSES OF DISEASE 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 a cause of disease VIEW ON EMOTIONS In Western Medicine: The brain is set at the top of the pyramid and emotions affect the limbic system in the brain Nerves send impulses down the hypothalamus, and through the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve centres In Chinese Medicine: Rather than a pyramid, the body-mind is a circular interaction between the Internal Organs, Emotions and Mind. WHEN EMOTIONS BECOME A PROBLEM There are positive and negative connotations to certain emotions Feelings such as sadness, fear and anger become causes of disease when they take over our mind. When we no longer possess these feelings, but they 'possess' us Emotions are mental stimuli that influence our affective life. Under normal circumstances, they are not a cause of disease. Hardly any human being can avoid being angry, sad, aggrieved, worried, or afraid at some time in his or her life but those states will not lead to any disharmony. Eg. the death of a relative provokes a very natural feeling of grief. WHEN EMOTIONS BECOME A PROBLEM Emotions become causes of disease only when they are either long- lasting, or very intense, or both. It is only when we are in a particular emotional state for a long time (months or years) that they become a cause of disease If a particular family or work situation makes us angry and frustrated in an ongoing way, this will affect the Liver and cause an internal disharmony. In a few cases, emotions can become a cause of disease in a very short time if they are intense enough. Eg. Shock in a specific situation EMOTIONS AND THE INTERNAL ORGANS Anger affects the Liver, sadness counteracts anger Joy injures the Heart, fear counteracts joy Pensiveness injures the Spleen, anger counteracts pensiveness Worry injures the Lungs, joy counteracts worry Fear injures the Kidneys, pensiveness counteracts fear EMOTIONS AND THE INTERNAL ORGANS Each emotion is said to counteract another along the Controlling Sequence of the Five Elements. For example, fear pertains to the Kidneys and Water, Water controls Fire (Heart), the emotion related to the Heart is joy; hence fear counteracts joy. This thinking presents some interesting ideas, which are certainly true in practice, for example, that ‘anger counteracts pensiveness' or that 'fear counteracts joy' EFFECTS OF EMOTIONS ON QI Anger makes Qi rise Joy slows Qi Sadness dissolves Qi Worry knots Qi Pensiveness knots Qi Fear makes Qi descend Shock scatters Qi EFFECTS OF EMOTIONS ON QI Although each emotion has a particular effect on Qi, all emotions have a tendency to cause some stagnation of Qi after some time Eg. Even though sadness depletes Qi, by depleting Qi from the Lung, the deficient Qi in the chest (Zong Qi) fails to circulate properly causing stagnation of Qi in the chest EMOTIONS AND QI STAGNATION When Qi stagnates, it may lead to Blood stagnation Remember: The relationship between Qi and Blood JOY '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 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: Palpitations, overexcitability, insomnia, restlessness, red tip on tongue ANGER 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 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 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. SADNESS Weakens the Lungs affects the Heart, and the Lungs suffer in consequence, since heart and lungs are both in the 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 turned 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 WORRY Worry knots Qi, which 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 this 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 distension, tiredness and a pale complexion. WORRY Worry is the emotional counterpart of the Spleen’s 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 PENSIVENESS 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. FEAR 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 SHOCK Mental shock ‘suspends’ Qi and affects Heart and Kidneys. It causes a sudden depletion of Heart Qi, makes the Heart smaller and may lead to palpitations, breathlessness and insomnia EXTERNAL CAUSES OF DISEASE External Pathogenic factors: Cold, Heat, Wind, Dampness Bacteria and viruses in relation to ‘Wind’ Climate as a cause of disease Climatic factors as patterns of disharmony Artificial ‘climates’ as causes of disease Fever PATHOGENIC WIND In Western medicine acute respiratory diseases are due to invasion of the body by bacteria or viruses. TCM did not have a knowledge of the existence of bacteria and viruses and acute respiratory infections were considered to be due to invasion of ‘Wind’ or other climatic pathogenic factors. CLIMATE AS A FACTOR 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 CLIMATIC FACTORS Wind Cold Summer-Heat Dampness Dryness Fire SUMMARY Internal Causes of Disease primarily stem from long standing emotions; External Causes of Disease primarily stem from our environment Looking for causes of disease is key once you understand how each TCM Organ functions REFERENCES Maciocia, G. (2015). Foundations of Chinese Medicine. Third Edition. Pp. 251-279