Anxiety, Sleep & Stress

As practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, we understand the importance of balancing emotional and psychological health. Shen disharmony not only affects our emotional experience, but can also have a significant impact on our physical health. What follows is a discussion of four acupuncture treatments to harmonize the emotions and balance the Shen.

Mark Frost, Herbal Chair at American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) joins Mayway to highlight Huang Qi and Fang Feng. Mark discusses the similarities and differences of these important herbs including their TCM functions and how to select the best herbs for your patients.

No matter your type or time of travel, the family First-Aid kit is an essential item. Though the standard First-aid kit contains the usual emergency care items, traditional Chinese medicine has its own special list of medicines to address common health issues that can come up during many adventures. Over the decades of teaching traditional Chinese herbal medicine, countless students have asked me to share my list of recommended herbal formulations to always have on hand. The Plum Flower® Travel Kit includes covers the most common emergency needs.

Insomnia (bù mèi 不寐, shī mián 失眠) is difficulty sleeping. Insomnia includes inability to sleep, difficulty falling asleep, frequent waking, restlessness at night, a disordered sleep cycle and dream disturbed sleep. In Chinese medicine, insomnia is primarily associated with instability or agitation of the anima, the shén and hún.

From the view of traditional Chinese medicine, several emotions make up what we presently describe as anxiety. On close examination four emotions stand out as comprising what we call anxiety. According to TCM theory, the emotions of fear, pensiveness, grief and anger cause the Qi to sink, stagnate, dissipate, and rise respectively.

When the Shen, frequently translated as “Mind”, is disturbed this can cause someone to experience sleep complications. We will take a deeper look at three formulas for Calming the Shen that lead to a more peaceful sleep, An Mien Pian, An Shui Wan, and An Shen Bu Xin San/Wan.

Anxiety is a normal human emotion. Most people will experience it from time to time as a normal response to the stresses and worries of life. Anxiety becomes a pathological disorder (jiāo lǜ zhèng 焦虑症) when it repeatedly interferes with daily life, is irrational, excessively prolonged or out of proportion with the cause. In Chinese medicine, anxiety is most frequently associated with disorder of the Heart and shén , and to a lesser extent the Liver and Kidneys.