Causes
of Disharmony
Traditional
Chinese Medicine views the cause of disease in three main
areas: external causes, internal causes, and a group of
miscellaneous causes which primarily involve lifestyle.
These are outlined below:
The
six external causes of disease, also known as the six evils,
are causes of disharmony that relate to climatic conditions.
Just
as extremes of wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and
summer heat can have devastating effects on the world in
which we live, they can also seriously alter the balance
within the body by diminishing, or blocking the flow of
qi in the organs.
Wind
is the most prevalent of the six external factors, and refers
to the ability of an illness to spread within the body.
Symptoms commonly linked with wind include chills, fever,
colds, flu, nasal congestion, headaches, allergies, arthritic
and rheumatic conditions, as well as dizziness and vertigo.
Cold
related imbalances manifest as conditions that diminish
the body's immune system, such as colds, cough, upper respiratory
allergies, as well as poor circulation, anemia, and weak
digestion.
Heat
conditions are described as hot and inflammatory, exacerbated
by hot weather and exposure to direct heat. They represent
an over-active metabolic process, which can result in hypertension,
hyperthyroid, ulcers, colitis, inflammed arthritic joints,
as well as flu and skin rashes.
Dampness
symptoms are created through the intake of oily and fluidic
foods, as well as wet weather. These symptoms may include
swelling, obesity, the formation of cysts, tumors, and lumps,
and an increased production of phlegm. This phlegm production
can affect the sinuses and upper respiratory passages, including
the lungs and bronchioles.
Dryness
can damage vegitation, and creates similar imbalances
within the body, causing disorders of the lungs, sinuses,
large intestine, skin, digestion, and reproductive organs.
Summer
Heat, or an overexposure to sunlight and hot weather,
can yield conditions such as heat stroke, dizziness, nausea,
extreme thirst, and exhaustion.
| The
Seven Internal Causes |
The
seven internal causes, otherwise known as the Seven Emotions,
are illnesses brought about by intense, prolonged, or surpressed
feelings, and are defined as follows:
Sadness
decreases the flow of qi in the lungs and heart, and is
associated with depression, fatigue, amenorrhea, shortness
of breath, asthma, allergies, cold and flu.
Grief
is similar to sadness, and injures the lungs, decreases
immunity to colds and flu, as well as chronic upper respiratory
diseases such as emphysema, allergies, and asthma.
Pensiveness,
or over-engaging the mind in activities such as worry, thought,
or study can deplete spleen qi, and may result in edema,
digestive disorders, low appetite, and fatigue.
Fear,
or paranoia causes qi to descend, resulting in potential
harm to the kidneys, lower back, or joints when this emotion
is ever present.
Fright,
or shock is unlike fear in the sense that the onset is very
sudden, causing one's qi to diverge. The rapid change in
flow first affects the heart in symptoms such as breathlessness
and palpitations, then moves to the lower body in a similar
fashion to fear, damaging the kidneys, lower back, and joints.
Anger
encompasses all the negative emotions of rage, irritability,
frustration, and resentment, and causes the qi to rise inappropriately.
Anger is associated with headaches, mental confusion, dizziness,
and hypertension.
Joy
in Chinese Medicine refers to excess, or overabundance,
and relates to illness relative to overindulgence. Damage
to the heart may result, and the conditions of hysteria,
muddled thought, and insomnia may arise.
|
