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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.
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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.
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