19/10/2021
There are a number of specialist services that provide various treatments, including counselling and other treatments,acupuncture and other forms of complementary therapies are gradually being proved to be legitimate treatments for anxiety, depression and other illnesses.
Acupuncture is an ancient form of traditional Chinese medicine. It works on the principle of stimulating points in the body to correct imbalances in the flow of energy (Qi) through channels known as meridians. This belief is based on the interaction of the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water) and having profound effects on internal organs, which are either yin or yang.
Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture is a style of acupuncture developed by Westerners and is a part of the overall process of adapting and transforming Chinese medicine to make it more appropriate for Western patients and practitioners. In China acupuncture is often practised in out-patient hospital clinics and emphasis is placed on acute and short-term health problems. In the West we have a high proportion of patients with longer-term chronic problems with a mixture of physical and psychological issues.
Traditional Chinese medicine also recognizes the mind and body interacting as one, meaning that emotions have a physiological effect on the body. Five emotions are represented by the five elements:
Water (fear) Wood (anger) Fire (happiness) Earth (worry) Metal (grief)
Traditional Chinese medicine relates anxiety to an imbalance of the heart and kidney. Fire represents the heart and joy according to the five elements. The diagnosis is that too much heat in the heart will imbalance the interaction with the kidney (represented as water and fear). This will result in the water organ failing to contain the fire organ rising up to the mind, leading to anxiety. Acupuncture on points around the heart, kidney, spleen and ear are used to treat anxiety. Depression is considered to be a problem with circulating Qi around body, according to traditional Chinese beliefs. The main organ responsible for circulating Qi is recognized as the liver with the heart and spleen playing supporting roles.
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