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The Experts Say -
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Approach |
Anxiety disorder
(psychoneurosis) is a
mental illness that’s
characterized by a sense
of distress. Those who
suffer from it
experience fear and
anxiety for no apparent
reason, and may also
have headaches, chest
fullness, palpitation,
difficulty breathing,
dry mouth, urinary
urgency, sweating, and
tremor.
Types of Anxiety
Disorder
TCM divides anxiety
disorders into 3 types:
The phrase “anxiety
disorder” does not exist
in TCM terminology. However, it’s signs and
symptoms are similar to
those of “visceral
inflammation”, “panic
attack”, “palpitation”,
and “insomnia” in TCM. It is generally due to Qi and blood deficiency,
emotional trauma and
inflammation of the
“liver system” that lead
to fluid stagnation and
malnourishment of the
“heart system”. The
disorder is associated
with multiple visceral
systems, including
heart, liver,
gallbladder, spleen, and
kidney. Treatment needs
to bring the visceral
functions back to
balance based on the
differential diagnosis.
TCM Categories
|
Type |
Signs and
symptoms |
Other
concomitants |
|
Heart and spleen
deficiency |
Racing thoughts,
palpitation,
weakness |
Dizziness,
forgetfulness,
sleeplessness,
excessive
dreaming,
reduced
appetite,
bloating after
even a small
meal, pale
facial
complexion |
|
Liver congestion
and spleen
deficiency |
Attention
deficit |
Depressed mood,
chest fullness,
sleeplessness,
reduced
appetite,
bloating, loose
stool |
|
Heart and
gallbladder
deficiency |
Palpitation,
fearfulness,
easily startled,
irritability,
brain fog, mood
swings,
restlessness |
Sleeplessness
and excessive
dreaming |
|
Liver and kidney
Yin deficiency |
Untrusting,
easily startled,
irritability |
Dizziness,
tinnitus, low
back and lower
extremity
weakness,
sleeplessness,
excessive
dreaming, bitter
taste in the
mouth, dark
yellow urine |
|
Inflammation and
phlegm retention
|
Irritability,
racing thoughts,
restlessness,
talks a lot |
Excessive
dreaming,
headaches,
dizziness,
bitter taste in
the mouth, dry
mouth |
|
Blood stasis
|
Palpitation,
irritability,
untrusting
|
Restless sleep,
headaches, sharp
chest pain,
chest fullness,
dark circles
around the eyes,
bluish color of
the lips |
TCM Treatment for
Anxiety Disorder
See the table above for
specific TCM treatment
for each type of anxiety
disorder. Tranquilizers
used by medical doctors
are more effective, yet
long-term use of high
dosed medications lead
to dependency, and side
effects, such as
hormonal dysfunction and
weight gain. Combining
medication with herbal
medicine can potentially
reduce the side effects
and increase efficacy. When appropriate,
acupuncture is included
in the treatment
protocol. Acupuncture
mainly focuses on the
neurological and mental
mechanisms. It is
advised to continue the
medication for up to 1-2
years after remission. This rule of thumb
applies to all types of
anxiety disorder. Please
seek medical advice to tapper off your
medication to avoid
relapse.
Case study:
Mr. C, 33. He first
visited the clinic in
2012. He recalls that he
was in Hong Kong in
February 2012. One day,
he suddenly had
palpitation and trouble
breathing, and was not
able to sleep. When I
saw him, he had thin
white coating on his
tongue, and his pulse
was thin, yet taut and
fast. I diagnosed him
with anxiety disorder,
the liver congestion and
heart and gallbladder
deficiency type.
He
continued TCM treatment
by using Chinese
medicine and acupuncture
all the way up to
November 2013, and we
started tapering off his
treatment frequency, as
he was very stable. He
completed all treatments
in October 2014. He has
not had any relapse.
It is common for
patients to experience
relapses during the
initial period of
treatment. For that
reason, you should
always follow your
doctor’s advice. Do not
discontinue treatment
halfway, or reduce the
dosage of medication. It
typically requires one
to two years of
continued treatment to
stabilize anxiety
disorder.
Return
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Article contributed by:
Senior Physician Jiang
Xue Feng
Ma Kuang Healthcare
Group
Dated: November 2016
Please click
here
for Chinese version of this article.
|
Ma Kuang
Healthcare
Group is
one of the
leading
healthcare
groups in
holistic
Traditional
Chinese
Medicine (TCM)
products and
services in
Singapore.
Founded in
1999, Ma Kuang has
expanded
rapidly from
its first
TCM clinic
in Middle
Road to
today’s
largest
chain of TCM
clinics in
Singapore. |
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