Anxiety according to Chinese Medicine

In Chinese Medicine, anxiety is sometimes associated with Heart and Spleen Deficiency, a so-called "patterns of disharmony". Chinese Medicine sees the body as a system, not a sum of isolated parts. A "pattern" is when the system's harmony is disrupted. It is not equivalent to the Western concept of "disease" because both concepts arise from totally different ways of seeing the human body.

To understand whether someone's anxiety might be caused by the pattern Heart and Spleen Deficiency, one needs to look for signs and symptoms associated with the pattern beyond what one might typically experience from anxiety alone. Indeed if anxiety is caused by Heart and Spleen Deficiency, patients also experience symptoms such as forgetfulness, palpitations, insomnia and fatigue. Similarly, patients with Heart and Spleen Deficiency typically exhibit fine (Xi) pulses as well as a pale tongue with thin white coating.

We've listed below a more detailed description of Heart and Spleen Deficiency so that you can have a better understanding of where anxiety might find its root according to Chinese Medicine.

Once identified, patterns are often treated using herbal formulas. Drinking herbal infusions is the most common remedy in Chinese Medicine, together with acupuncture. Here we detail below four formulas that can help treat Heart and Spleen Deficiency.

Heart and Spleen Deficiency, a "pattern of disharmony" associated with anxiety

The four herbal formulas that might help with anxiety