Fall & Traditional Chinese Medicine

[Guest guest]

Enjoy,

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

Fall and Traditional

 

Fall. The air becomes a bit crisper, you can see and smell the

changing of the leaves... everything slows down, the days shorten,

and Halloween is just around the corner.

 

Traditional (TCM) offers practical advice for

adjusting to seasonal changes. One of the basic concepts in TCM is

the 5 Element Theory of correspondences. Each element has an

associated season, emotion, taste, organ...

 

The Season of Autumn is associated with the element Metal. The

emotional aspect is Grief. The predominant taste is Spicy. The

associated and most effected organ in Fall are the Lung and Large

Intestine and the most common external element is Dryness.

 

The Seasons, Stress, and Colds and Flus

 

Seasonal change, like any change, can cause stress. The main agent of

stress in TCM is Wind. Wind is said to be the " agent of 10,000

diseases, " (The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine). Wind

is understood to be not just the movement of air, but also, any

sudden change. TCM has known for thousands of years that stress can

cause sickness, and modern research has certainly proved this.

 

To combat stress, stay on a routine. To avoid colds and flus, keep

your immune system up, and cover your neck whenever outdoors. Stay

out of drafts, and avoid excessive air-conditioning. It is

interesting to note that a cold in the summer can be fidyl caused by

too much air-conditioning; this (a 'cold'cold) is considered an

'unseasonal pathogen' in TCM and is harder to treat than a

seasonal pathogen (e.g. a 'hot' cold in the summer).

 

Metal People

 

The character of metal is " sharp, retracting, and finishing. " People

can be metal; well-organized, strong boundaries, methodical,

principle-oriented, analytical, favoring order. They are the ideal

scientists. Emotionally, they can be distant. They tend to favor

intellect and reason over emotion.

 

Dryness

 

Dryness is a common problem in Autumn. Dryness can manifest as

constipation, dry throat, dry skin, dry eyes, dry brittle hair,

thirst, and lack of sweat. Most people do not drink enough fluids

regularly, let alone in the Autumn. Spicy food can cause or worsen

dryness. Watch out for getting stuck in the vicious cycle of craving

the same food that makes your symptoms worse!

 

Grief and Nostalgia

 

With Fall comes " gathering in, stocking up, mingled with a sense of

loss as the light begins to fade and the air chills, " (Between Heaven

and Earth, p.205). Grief is, of course, quite natural and appropriate

in many situations. But excessive and/or long-term grief can harm the

 

Lung system (a group of correspondences including but not limited to

the actual biomedical lungs), and likewise, people with Metal or Lung

problems can be frequent grievers, criers. And let's not forget that

more positive form of grief... nostalgia, tends to occur more in

the 'Fall' of our lives.