Deficiency and Excess

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Of the Eight Principal Patterns - Hot, Cold, Exerior, Interior, Excess,

Deficiency, Yang, and Yin - the two that often give beginners the most problems

is the concept of Deficiency and Excess.

 

In brief, Excess means the person has a problem because of too much of

something, and Deficiency means the person has a problem because there's too

little of something. A good example is you accidently lock yourself outside the

house on the coldest night of the year, and you're only wearing your pajamas and

bedroom shoes. That's Excess Cold. There's too much cold. It quickly overwhelms

the thin pajamas you're wearing. With that much cold, you'd feel it and be

adversely affected by it even if you were wearing many layers of clothes.

 

Now consider a person who has a Deficiency of Yang energy. One of the symptoms

of this is the person feels cold practically all the time. Even when others feel

just the right temperature or even too hot, this person is freezing. In this

case the person is cold because there is not enough Yang energy. This is

Deficiency Cold. Its cause lies in there not being enough Yang energy.

 

Now let's look at some Heat disorders. In one example the person has a massive

infection. Another person has a blockage of energy in the Liver meridian and

it's " overheating " . Another is too hot because s/he's been out in the sun too

long. Still another feels hot because s/he ate a lot of spicy foods. These are

all examples of Excess Heat. The heat is being caused because there is too much

of something. In the first example, too much infection overwhelming the body, in

the second because of a blockage (like heat building up in a pressure cooker),

in the third case because of too much sun and external heat, and in the fourth

case because the person has consumed too many herbs or foods with Warm or Hot

energy. Excess Heat.

 

Now let's look at a person who lacks enough Yin energy. One symptom of Yin

Deficiency is that the person will feel too hot. In this case the heat is being

caused by there not being enough Yin. Deficiency Heat. A person not drinking

enough liquids also can trigger Deficiency Heat. Not enough fluids in the body.

 

Roger Wicke, Ph.D., in his first text gives these general guidelines for Excess

and Deficiency: In Excess the person may use " energy forcibly, the breathing is

heavy and rasping, pressure and touch tend to aggravate any discomfort or pain,

movements are forceful and sometimes violent, speech is loud, the person is

outgoing and perhaps aggressive, the tongue coating is thick, and the pulse

strong. " (p. 54)

 

There are exceptions to this, but this is the general tendency. I also want to

call your attention to the part about " pressure and touch tend to aggravate any

discomfort or pain " . Later on this can be an a very key diagnostic criteria.

 

In contrast, the symptoms of Deficiency tend to be " fatigue, tendency to

perspire more easily, breathing is shallow with shortness of breath, pressure

and touch tend to relieve any discomfort or pain, movements are weak, speaks

with a quiet voice, passive appearance and behavior, very thin tongue coating,

and the pulse is weak. " (p. 54)

 

Again, these are general comments and there are exceptions. But, whenever

fatigue is present, think Deficiency of something. It can be Qi (energy)

Deficiency, Blood Deficiency (like anemia), or even fluid deficiency, but

there's not enough of something. There can be other causes of Fatigue - like

what the Chinese call Fatigue of Excess which is fatigue which results from

overdoing. But in general, think Deficiency when you encounter cases where

long-standing fatigue is a significant symptom. The odds are in favor of it

being Deficiency unless there are a lot of indications to the contrary.

 

The part about " tendency to perspire more easily " is also a good one to keep in

mind. Again, this is general and there are other causes of perspiration (Excess

causes) and in some long term deficiency states the person will quit perspiring

at all. But in general, this is a fairly good indication of Deficiency,

especially Qi Deficiency if fatigue is also present. The mechanism is that the

Protective Qi is not strong enough to control the proper opening and closing of

the pores.

 

That part about " pressure and touch tend to relieve any discomfort or pain " is

also a good indicator, perhaps the least general of the 3.

 

One thing I've learned is that in cases of breathing problems, if exhalation is

harder to perform or equal to inhalation, it's generally an Excess condition

underlying the problem. If the person has more problems breathing in

(inhalation) than breathing out, it's generally a Deficiency problem.

 

It is very, very common for people to suffer from both Excess and Deficiency

problems at the same time. For example, Kidney or Spleen Yang energy may be

Deficient, but there is Excess in the Stomach or Large Intestine or Small

Intestine. The person has practically all the symptoms of Deficiency except when

you gently press on their abdomen, it makes the pain worse. Remember, touch or

pressure makes for discomfort in an Excess condition, it relieves Deficiency.

The person is suffering from Kidney (or Spleen) Yang Deficiency AND Excess in

the Stomach (or Large Intestine or Small Intestine). If you treat just the Yang

Deficiency, the person is still going to be suffering from the Excess in the

Stomach.

 

Phlegm, Qi Stagnation, and Blood Stasis problems automatically are classified as

Excess conditions even though the original cause may be Deficiency. In TCM it's

recognized that things are always changing and that at the extreme, something

can change into its opposite. Extreme Yin can become Yang, extreme Yang can

become Yin, extreme Cold can become Heat or Fire, and Deficiency can become

Excess as well as Excess becoming Deficiency. A good example of this is a case

where there is Excess Heat in the Stomach due to wrong diet or infection. In

time, if this is not treated, the Heat damages the Yin of the Stomach. The

person then suffers from Yin Deficiency even though the original cause was

Excess. Excess becomes Deficiency. In the case of Deficiency Qi, especially

Deficient Protective Qi, the person lacks resistence to Wind Cold and the

Protective Qi is not strong enough to control properly the opening and closing

of the pores. The infection becomes trapped in the lungs. The Wind Cold because

of being trapped becomes Fire. Deficiency has become Excess.

 

In general, hypo glandular states are considered Deficiency symptoms and hyper

glandular states are considered symptoms of Excess.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

 

 

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