The things people say

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In TCM it is vitally importantly that one listens to what the client has to

say. This is vitally important in all systems of healing, but TCM

recognizes how critical it is. The weakest link in any healing system is

always analysis/ diagnosis. Proper treatment depends on the proper analysis

of the underlying root.

 

TCM healers not only listen to what clients say, they listen and observe the

way clients say thing. For example, if speech is rapid, this suggests a

problem with Heat. Heat speeds things up (the speech, the pulse, the body

movements). If the speech is slow, this suggests a problem with Cold

because Cold slows things down (the speech, the pulse, the movements).

 

There will be variations based on other factors. For example, in the U.S.,

people raised in the North, in particular in New York City will tend to

speak a lot more rapidly than people raised in the South. These are

regional differences that need to be taken into account. But in general,

when things are speeded up (speech, pulse, movements) suspect and rule in or

rule out a Heat problem. When things are slowed, suspect and rule in or

rule out a Cold problem. (One important exception to Cold slowing things

down is that well-conditioned athletes will have slower than normal pulses.)

 

The loudness and the force of the voice tends to be important clues too

though not as exact as the fast-slow thing indicating possible Heat-Cold

problems. In general, loud voices and a forceful manner of speaking will

point to Excess conditions (problems caused by there being too much of

something). In general, a low, quiet voice and a lack of forcefulness in

speaking (or moving) will point to Deficiency conditions (problems caused by

there not being enough of something). I say " in general " because there are a

lot of exceptions to this one. For example, a person with severe Excess

Cold problems probably won't be very loud or very forceful.

 

One area of Western medicine that is all but neglected is that people with a

given medical condition will tend to say certain things which are typical of

that condition. For example, some of the typical comments made by a person

with CFIDS are " exercise makes me sicker, alcohal makes me feel worse, I

have to rest up for special activities and then rest up afterwards to

recover, I never know how I'm going to feel from day to day or hour to hour

or even minute to minute, " etc. Diabetics may talk about " nervous energy " ,

and may make comments like " I feel like I have to keep busy and do

something, but I'm too tired to be keeping busy. " (BTW, this is a comment

that also is typical of Yin Deficiency. Yin Deficiency frequently is a

factor in diabetes, BUT Yin Deficiency doesn't always manifest as diabetes.

Yin Deficiency may be marked by both agitation and fatigue. As far as I

know it's the only TCM syndrome which is marked by both fatigue and

agitation. There are a lot of TCM syndromes that can manifest as fatigue,

and there are several which can manifest as agitation, but Yin Deficiency is

the one which can manifest as both agitation and fatigue. So when you hear

someone talk about having " nervous energy " even though they're tired,

automatically consider the possibility of Yin Deficiency and rule in or rule

out. You'll need to rule in/ rule out because it also is possible that a

person may be suffering from more than one TCM syndrome - one that accounts

for fatigue and another that manifests as agitation.)

 

What I'm talking about here goes beyond the usual noting of symptom profiles

in Western medicine (i.e., fatigue, thrist, increased urination, etc). It

involves learning to watch out for specific comments (as well as manner of

saying things things) that people with a specific problem typically will

say.

 

Western doctors used to pay a lot more attention to learning typical

comments than they do today. This practice has all but died out in Western

medicine. However, it never died out in TCM and has remained a mainstay of

analysis in TCM. In TCM, typical comments frequently are listed in the

profiles for TCM syndromes.

 

One of the most well-known of the typical comments in TCM is " plum pit in

the throat. " People in cultures beside China may talk about a feeling of a

" stone in the throat " . People in the U.S. may talk about " having a lump in

the throat " . The central idea in these descriptions is the feeling of an

obstruction in the throat. This points very, very strongly to Liver Qi

Stagnation. So when you hear someone talk about a plum pit, a stone, a lump,

or some other obstruction in the throat (when there is no actual obstruction

like a tumor in the throat), automatically think about the possibility of

Liver Qi Stagnation and rule in or rule out.)

 

The feeling of an obstruction in the throat (when there's not an actual

physical obstruction) is very, very suggestive of Liver Qi Stagnation in

particular. However, there are other comments that can suggest Qi

Stagnation in general. For example, if a person comes in and complains of

feeling " tight " or " things needing to loosen up " or " things not moving very

smoothly " , suspect Qi Stagnation problems. Note: Some people with Qi

Stagnation problems will actually report after taking herbs to move Qi or

after acupuncture or after starting Qi Gong exercises that " it feels like

things are loosening up on the inside " . They may also talk about feeling

more relaxed.

 

If someone talks about hating winter, automatically consider the possibility

of Cold problems. It may be an abnormal sensitivity to Exterior Cold

invading to the Interior or Deficiency Cold (Yang Deficiency - not enough

Yang energy in the body to warm the body properly). If someone talks about

hating the summer and having more problems in the summer than at other times

of the year, automatically consider Heat problems.

 

There are a lot of typical comments that one will hear in TCM. I encourage

readers to post these here. There are a lot of people on this list who want

to learn about TCM. They range from people new to TCM to students to

professionals. So please share.

 

Victoria

 

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