“Men”: A Common Mental-Emotional Symptom in Chinese Medicine

Emotion

“Men” is a common symptom in Chinese medicine. The Chinese character shows a door and a heart inside it. Thus, it would seem to indicate a heart constricted by a door closing on it. I translate this symptom as “a feeling of oppression of the chest”. Men is very difficult to translate and my translation … Read More

TCM Mirror Neurons: The Arena of Shen and Hun?

Emotion, Shen

In 1992 an Italian neurophysiologist in Parma was doing brain research using macaque monkeys. They were specifically researching an area of the brain called F5, located in the premotor cortex. Area F5 contains millions of neurons that specialize in coding for one specific motor behaviour: actions of the hand, including grasping, holding, tearing and, most … Read More

Chinese Medicine on Shame

Emotion

Since the previous Clinical Tip was about guilt as an emotional cause of disease, it makes sense to discuss now shame as an emotional cause of disease. I think that shame is as common as guilt in Western patients while it could be argued that Eastern societies are more prone to shame than guilt. Shame … Read More

Chinese Medicine on Guilt

Emotion

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God1 Romans 3.23 In the previous Clinical Tip I discussed sadness and grief deriving from loss as a pervasive emotion in Western patients. In this Clinical Tip, I discuss another common emotional cause of disease in Western patients, i.e. guilt. Guilt is a pervasive … Read More