“In all aspects of our lives balance is key. Doing one thing too much can cause upset, like the old saying goes, everything in moderation is the secret!”
Catherine Pulsifer, Balance of Life
Understanding the Breakdown of Deficiency and Excess:
Throughout this blog under the “pick your struggle” section I will be discussing each dis-ease or symptom from different perspectives. Primarily I will be focusing on easy ways to recognize if your personal symptom is primarily caused by deficiency or excess and the best ways to help your body through the current phase so you can move closer to a state of thriving.
What you are going to learn on this page is the basic breakdown of deficiency and excess which can be used as a reference point for all future “pick your struggle” posts. Chinese Medicine diagnoses all dis-eases and symptoms as being caused by a specific type of deficiency and/or a specific type of excess with each specific type needing a custom tailored treatment (that you will be taught in the “pick your struggle.”)
Why is This Important for You to Know?
The primary reasons you will benefit from learning this basic breakdown are that:
- Each name of excess gives you a HUGE hint as to what symptoms it is contributing to, what type of food furthers the dis-ease, and what lifestyle choices you are making that are preventing you from healing. (Examples are given in all the “pick your struggle” posts.)
- It makes all the future posts you will want to read on your specific dis-ease or symptom much shorter and easier to understand.
The Specific Types of Deficiency:
- Qi or Energy
- The resource needed for all physiological functions in the body, it is the “motive force” behind every action in the body. In other words; Qi is what causes the body to function, a few examples follow.
- Breathing
- Digesting
- Moving
- The resource needed for all physiological functions in the body, it is the “motive force” behind every action in the body. In other words; Qi is what causes the body to function, a few examples follow.
- Blood
- The primary resource that nourishes and strengthens the body, it can be thought of as being similar to nutrients. In other words, Blood is the store of and circulation of nutrients throughout the body. It is created by the act of digestion (caused by Qi) + the food that you eat.
- Yin
- A broad term used to describe ALL of the cooling, calming, physical substances in the ENTIRE body. Everything in Chinese Medicine boils down to yin or yang with yin being the physical, measurable parts of the body and yang being the functional abilities and capabilities of the body. In other words; if you can physical touch it then it is “thing of yin.” (note that Blood a sub-category of yin)
- Yang
- A broad term used to describe ALL of the warming, moving, dynamic functional abilities and capabilities of the body. In other words; if you can observe it but cannot touch it then it is a “thing of yang.” (note that Qi is a sub-category of yang)
The Specific Types of Excess:
The best way to understand these are to think of them as types of “toxins” or “waste products” from normal processes in the body. Every action in the body creates a “waste product” of some type as a normal side effect of its normal functioning, much like the pollution created by burning gas to move a car or the needed bowel movement after digesting a meal.
- Damp or Fluid
- A pathological accumulation of too much fluid in the body. A few examples follow.
- Swelling/Edema such as in the legs
- A feeling of heavyness in the muscles often brought on by the flu
- The fluid that is coughed up or thrown up (phlegm and vomit.)
- A pathological accumulation of too much fluid in the body. A few examples follow.
- Heat
- An accumulation of too much heat in the body. A few examples follow.
- Feeling too hot in general
- Redness in the face or cheeks
- Thirst
- Dry mouth
- An accumulation of too much heat in the body. A few examples follow.
- Cold
- An accumulation of too much cold in the body. A few examples follow.
- Pain in the body that increases in cold weather
- Intense dull cramping pain often associated with food poisoning or menstration
- Feeling too cold in general such as cold hands and feet
- An accumulation of too much cold in the body. A few examples follow.
- Wind
- A type of “waste product” or “toxin” that triggers sudden changes in the body or uncontrolled movements of the body. A few examples follow.
- Always present with cold and flu symptoms. It is the “carrier” of the “virus.”
- Pain that quickly changes in the body such as a suddenly stiff neck that came on overnight
- The tremors and loss of motor control seen in Parkinsons disease or Multiple Sclerosis.
- A type of “waste product” or “toxin” that triggers sudden changes in the body or uncontrolled movements of the body. A few examples follow.
Up Next: An Example of “Heart Disease” With 2 Causes