Yin Personality and Depression Are Good Clues For Applying The Herb
By Hyunchang Cho, L.Ac., Ph.D ([email protected])
|
Zhi Shi: Symptom Indicator Score ++, Frequency of Use ++ Abdominal Symptoms
Chest Symptoms
CAPE ⑤ Yin Personality ⑥ Depression is the main emotion |
- Pharmacological Hypothesis of Zhi Shi
|
|
||||||
|
↓ |
↓ |
↓ |
|||||
|
Chest Cavity |
Abdominal Cavity |
||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
↓ |
↓ |
||||||
|
|
↓ |
|||||
|
↓ |
↓ |
||||||
|
|
|
|||||
1) Zhi Shi’s chest fullness and pain are caused by circulatory dysfunction of the chest due to myocardial relaxation and decreased cardiac output. Zhi Shi can treat such symptoms by contracting the myocardium and promoting cardiac output, enhancing thoracic circulation.
2) Zhi Shi’s stomach fullness, pain, mild indigestion, constipation, and such are caused by food stagnation due to decreased contractility and motility of the intestinal smooth muscles. Zhi Shi can treat such symptoms by increasing contractility and motility of the intestinal smooth muscles.
3) Zhi Shi contains synephrine, a natural antidepressant that can offer a pharmacological explanation for Zhi Shi’s clinical signs of Yin Personality and emotions of depression, social disconnection, sadness, and such. In clinical practice, Zhi Shi can treat various mental disorders that manifest depression as the main emotion.
- Clinical Signs of Zhi Shi
(1) Stomach Symptoms
|
Stomach symptoms of Zhi Shi seem to be caused by ‘decreased vagus nerve functions → decreased contractile movement of the intestines → retention of food in the intestines’.
(1) This will cause stomach gas retention, bloating, discomfort, and sometimes pain. It explains why Zhi Shi patients tend to dislike tight clothes or belts.
(2) Retention of food in the intestines can cause mild indigestion as this is more indigestion induced by stress rather than overeating.
(3) Zhi Shi’s symptoms are caused by decreased contractile movement of the GI tract, leading to constipation, as the bowel cannot push out the feces. Zhi Shi’s constipation must be discerned from Da Huang’s constipation which is accompanied by stomach fullness and mental discomfort
(2) Chest Symptoms
|
Zhi Shi’s chest discomfort seems to be caused by decreased vagus nerve function leading to the decreased circulation of the chest.
Zhi Shi can treat chest discomforts such as chest fullness and pain. Chest fullness is tightness of the chest. Chest pain refers to chest discomfort of the cardiac origin. Chest pain (of Zhi Shi) means obstruction of the chest. Patients complain of chest fullness, discomfort, a sense of obstruction, and in severe cases, pain.
|
Clinical Expressions
|
(3) CAPE
*Zhi Shi patients are Yin-natured, and in terms of emotions, they usually appear depressed.
Zhi Shi patients are Yin-natured people who tend to be down-to-earth, static, weak-willed, and gloomy, who speak softly and slowly. We also get the impression that they are mild-tempered, keeping to themselves, quiet, unexpressive, elusive, solitary, dependent, calm, gentle, tender, low-spirited, oppressed, and such.
The main emotion of Zhi Shi is depression. Patients will say that they are often emotionally down, devoid of positive emotions such as joy or happiness, and we can observe such emotions/behaviors of melancholy, seclusion, evasion, passiveness, and lethargy in clinical practice.
(4) Tendency
|
