WELCOME!
My fellow acupuncturists and I
are glad you're here. In the USA everybody knows that
acupuncture is a method of health care that involves sticking
needles in the patient; usually for back pain or headaches. And
everybody has a brother or a sister-in-law or a friend of a
friend who's had acupuncture. But Traditional Chinese Medicine
can do so much more.
Its a system of medicine that treats the entire range of human illness and offers many tools for self-care. It is...a treasure. All people should receive it's benefits but if you don't know a thing exists you certainly can't give it a try. That's why we're glad you came. The Chinese Medicine Sampler is here to inform people about Traditional Chinese Medicine and how it can heal, and mitigate and relieve suffering.
Its a system of medicine that treats the entire range of human illness and offers many tools for self-care. It is...a treasure. All people should receive it's benefits but if you don't know a thing exists you certainly can't give it a try. That's why we're glad you came. The Chinese Medicine Sampler is here to inform people about Traditional Chinese Medicine and how it can heal, and mitigate and relieve suffering.
Question:
What's the Best Chinese Herb for Depression?
Answer: We need to rephrase the question and here's why. There are quite a number of herbs commonly used to treat depression and selection from them is determined entirely by the TCM diagnosis. An NIH study of acupuncture and depression at the University of Arizona included over 10 diagnoses. At a minimum there would be one herb for each diagnosis. But each of these diagnoses manifest differently from person to person. Using 10 for the sake of our discussion narrows our group of candidates for best herb to 10. Unfortunately the number of candidates increases in the clinic for two reasons. People vary infinitely and our 10 diagnoses interact with each other.
For example, the Liver harmonizes the flow of Qi (one hopes) throughout the body. Below par Liver function can affect anything from head to toe. Five people with Liver Qi Stagnation may come to the clinic for five different reasons. One has a headache, another has a hair trigger
temper, the next becomes listless and
sad 2 days before her period, the fourth has very tight pulling
pain in the shoulders that is better with movement but makes it
hard to move, the last person is always mildly constipated
and can only go after coffee and a cigarette.
Formulas for these folks will have only one or perhaps two herbs
in common. Each formula will have several more herbs
directed at the specific problems of each person. Assuming
five variations of Liver Qi Stagnation, 1 king herb and 4 herbs
for each formula we get 5 kings + 16 minister/assistant herbs =
21 herbs. So which formula is the best for my depression?
Well...It gets more complicated yet. As the patient
changes in the course of treatment herbs are added or subtracted
and proportions may also be changed.
So, the question that gets a single answer is "Which combination of Chinese herbs is best for my depression at this point in time?" SEE ALSO Herbal Medicine Design
QUESTIONS TOPIC REQUESTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE ALL WELCOME Answering all requests is beyond our time capabilities. But the most frequently asked questions will be answered in Q & A or addressed in featured articles. EMAIL US
Answer: We need to rephrase the question and here's why. There are quite a number of herbs commonly used to treat depression and selection from them is determined entirely by the TCM diagnosis. An NIH study of acupuncture and depression at the University of Arizona included over 10 diagnoses. At a minimum there would be one herb for each diagnosis. But each of these diagnoses manifest differently from person to person. Using 10 for the sake of our discussion narrows our group of candidates for best herb to 10. Unfortunately the number of candidates increases in the clinic for two reasons. People vary infinitely and our 10 diagnoses interact with each other.
For example, the Liver harmonizes the flow of Qi (one hopes) throughout the body. Below par Liver function can affect anything from head to toe. Five people with Liver Qi Stagnation may come to the clinic for five different reasons. One has a headache, another has a hair trigger
temper, the next becomes listless and
sad 2 days before her period, the fourth has very tight pulling
pain in the shoulders that is better with movement but makes it
hard to move, the last person is always mildly constipated
and can only go after coffee and a cigarette.
Formulas for these folks will have only one or perhaps two herbs
in common. Each formula will have several more herbs
directed at the specific problems of each person. Assuming
five variations of Liver Qi Stagnation, 1 king herb and 4 herbs
for each formula we get 5 kings + 16 minister/assistant herbs =
21 herbs. So which formula is the best for my depression?
Well...It gets more complicated yet. As the patient
changes in the course of treatment herbs are added or subtracted
and proportions may also be changed.
So, the question that gets a single answer is "Which combination of Chinese herbs is best for my depression at this point in time?" SEE ALSO Herbal Medicine Design
QUESTIONS TOPIC REQUESTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE ALL WELCOME Answering all requests is beyond our time capabilities. But the most frequently asked questions will be answered in Q & A or addressed in featured articles. EMAIL US
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