Anxiety & Eastern Medicine

Understanding Anxiety Through the Lens of Eastern Medicine

Anxiety is one of the more common symptoms clients will bring up to me in our sessions. The demands of modern life leave little room in our to do lists for just existing without the pressure to achieve something. According to StatCan, in 2022, 18% of Canadians fit the diagnostic criteria for mood, anxiety, or substance abuse disorders. Young women especially saw an increase in symptoms, with the amount of young women experiencing social anxiety quadrupling over a 10 year period from 2002 to 2022. This information can feel overwhelming, as anxiety often is. Fortunately, we can turn to time tested treatments that eastern medicine provides.

Anxiety is not a new phenomenon. It may comfort some to know that humans have been anxious since we could recognize our feelings as distinct from one another. In Eastern medicine, there are many names for it and many ways of describing the pathology and presentation.

One term that can encompass some peoples experience of anxiety is, "running piglet qi". In the Jing Gui Yao Lue (Essential Prescriptions from the Golden Cabinet), running piglet qi is described as palpitations, a rushing sensation to the throat, and a sense of impending doom. This text was written two millennia ago, and we still have the same emotional experience today, but now we tend to call this a "panic attack".

During my assessments with clients, I ask many questions about mood and anxiety. People are often caught off guard by questions such as, "How do you process stress and anxiety? Is it something you process in a way that feels complete in the moment or do you find yourself putting it off for later?". It's also important to ask questions about how someone's anxiety presents itself. The definition seems to be wholly individual, with some reporting symptoms of tightness in the throat or chest, overthinking, and worry about the future but not defining it as anxiety. As a practioner, it's important to listen deeply to the clients experience as slight distinctions can affect how I choose a treatment plan.

Of course the classic foundation of diagnosis, checking the tongue and pulse, also guide treatment plans. These systems of diagnosis can reveal much about the inner workings of the mind and body. Often I can see if the client is experiencing nightmares on the tongue, or can feel specific emotions such as grief and anger in the pulse. This diagnostic information also impacts point selection and treatment plans.

Your presentation of anxiety will be individual to you, and therefore can include a number of Eastern medicine diagnoses. Within the realm of acupuncture, various disease manifestations and vital signs were labeled under symptom umbrellas we refer to as patterns. Patterns can be deficiency based, like qi, yin, yang or blood deficiency; or excess based like heat, cold, or damp. They can affect specific channels, like the heart, kidney or liver channel. Perhaps your experience of anxiety include palpitations, so the heart channel may be affected. Maybe digestive symptoms and overthinking coincide with your experiences, so we can look to the spleen or stomach channels for treatment. Does insomnia factor in? Your diagnosis may include yin or blood deficiency. Once a pattern is established, points are selected and your treatment plan is created. A functional treatment plan will also include homework, things you can do between treatments to help shift these patterns such as specific exercises or food recommendations.

This is a brief overview of some of the inner workings of Eastern medicine and its connection to anxiety. If you have questions about your individual symptom presentation, we are happy to provide a complementary consultation. Anxiety is an ancient emotion, fortunately we have time honoured ways of addressing it.

In wellness,
Elijah Miley R.Ac