In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Five Elements are used to describe the balance in the body, mind and emotions. This system is very useful to assist in planning the progress of recovery in emotional health. The arrows demonstrate a creation cycle where one element assists the health of the next. The dotted lines show injurious flow.

Non-Balanced examples:
#1 Unresolved Grief. Grief falls under the category of Metal, related to the Lung and if repressed can lead to stagnation of the Metal element that does not feed Water and overflows pressure to stop the “growth” of Wood. This person would demonstrate fatigue and limited growth in life.

#2 Anger. Anger falls into the category of Wood, related to the Liver and if repressed can lead to depression of Fire (no joy) if overly expressed it would flare-up Fire or overflow to Earth increasing anxiety. In Chinese Medicine, Emotional and Mental Health are closely related to physical health of all systems. A person with adrenal fatigue is given treatments to increase vitality therefore decreasing depression of Wood, and another might be given treatments to release anger through acupuncture to decrease the negative effects on Earth Element. For further reading, Between Heaven and Earth, A guide to Chinese Medicine.

At Wisdom Traditions we provide close communication between our Acupuncturists and Community Referrals to enhance clients emotional and behavioral health through the exquisite system of Chinese Medicine.