tldr: Our mental health can be affected by deficiency of blood and/or qi because such imbalances or insufficient energy will have a detrimental effect on our body and mind so it is good to be aware of our body conditions to boost our physical and mental health
For the record, I’m not talking about vitamin deficiency, rather I am sharing about blood deficiency and qi deficiency under TCM
And hopefully I am able to share in a simple and easy to understand manner because boy, is this a chunk of a topic
This is beyond what I previously shared about TCM thus far
I shared about the relationship between our organs and our emotions, which can manifest as mental health issues and physical illnesses
Thus connecting the dots between TCM and mental health
And I also shared how the basic TCM conditions such as heat, cold, wind etc can not only affect our physical health, but our mental health too
Of course, we tie both those articles up into tongue diagnosis, and being able to understand what our body is highlighting to us
And yet, to be fair, I didn’t touch too much on blood and qi, or yin and yang
Ok maybe I did share some stuff on qi, and there is a bit of touch and go with the respective organs on which is yin and yang
But that’s about it really
Even I myself am feeling stuck on how to proceed to share about this
Hey, maybe you can share this with someone if you want their brain to explode
HAHAHA I’m kidding I’m kidding~
But yin and yang is a big chunk for another day so let’s talk about blood and qi first
What is Blood Deficiency and Blood Stasis?
I’ll share about blood first cause it’s easy to see, we know it’s inside us etc
You probably already know that our blood affects and helps us in many things
Besides needing enough blood to complete functions, it also aids with transportation of oxygen and carbon dioxide, food, water, waste and aids our immune system like bringing platelets to open wounds to close it up
Simply put, our blood is to nourish and moisturize our body
And this also means that it can affect or be affected by different organs respectively
For example, one of the functions of the spleen is to keep the blood within the blood vessels, so if one were to bruise easily, one’s spleen might have some issue
In fact, I wonder if that might contribute to frequent nosebleeds as well?
While the liver is to store and cleanse the blood when we are sleeping, so if we are not sleeping properly, toxins may not be properly cleanse
Which may, in turn, have potential various effects like clogging up blood vessels, or maybe even increasing blood pressure
Essentially, if any organ is having slight dysfunction, it can affect the blood and thus also potentially show in our physical health, or even our tongue
Having a basic understanding of tongue diagnosis can help a lot
For example, if you can see some bruising on the tip of the tongue which represents the heart
That is indicative that there might be some issue with the heart
And thus can consider taking certain foods to help the heart (which is helpful though it might seem complex too)
Or even look into exercise, to drink more water and so on
TCM seems a bit complicated
But bear with me ok!?
A blood deficiency just means that there is a lack of blood, or having anemia which can be observed as a pale tongue
Whereas blood stasis essentially means poor blood circulation and can be observed as a purplish tongue or even signs of bruising on the tongue
Now of course, if one has blood deficiency, there might not be enough nutrients reaching to all the organs and the brain, and thus, might cause dizziness, fatigue, or even becoming forgetful
On top of that, the heart might pump harder to reach all the organs due to the lack of blood, and we might attribute increased palpitations as a result of fear or anxiety
However, with blood stasis or poor blood circulation, one might find that there are aches and pains due to the blood unable to move properly
Naturally, this can also mean nutrients are not able to reach throughout the body properly and thus, might be fatigued too
The person might feel lethargic, and attribute it to depression, because the body might feel heavy
Or if one is getting all sorts of “strange” illnesses and feel moody due to unexplained illnesses
For loss of blood or blood deficiency, one will need to take food that can replenish blood
While for blood stasis or poor blood circulation, one can take food that increase circulation of qi and blood
Now I believe you can see how our blood can affect our mental health so let’s look at qi next
What is Qi Deficiency and Qi Stagnation?
Qi~ I don’t know if you might understand cause we cannot see qi ahahah
Think of qi as an energy or our life force
In fact, qi has so many functions I don’t even want to write them down T_T
It is probably better for you to attend the same online TCM course on Coursera I did if you are really interested to learn about qi and TCM
Anyway, I just want to highlight a couple of things about qi
Qi and blood are interlinked, such that qi directs the blood and blood provides nutrients to qi
So if you have qi deficiency, you likely have blood deficiency or blood stagnation
Essentially, one affects the other
One function of qi is that it provides a protective barrier, thus acting as the immune system
And another is that it has a warming function, assisting with temperature regulation
In case you are wondering, yes, qi is considered yang while blood is considered yin
Anyway, the complexity arises again since similar to blood, each organ can have its own qi as well
Using sleeping late again, the liver might also cause ascending qi, which rises and can cause dizziness or headaches, as well as causing anger and irritation
Whereas spleen qi deficiency might affect digestion and also produce dampness, which can lead to anxiety and depression
Naturally since qi can be considered our energy or life force, or even our protective immune system
If we have qi deficiency or qi stagnation, it can affect our mood and ability to function throughout the day
And also how prone we fall to sickness, which can indirectly affect our mental state as well
Our Blood and Qi affect our health
Now that we got a better understanding of blood and qi, we can see how they can affect our health
Both physical and mental health of course
Since blood is nutrient provider of qi, with insufficient blood, we won’t have enough qi as well
Both will be in deficiency, and besides how it can affect our organs, it can affect our mind too
Not enough nutrients can impact the brain and the mental capacity
In the worse case scenario, we will get whacked with both physical and mental ailments!
Thus, proper rest, nutrition, and lifestyle is crucial
While food is one thing we can look into, I want to point to something else
Our lifestyle, or harsh working environment can impact us in more ways than we thought
You probably already know it may affect what you eat, when you eat
And stress is another thing to look into as well
So if I can suggest something to you
A mindset shift
That work isn’t that important…
Not that you totally skip on work!
Rather you give yourself the permission to rest when necessary
Work will always be there regardless
Give yourself proper rest and recovery time
And hopefully, this balances your blood and qi to tackle work for another while longer~
