This pattern represents a physical reaction to excess stress, anger, frustration and long periods of depression. It is caused by emotional tension, from doing many projects at the same time or constant forced decision-making, that pushes the person over the top. Too much thinking causes heart fire and symptoms….

This pattern is affiliated with bipolar disorder, alternating between manic (crazy laughter, over confidence, shouting) and depression (dullness, confusion, muttering to oneself). The initial stage is wild behaviour or over excitement that eventually develops into mental symptoms. This pattern is caused by severe emotional problems and depression that harms…

This pattern is caused by emotional hyperactivity or chronic emotional problems which have a ‘heating’ nature. Behaviours include a relentless drive to work on several projects at once, mental restlessness, and the need to keep pushing hard in every direction and using up vast amounts of energy (many artists…

This pattern is a drying of the lungs and is connected to a deficiency of bodily fluids. Lungs and kidneys work together to provide vitality and strength, but also a calm mind and mental health. So lung yin deficiency can develop into lifestyle diseases such as dementia, obesity, type…

This pattern is the common cold. In Chinese medicine it is due weakness of the body’s chi in relation to pathogenic factors such as exposure to wind and cold. This pattern can also be caused by too-cold air-conditioning weakening the body’s chi; or activities such as working out inside…

This pattern is caused by exposure to climatic wind and heat, but also by central heating or other artificial sources of heat in workplaces such as kitchens or foundries. Symptoms: Cough, fever, aversion to cold, sore throat, stuffed or runny nose with yellow mucus, headache, body aches, slight sweating,…

The lifestyle factors contributing to this pattern include high stress levels and worry over finance or deadlines; constant pressure, overwork, an unhealthy diet, and sleep deprivation. This affects the spleen’s ability to transform and transport fluids which then forms phlegm. As your spleen is a major organ involved in…

The factors that cause this pattern are stress, relentless pressure and overwork in combination with unhealthy compensatory behaviours, such as smoking for stress management or high-pressure business lunches with excessive consumption of hot (this is an energetic quality not actual temperature), spicy and greasy foods. These affect the spleen’s…

This pattern is common in middle-aged and older people. It is a chronic condition of phlegm in the lungs caused by over-exertion and poor diet over a long period of time which has impaired the spleen’s function of transforming and transporting fluids. In TCM the spleen produces phlegm and…

This pattern is affiliated with ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory disorder of the colonic mucosa and is caused by overconsumption of hot (this is an energetic quality not food temperature) and greasy foods, or chronic sadness and anxiety. If these causes are combined, the pattern is worse. These factors…