Depression

Depression is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days.  Most people go through periods of feeling down, but when depressed they feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days.  Depression is deemed a real illness with real symptoms: it isn't a sign of weakness or something you can "snap out of" by "pulling yourself together".

Depression affects people in different ways and can cause a wide variety of symptoms.

They range from lasting feelings of unhappiness and hopelessness, to losing interest in the things they used to enjoy and feeling very tearful. Many people with depression also have the symptoms of anxiety. There can be physical symptoms too, such as feeling constantly tired, sleeping badly, having no appetite or sex drive, and various aches and pains.

The symptoms of depression range from mild to severe. At its mildest, you may simply feel persistently low in spirit, while severe depression can make you feel suicidal, that life is no longer worth living.  There are different types of depression, and some conditions where depression may be one of the symptoms. These include: post natal depression, bi-polar disorder, and seasonally affected disorder (SAD)

It can be difficult to distinguish between grief and depression. They share many of the same characteristics, but there are important differences between them.  Grief is an entirely natural response to a loss, while depression is an illness.  

Five Element Acupuncture views depression as a symptom of a wider imbalance. Disease is caused by the interaction between the internal conditions of a person and the external world.  When someone is subjected to continual excess of any internal or external factor then this causes an imbalance of the Qi energy and disease symptoms will appear in the body, mind or spirit.  By treating the imbalance of the energy as it flows through the 12 meridians a person can be restored to harmony and balance. 

Ancient Chinese philosophy deemed that life had to be lived in accordance with the principles of Nature, always moving and flowing, from day to night, from activity to rest, from joy to sadness, from yang to yin.  This flow unimpeded would bring fulfilment, happiness and health to the body, mind and spirit.  The Chinese saw that it was pointless to become too attached or to struggle for something which might be gone tomorrow.