Depression and anxiety, in traditional Chinese medicine, are seen as a lack of harmony between Yin and Yang.

Nine purple leave fire.
外炽而内寒，犹火外水内.
虚精神之，人心惶惶.
Earth crust activities frequent, war fire not cease, fire disaster everywhere.
Water and fire should be balanced, fire excessive then harm people.
When the heart encounters fire, the spirit is chaotic and depressed, prone to heart disease, should be guarded.
Don’t try to change the original trajectory of things, the true way of compassion is to follow nature, let the flowers bloom, and the trees grow on their own.
As the saying goes, “A doctor does not knock on the door,” this is the same reason. Many things cannot be forced.
Taking Chinese medicine is not following the crowd, in traditional Chinese medicine, one person one formula, not just empty talk.
Treating depression, the most common use is Chai Hu decoction, but Chai Hu is very selective. Some people have no effect using Chai Hu decoction, instead, Yu Jin and Wu Wei Zi have immediate effect.
This may be a disease not in the energy level, but already in the blood level.
Because Chai Hu resolves depression by promoting circulation and dispersion, targeting congestion, blockage first then depression, deficiency and excess coexisting.
If a person is all deficient and depressed, a single communication cannot be resolved, like building a dam on a river and intermittently blocking the stream, all belong to the depressed state.
At this time, replenishing water in the stream, not just channeling the river, when the water is full, the depression naturally resolves.
A master in treating depression must deeply understand the theory of Shaoyang.
Depression, anxiety, vegetative nerve disorders, Western medicine considers various functional disorders, while traditional Chinese medicine speaks of the lack of harmony between yin and yang.
The connection between yin and yang is mainly governed by the Shaoyang. Therefore, liver and gallbladder diseases, Shaoyang syndromes, doctors often start with Chai Hu, waiting for the symptoms to change the formula later, there may be drawbacks, but the practice is common.
There are also patients who take Chai Hu with Long Gu Mu Li Tang-like formulas, claiming that this formula controls depression, those who say this are misleading.
The original formula treated palpitations and delirium. Now, due to its calming effect, it is widely used for insomnia, excessive dreaming, and various emotional disorders. The original formulation contained cinnabar, which is toxic and difficult to use. Nowadays, it cannot be prescribed, so this medicinal herb is often replaced.