Mental and emotional illnesses are referred to by Western medicine as endocrine disorders.
Endocrine issues may involve disarray, deficiency, or overactivity.
Therefore, the broad approach to treatment has been roughly determined.
For instance, a disorder of the autonomic nervous system is due to an endocrine imbalance, categorized under the lesser yang disease, thus treated by regulating the lesser yang.
Similarly, depression is generally related to a deficiency in endocrine function, classified under the extreme yin disease, hence treated by regulating the extreme yin.
The extreme yin involves the transformation of yin energy to yang energy; thus, depression is fundamentally a deficiency of yang energy.
Extreme yin also relates to the hand’s extreme yin pericardium meridian and the foot’s extreme yin liver meridian, which is why the symptoms of depression are closely tied to the heart and liver organs.
Some cases of mild depression do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis but present a depressive state, where the endocrine deficiency may be in the lower jiao, signifying an overactivity of the kidneys.
An overactive lower jiao stimulates the secretion of kidney hormones, leading to various issues.
This may appear as excessive liver yang, but the root cause actually lies in the heat from the lower jiao.
In cases of endocrine dysfunction, the pulse is often wiry, hence individuals with depression frequently exhibit a wiry pulse.
Conversely, if the pulse is smooth and no longer wiry or rapid, then the endocrine function has returned to normal.
As mentioned previously, the healing of depression must be based on the restoration of normal endocrine function.
Those suffering from depression face a lack of endocrine production, leading to impediments in dopamine generation, which disrupts positive feedback, making it difficult to find joy in pleasurable events.
The methods of treatment generally fall into two categories: one, using medications to supplement; the other, allowing the body to return to its normal state, enabling self-regulation of the endocrine system.
Adjusting artificial hormones, such as insulin injections, is ultimately not a long-term solution, as the endocrine system struggles to return to its original state.
Therefore, the method of restoration should focus on enabling the body’s natural hormone secretion.
In summary, balance is the key to treating diseases.
Pure yang leads to immortality, pure yin leads to demonic states.
The immortal laughs while the ghost weeps; laughter represents yang, and weeping represents yin. Humans should exist in the middle, where yin and yang are balanced, to achieve health.
Though depression is not a terminal illness, it is not easily treated.
Mental illnesses often invite unwarranted attention, so it is best not to delve too deeply.
Formulas like Xiexin, Lily, Sweet Wheat with Jujube, and Chaihu are often strange and their meanings hidden; practitioners should speak cautiously, for fear of being labeled as charlatans.
Let us further discuss the path of psychology.
All things are interconnected, the principles are consistent.
Those inclined towards Confucianism can study the cultivation of the heart; those inclined towards Buddhism can delve into the heart sutra.
The key lies in unraveling the cognitive difficulties, understanding the reasons for emotional distress, and how to guide oneself to dissipate negative emotions.
This is the path of practice.
