Stress

This may be offensive to some people who suffer ‘anxiety’. Anxiety is not actually real but it has become real as that is the way we have been indoctrinated so we believe it’s a real mental health issue and some of us are even on heavy duty drugs for something that does not exist. In TICM, ‘mental health’ illnesses are not real. It’s real because doctors put the fear of God into us and make it seem real. It’s all an illusion. So let us continue.

WORRY is what happens when your mind dwells on negative thoughts, uncertain outcomes or things that could go wrong.

Worry tends to be those repetitive, obsessive thoughts. It happens in your mind, not your body.

Worry does not get us very far as majority of the time, what we worry about is not real but we bring the worries to life as that is what we wanted.

STRESS is a physiological response connected to an external event. In order for the cycle of stress to begin, there must be a stressor, which is usually an external event like a test or work deadline.

This produces the fight, flight or freeze response.

Stress brings about many diseases in our body and raises cortisol so high which can lead to cancer. Although we need some stress in moderation, over stress can lead to our deaths.

ANXIETY is the culmination of WORRY & STRESS. It has a cognitive element (worry) and a physiological response (stress) which means anxiety is experienced in BOTH the mind and body. It is a response to a false alarm.

As a one off, transient event, these are natural and can be quite useful.

If our children are worrying, stressing or have anxiety, it is actually learnt behaviour from their surroundings in particular their parents or those who are closest to them.

When I prescribe herbal medicine to patients who suffer ‘anxiety’, I give them herbs to quieten their mind (Spirit/Shen/Ruh).