Cast Your Votes for Dancing

"The Little Tin Man," 2021, by Coderch & Malavia

(By Paolo Propato, LAc) In the clinic lately, I have been seeing more and more patients with depression. This is an issue that many people I love suffer from while those around them never even know.  Everyone feels sadness from time to time. It is a natural and useful emotion when needed. But sometimes sadness or a low mood may linger and begin to interfere with our daily lives. Some become accustomed, and believe this is just the way it has to be. Symptoms include: loss of interest in activities that used to be pleasurable; problems falling asleep, disrupted sleep, or sleeping too much; eating too little or eating too much; feeling tired or fatigued; inability to focus; feeling easily agitated or irritated; feelings of guilt or worthlessness; thoughts of suicide, or thinking more about death. 

Patients suffering from symptoms of depression many times will also come in with digestive issues, headaches and vague pains. Sometimes these symptoms are the motivation for the acupuncture visits, but during treatment we find that these symptoms are a part of “masked” depression. This is a state of depression that usually has physical symptoms, while the component of emotions and mood is hidden.
Eastern medicine examines the health of the physical and mental body from the quality and movement of the blood and qi. In Chinese, depression is called yu zheng which also translates as “constraint.” Internal “constraint” may stem from emotional factors. Many patients can link a specific experience or stressor in their lives, like a stressful relationship or death of a loved one, to the pathology of yu zheng.

In Eastern medicine certain emotions can also relate to imbalances in certain organ systems. Anger, resentment, frustration will constrain Liver Qi. Grief and sadness are normal when appropriate, but when they go on for too long or are left unresolved they can constrain the Heart and Lung Qi. Worry will not only constrain the Spleen and Stomach Qi but even weaken it over time, giving rise to a multitude of problems. Fear and shock will deplete the kidneys, causing a type of depression often accompanied by chronic anxiety. 

Aside from the emotional body, there are other factors that we often see in depression patients. The first is the habit of looking at screens at night at the expense of the regenerative power of sleep, which causes a depletion of our Yin energy. Nature designed us to follow the cycles of Yin and Yang, which extend to circadian rest and activity, night and day. The blue light that is emitted from our phones, computers and TVs can reduce the production of melatonin, an important hormone needed for sleep and that also has antioxidant effects on our brains. While widely popular as a supplement, it is already naturally produced in the body if we just turn off the phones, computers and TVs and keep them out of the bedroom.

Modern work practices that cause us to be sedentary are, in my opinion, the biggest driver of Qi constraint. Even if we have the resources and energy, without movement, our Qi will just sit, stagnate and go to waste. Where sleep deprivation caused a decline in Yin, a lack of movement causes a decline in Yang.

On top of failing to move, we work long hours at our desks constantly in meetings, answering emails and so on. This overuse of our mental focus will knot the Spleen and Stomach much like the emotion of worry, and can also tax the Kidneys. We see this type of depression in post-partum mothers, when the mother has worked so long on nourishing the fetus and has lost lots of blood, and typically has had inadequate rest after delivery. 

Another factor that can tax the Spleen and Stomach is diet. A diet rich in sugar and carbs, or even too much cold, raw or processed food, will tax and slow our digestion. The issue of improving the diet tends to become a problem once depression has already manifested. Due to loss of interest and motivation, poor diet choices tend to keep driving the pathology.
Depression needs to be treated with not just one modality alone. If the depression stems from constrained Qi, acupuncture will be very helpful as well as a course of herbal treatment. When there is trauma or an emotional constraint, talk therapy is a modality that may be helpful. Yoga or Qi Gong is great to help keep the body moving, spark the Yang, and keep the mind in the present moment. Walking in the early morning light is another way of moving the body as well as regulating hormones to set yourself up for better sleep and Yin regeneration. Using these techniques we have helped many patients decrease their antidepressants.

The following poem by Daniel Ladinsky rings too true:

I know the voice of depression
Still calls to you.
I know those habits that can ruin your life
Still send their invitations.
But you are with the Friend now
And look so much stronger.
You can stay that way
And even bloom!
Keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From your prayers and work and music
And from your companions' beautiful laughter. 
Keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From the sacred hands and glance of your Beloved
And, my dear, 
From the most insignificant movements 
Of your own holy body.
Learn to recognize the counterfeit coins
That may buy you just a moment of pleasure, 
But then drag you for days
Like a broken man
Behind a farting camel.
You are with the Friend now.
Learn what actions of yours delight Him,
What actions of yours bring freedom
And Love.
Whenever you say God's name, dear pilgrim,
My ears wish my head was missing 
So they could finally kiss each other
And applaud all your nourishing wisdom!
O keep squeezing drops of the Sun 
From your prayers and work and music
And from your companions' beautiful laughter
And from the most insignificant movements
Of your own holy body.
Now, sweet one,
Be wise.
Cast all your votes for Dancing!