TCM psychology for acute anxiety attacks

  Chinese medical psychology has a long history. However, not many domestic psychologists are interested in TCM psychology. In fact, some theories and methods in TCM psychology are still valid and useful in clinical practice.  For example: the five elements: water over fire; corresponding to the five organs: kidney over heart; corresponding to the seven emotions: fear over happiness; classic case: the story of Fan Jin winning the imperial examination.  However, to use the ancient Chinese psychology to treat the contemporary spiritual-psychological problems, one should not apply it rigidly, but live and learn it. For example, if a son-in-law is slapped by his father-in-law today, he may not be able to cure the mental illness caused by “happiness”, because if a son-in-law is slapped by his father-in-law today, the son-in-law’s reaction may be “anger” instead of “fear The son-in-law may react with “anger” rather than “fear”.  According to the psychological theory of Chinese medicine, anger cannot overcome happiness, but anger can overcome thought, anger can overcome mental illness caused by too much thought (roughly equivalent to anxiety disorders), that is, anger can overcome anxiety. Therefore, when an acute attack of severe anxiety occurs, if there is no other better way, one can try to make the patient angry to restrain it. The doctor can provoke the patient with psychological techniques, and the patient can also provoke himself, for example, by dropping eggs, hitting a pillow, chopping wood vigorously, screaming under the covers, or yelling inside the car with the windows closed, or yelling at his anxiety symptoms: ” Leave me, I have my own thing to do!” and other methods of expressing anger to end an acute anxiety attack. Although this is only a temporary emergency treatment, because acute anxiety (i.e.: panic disorder) attacks are usually very hard and uncomfortable for patients, who feel they are dying, going crazy, extremely fearful, and “afraid of three years in one attack,” this emergency technique is still practical and has been repeatedly proven in clinical practice to be Therefore, this emergency technique is still very practical and has been repeatedly proven to be effective in clinical practice.  From the perspective of Western medical psychology, this technique is more effective for patients who usually use “repression” and “denial” defense mechanisms to deal with their emotions. This suggests that patients with anxiety, especially those with severe anxiety and panic attacks, should strengthen their training in “self-expression and recognition of emotions”.  Warm tips: do not target others, do not hurt yourself, and do not damage the valuable objects around you when triggering anger; patients who are often angry should not use it, because anger will have inertia.