🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Factors Affecting the Spirit
One's mental state is influenced by various factors, such as social conditions, natural environment, and personal illness, all of which can lead to changes in spirit.
Social factors. Humans are not only biological beings but also social beings—living individuals with thoughts and emotions, engaged in labor and social life. Therefore, different social environments result in different mental states. The *Huangdi Neijing* states: "I have heard that ancient people lived to a hundred years old, remaining vigorous in movement; yet today’s people, reaching half a century, already show signs of decline. Is this due to differences between past and present eras? Or has humanity lost something?" The Yellow Emperor clearly raises this question: the significant difference in lifespan and health between ancient and modern times stems from differing attitudes toward health preservation. Ancient people could live beyond a hundred years largely because of their simple and honest customs, free from intense human conflicts ("human troubles"). Especially social turmoil, displacement, famine, disasters, and psychological trauma can cause abnormal mental changes. Even family disharmony or the separation caused by death among family members may trigger profound emotional shifts. Thus, maintaining mental well-being and psychological health cannot be separated from a favorable social environment. Good social ethics, simple folk customs, and harmonious interpersonal relationships form the foundation of mental health, so social and psychological factors must be studied together.
Natural environmental factors. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that in spring, the emotion is anger; in summer, joy; in late summer, contemplation; in autumn, sorrow; in winter, fear—indicating that emotions and psychology vary with seasons. Particularly extreme and sudden climate changes significantly affect mood. For example, during prolonged rainy weather, people often feel melancholy and gloomy; whereas on sunny, clear days or bright spring mornings, one feels uplifted and full of vitality. Clinically, some mental illnesses exhibit seasonal patterns, worsening or appearing seasonally—for instance, endogenous depressive disorders commonly occur in autumn, while manic disorders tend to appear in spring. Besides seasonal changes, variations in lunar phases, colors, smells, sounds, and food can also influence mental states. These should all be taken seriously.
Personal illness. The *Huangdi Neijing* says: "Five zang organs transform into five qi, generating joy, anger, sorrow, worry, and fear." That is, the liver "in emotion is anger," the heart "in emotion is joy," the spleen "in emotion is contemplation," the lung "in emotion is sorrow," and the kidney "in emotion is fear." This shows emotions originate from internal organs; thus, organ diseases can cause emotional disturbances. By "organ disease," we mainly mean fluctuations in the essence and energy of the five zang organs, presence or absence of pathogenic factors, specifically manifested as deficiency or excess in the zang organs. As the *Huangdi Neijing* further states: "When liver qi is deficient, fear arises; when excessive, anger appears"; "When heart qi is deficient, sorrow occurs; when excessive, laughter becomes uncontrollable." Here, "deficiency" refers to insufficient vital essence and energy, while "excess" indicates surplus pathogenic factors. Many causes lead to deficiency of vital essence, including emotional damage to organs, aging, chronic illness, and overindulgence in sexual activity—all resulting in depletion of zang organ essence. Deficiency in these organs inevitably leads to weakened spirit and even emotional disorders.