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Melancholy

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In Traditional Chinese Medicine, symbolism is often used to explain certain patterns of illness. For example, it is said that sadness and melancholy harm the lungs, as these emotions consume, dissolve, and disperse qi, leading to a heavy-hearted mood.

Melancholy, here defined as pensive sorrow, is a form of sadness that involves deep and serious contemplation, overshadowing worry due to its highly concentrated, ruminative nature. As a result, melancholy affects both the spleen-pancreas and the lungs. The impact of these emotions on the spleen-pancreas can lead to digestive disorders, including loss of appetite, loose stools, weight loss, epigastric pain, abdominal distension, and constipation.

In everyday language, melancholy is sometimes described as “feeling down,” characterised by sadness combined with apathy. When excessive, this can contribute to certain forms of depression marked by sorrow. This may occur because deeply melancholic individuals tend to lack an optimistic outlook and often dwell in gloom, leading to qi stagnation in the liver, which frequently results in a sensation of chest tightness and an irritable mood.

The heart may also be affected, potentially leading to mental disturbances, emotional imbalances, and circulatory issues. Every emotional excess has a balancing counterpart – the remedy for sadness and melancholy lies in joy and gratitude for life. In this sense, grief is a way of dwelling in sadness over past events. It is no coincidence that a principle of Taoist philosophy in healing grief is to cultivate equanimity – that is, peace of mind – something highly sought after in today’s world.

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