DOES S.A.D. REALLY EXIST?

It has been fashionable for some years to describe low energy or depression in the winter as ‘suffering from S.A.D. or Seasonal Affective Disorder’.

andy_newS.A.D. appears to be a general description of mid-winter malaise but in fact the concept is does have diagnostic significance and was well understood more than 2000 years ago in Chinese Acupuncture thinking.

In Acupuncture the vitality of all living organisms is seen in the context of the different energies of each season, amongst other things. In turn each season is related to different organs in the body.

So for example, Summer is related to Fire energy which is encapsulated in the Heart and Small Intestine. Winter is related to Water energy which is held in the Kidney and Bladder. Spring is the Wood energy which is held in the Liver and Gall Bladder. Autumn is Metal Energy which is held in the Lungs and Colon. And in the Late Summer (a fifth season between Summer and Autumn), we have Earth energy which is held in the Stomach and Spleen.

To show either an extreme liking or disliking for a particular season is to reveal therefore an imbalance in one or more related organs, which in turn may indicate where treatment needs to be focused to restore health generally.

When we are generally in balance it is possible to feel the beauty and benefits of every season.

In the case of people who regularly suffer from S.A.D. in the Winter, it is often indicative of exhausted Kidney energy leading to similar in the Heart as we struggle to keep the internal fires burning in the absence of light and warmth.

Acupuncture can really make a difference to your patterns of energy and in particular help you beat the Winter blues.

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