summarized as follows (Table 9.2Table 9.2).

There is of course an interaction among these three periods of life and their respective causes of
disease. For example, emotional problems during childhood may also interact with constitutional
traits to cause disease later in life. For instance, if a girl has a constitutional imbalance in the
Penetrating and Directing Vessels and she is subject to emotional strain at the time of puberty,
this will often cause mental illness later in life.

It is important to form an idea of the origin of the problem so that we can give the right advice to
the patient.

Diagnosis of Mental-Emotional Problems

The diagnosis of mental-emotional problems follows the same lines as diagnosis of other
problems, for the body and Mind are an inseparable unit which, when it is disturbed, gives rise to
symptoms and signs in both the physical and mental-emotional spheres.

However, some special diagnostic signs in mental-emotional problems will be discussed below
including the following:

• Complexion


• Eyes


• Pulse


• Tongue.

Complexion

All organs can obviously influence the complexion, but, whatever the organ, the complexion
shows the state of the Mind and Spirit. Yu Chang in "Principles of Medical Practice" (1658)
calls the complexion the "banner of the Mind and Spirit" and he says:

When the Mind and Spirit are flourishing, the complexion is glowing; when the

Mind and Spirit are declining, the complexion withers. When the Mind is stable

the complexion is florid ....62(233)

A healthy Mind and Spirit show most of all in a complexion with shen. This indicates an
indefinable quality of glow, glitter and floridity of the complexion which indicates a good
prognosis even if the colour itself is pathological. Shi Pa Nan in "Origin of Medicine" (1861)
says: