Mental Health is connected to Gut Health
Modern medicine is catching up now on the fact that there’s a link between the gut and the brain. Traditional Chinese medicine has known this for thousands of years. Modern medicine can actually complement Chinese medicine and vice versa. Patients with a lot of anxiety and worry can be treated with vitamins, particularly B vitamins.
When the Earth element organs of the Stomach and Spleen are weak, we crave sugar more. Sugar will compound this problem causing further weakness and an accumulation of dampness. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of certain vitamins – especially B-vitamins which are important for cognitive function and mental health.
Yi, or thought, corresponds to spleen function. This is why overthinking can weaken the spleen and a weakened spleen can lead to overthinking. As an acupuncturist and meditation teacher I hear patients telling me every day, “I can’t meditate because I can’t switch my mind off or I’ve got too many thoughts.”
No amount of trying to control your thinking is going to work. Strengthening the Spleen will help and there are some ways you can:
- Eat your biggest meal between 7 and 11am.
- limit sugary, cold, raw and greasy foods.
- don’t overeat / avoid feeling bloated or tired after eating.
- eat more warming foods.
- cook with warming herbs like ginger.
- add black pepper to foods to warm your stomach.
- plenty of warming soups, cooked vegetables.
- Consider making a medicinal tea made with barley, rice and ginger.
- acupuncture
- meditation
Overthinking is the mental aspect and worry is the emotional aspect of a weakened spleen. Worry actually knots the chi (qi-functional energy) of the stomach and spleen.
So if you’re suffering right now from overthinking and worry, it’s a reflection of the state of your body, the way the chi is moving in your body, in your digestive system and the way your digestive system is transforming energy for other systems.
If the emotions are not being heard then that can cause a lot of issues, physically and mentally as well. 90% of what I see coming into the treatment room is emotional in nature, compounded stuck emotion and then all the overthinking and the stories on top that have come from trying to work out why you are feeling that way.
Having acupuncture and giving yourself space and time to process your emotions in a healthy way is the best treatment for this.
The earth element also thrives on a good routine, eating at regular times, going to bed, getting up at regular times is important. Ideally you want to be going to bed as early as possible, waking up as early as possible and eating your main meal as early as possible for energy, for immunity, for lifelong strong earth element and clarity of mind.
