Brain fog, weight gain, feeling overwhelmed…what they have in common in TCM

Here’s what I LOVE about practicing Chinese Medicine: Patterns! Patients come in with so many seemingly unrelated symptoms and even apologize, adding, “I’m such a mess!” What they don’t realize is that these symptoms form little clusters in my mind and those clusters lead to diagnostic patterns for me to treat. They almost look like large knot of differently colored thread, and that lets me see which thread to pull to unravel it. The extra great thing about Chinese Medicine is that pulling one thread, such as Dampness, can unravel a whole bunch of knots at once, relieving a whole cluster of symptoms!

Speaking of Dampness, that’s our topic for this blog because it is the underlying condition that can create all of the symptoms in the title of this blog. Dampness creates brain fog, a feeling of being overwhelmed, and weight gain among many other things. Damp is considered an “evil” in Chinese Medicine, which just means a pathological condition. Dampness can be external, such as living with high barometric pressure, hanging out too long in damp workout clothes, high humidity, etc. Dampness can also come from poor digestion and imbalance in our everyday eating.

Dampness is different from moisture. Moisture, that Yin quality, is desirable. That’s the stuff that moistens our skin, plumps our lips, and helps our digestion flow smoothly. Dampness is the excess, unmoving fluid and phlegm stuck in our body. Think of it as a clear, running stream as opposed to a stagnant pond.

So how does this relate to the above conditions? As for brain fog, there is the notion of “Clear Qi” running up to the top of our heads. Have you ever had a day where you were just on top of your game, your wits were sharp, and you felt “clear-headed”? THAT is when your Clear Qi is ascending as it is supposed to. However, it can be blocked or weighed down so that it can’t ascend. That’s where '“brain fog” occurs. That is also what keeps us feeling overwhelmed, as if the answer to our problems cannot quite make it up to the top of your head and all your ideas just sink and swirl in your heart making you feel claustrophobic and panicked.

Being overweight is dampness. Dampness/overweight is not the cause but the result. The cause can be weak digestive function, qi stagnation (often caused from trapped emotions), not having enough healthy fluid or hormones in the body and unconsciously trying to make up for it by putting in fried foods, sugar, cheese, and the like, and numerous other causes. This damp encumbrance then just begets more dampness.

How to fix: Come in and let’s figure out what is the root of your problems. Dampness can be tough to beat and you must walk a fine line between resolving the damp and not draining too many vital fluids from the body. Acupuncture can make a substantial difference and herbal medicine really shines here, too. Usually multiple formulas must be on hand to walk the tightrope between drying/moistening. With some mild food modifications, moxa treatments, and acupuncture, you can resolve these conditions. Please schedule as soon as possible so we can begin our work right away. We are headed into summer and damp conditions only feel worse when Heat is added to them.