What Your Tongue Says About Your Health

Did you know that the tongue is like a road map for your health? Tongue Diagnosis is an essential part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) assessment and evaluation. This is why you’ll often hear your Acupuncturist ask you to…well, “stick out your tongue”.

Ok, wait, can you back up? In TCM, we look at the whole person. This means that all body systems are relevant for a specialized diagnosis: body temperature, appetite, digestion, hydration, blood circulation, body aches and pains, sleep patterns, elimination patterns, menstrual history, vision, hearing, emotional habits, energy levels, and so much more.

Complete review of systems is the way that TCM differentiates individual patterns to provide the most precise diagnosis and very specific treatment protocol. Once an individual's pattern has been identified with a review of systems, a pulse reading and quick look at the tongue verifies these findings. Because the tongue is the only internal organ we can actually see, the conditions of the interior may be observed (what us Acupuncturists call: hot/cold, wet/dry, excess/deficiency). Examining the shape, size, color, and texture of the tongue and coat helps reveal the state of organ functions and progression of any underlying imbalances or conditions.

Each area of the tongue corresponds to the internal organ themselves (think: Heart, Lungs, Kidneys/Bladder/Intestines, Spleen/Stomach, and Liver/Gallbladder), as well as the meridians where your energy (Qi) flows through. The organs govern a section of the tongue similar to how they are sectioned in the body. Imagine your tongue… the organs in the upper body represent the tip of your tongue, the organs in the digestive center represent the middle of the tongue…and so forth.

So, what is my tongue trying to tell me? No two tongues are exactly the same, and everyone’s tongue can be a mixture of different features or patterns of their diagnosis. Characteristics we look at include:

• Shape - small, thin, long, swollen, puffy, pointed, stiff?

• Color - pale, red, purple, grey?

• Texture - dry, rough, tender, wet, oily?

• Body - cracks, peeled, spots?

• Coating - thick, thin, sticky?

Looking at these different characteristics help us determine a patient’s Tongue Dx. Someone with a “damp heat” diagnosis would most likely have a swollen and red tongue with a yellow-greasy coating. Damp heat is typical if someone experiences IBS/IBD, acne, or UTIs, for example. Those who tend to worry or struggle with low energy, poor appetite, or bloating/gas, are typically diagnosed with a “Qi deficiency”. These patients would have a pale tongue with thin white coating, teeth marks, and spotting.

Find out what your tongue is trying to tell you! Book an appointment with one of our Acupuncturists today by calling 414-367-7023.

References:

Dyer, Lauren. “What does your tongue say about your health?”. Retrieved from https://empowerchiroacu.com/empowered-living-blog/what-your-tongue-reveals-about-your-health.

“Tint Condition”. Retrieved from https://www.thomsonmedical.com/article/tint-condition/.

Dealing with Burnout

Typically this time of year, we are left feeling the symptoms of burn out: stagnant, sluggish, depleted, and drained from the energetic nature of summer. Burnout is not always necessarily caused by overworking or a stressful job; there could be other factors at play. These could include your lifestyle, personality, perception of the world, or even what you do in your downtime.

It is common for any one of us to have days where we feel tired, overloaded, or under-appreciated, but if you’re feeling like this everyday — you are most likely burnt-out. Signs may be subtle at first, but long-term burnout can lead to insomnia, substance abuse, heart disease, high blood pressure, and vulnerability to illnesses like colds and flu.

So, how can you mitigate these feelings of burnout?

• Shift your Perspective: Changing the way you look at things will cultivate a greater sense of personal control. What parts of your life bring you joy? Trust in your ability to navigate

• Focus on Meaning: Pursuing tasks you find important allows you to be more present in your life. Connect your current task to a larger goal in order to shift your focus to why the work matters to you.

• Prioritize Mind-Body Wellness: It’s essential to take care of your entire being — mind, body, and spirit. Prioritize healthy sleep habits, movement, nutrition, and activities that nourish your soul and creative side, like meditation, journaling, painting, or yin yoga.

• Seek Out Connection: Finding connection and developing rich interpersonal interactions with others is so important. Often, socializing is the first thing to go when we burnout, but when we find our community, we’re able to offer each other support and advocate for solutions.

If you’re feeling burnt out and need support, reach out to us for a free consultation!

References:

Knight, Rebecca. “How to Overcome Burnout and Stay Motivated.” Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/04/how-to-overcome-burnout-and-stay-motivated?ab=at_art_art_1x1.

“Stress Management: Burnout Prevention and Treatment”. Retrieved from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm.

Valcour, Monique. “Beating Burnout.” Retieved from https://hbr.org/2016/11/beating-burnout.

How Stress Affects Your Body (+ Mind)

Modern life is fast-paced, busy, rushed, and full of activity. Although we might not realize how stress is affecting our health, it has certainly become a habitual part of our lives.

The last year and a half has brought a lot of uncertainty, grief, and anxiety— just to name a few. There is a lot going on across the world, and we have a lot that we’re carrying on our shoulders. It’s difficult to even begin to comprehend what we are living through. Most of us are wondering — is it safe for me to go back into the office? How will I manage my time when life goes back to “normal”? When even will things go back to “normal”? How do I support my family? What are my boundaries and how are they getting crossed? What am I willing to tolerate for my mental health?

Combine living through a pandemic with living in the Information Age, you’ve got a recipe for exacerbated stress and worry. Stress symptoms can go unrecognized for quite some time, and you could be thinking illness is to blame. Restlessness, obsessive thinking, insomnia, weakened immune system, heart problems, poor eating habits, digestive issues, low libido, acne, depression, anxiety, and lack of productivity are all common signs of stress taking a toll on your system.

Parasympathetic vs sympathetic nervous systems

Activating your parasympathetic nervous system will help manage stress responses, fear, obsessive thinking, rapid heartbeat, or shallow breathing. The parasympathetic system regulates “rest and digest” functions and aims to bring the body to a state of calm. Think: how you feel when you spend time in nature, meditate, or play with animals. Your parasympathetic system helps conserve energy by slowing the heart rate and regulating bodily functions like digestion.

The sympathetic system controls “fight-or-flight” responses and prepares the body’s response to danger or stress-related activities, whether it’s good or bad stress. Think: stimulating the adrenal glands and getting a burst of energy to respond to that perceived danger. Both systems are part of your autonomic nervous system and have complementary functions that operate in tandem to help maintain homeostasis in the body.

What are you not digesting?

We take a lot in from the outside world. Long-term feelings of stress, worry, anxiety, restlessness, and racing thoughts impact the liver, spleen, and stomach causing increased acidity and inflammation in these organs. Stress causes clenching in the abdomen, which can then transfer to the stomach leading to acid and food being pressed upwards (rather than downwards)... commonly known as acid reflux.

Go play + get outdoors

Calm your sympathetic system by turning fear and stressful thoughts into joy and something fun. Watch a funny video or show. Play with your pet or with children. Ride your bike. Go for a 10-minute walk outdoors. Spend time with a friend who makes you laugh. Get out of your head and outside of your self.

Find your center

If you're feeling overwhelmed and your breath is shallow, pull inward to come back home to yourself. Practice taking long, deep breaths. This signals your parasympathetic system to reset and to calm the body down.

When we get out of our own way and out of our habitual behaviors, we create a space that is more self-reflective and at ease. The more self-reflective we are, the easier it is to find our center and be able to recognize when we’re uncomfortable. Deep healing can begin once your consciousness shifts to be more relaxed and open.

Go inward to go outward.

Contemplate

• What experiences have I not been able to digest?

• What am I holding on to that doesn't serve me anymore?

• When have I been obsessed with worry?

• What thoughts don't benefit me?

• How do I self-medicate for stress?

• What brings me back to my center?

• When have I felt gratitude for what I learned from an unpleasant experience?