Now that the weather is getting colder and colder, people have begun to pay attention to their diet and daily life in autumn and winter, but they are not clear about the essentials of emotional health after seasonal changes. In fact, the changes of climate, natural environment and ecology in autumn and winter will change the time and laws of people's spirit, emotions, viscera, qi and blood, and meridians. Only by mastering the laws and characteristics of these changes can we carry out emotional health care purposefully.
It is easy to be depressed in autumn and winter.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "autumn" corresponds to the five elements: gold, five internal organs for the lungs, five qi for dryness, five for harvest, and five for sorrow. Autumn dryness makes people dry throat, nose, hoarse voice, dry cough and dry skin. These symptoms will affect people's mental state, and often lead to bad emotions such as sadness and negativity, especially in late autumn, when grass leaves and flowers wither, sensitive people will feel sad and depressed, which will reduce their physical resistance.
The five behaviors corresponding to "winter" are water, five internal organs are kidneys, five qi are cold, five zang-organs, and five fears. Kidney stores essence, governs bone and produces marrow. Deficiency of kidney essence can be seen as mental weakness, repeated yawning and slow emotional response. Therefore, in winter, people attach great importance to nourishing and storing kidney essence to keep energetic and quick thinking. Winter cream, a traditional tonic, has been popular to this day.
Modern research also found that the pineal gland in the human brain can secrete melatonin, which not only affects sleep, but also affects mood, and light can inhibit the secretion of this hormone. In autumn and winter, the sunshine time is reduced, the intensity is weakened, the secretion of melatonin is increased, the mood is naturally negative, and the spirit is prone to depression. At the same time, when the temperature is low in winter, people's metabolism and physiological functions are in a low state, which will also lead to changes such as depression and inattention.
Pay more attention to emotional health in autumn and winter.
In autumn and winter, yang disappears and yin grows. Traditional Chinese medicine advocates the unity of man and nature and nourishing yin in autumn and winter.
The spirit of "autumn harvest" and "winter storage" protects the lungs, benefits the kidneys and nourishes nutrition.
In autumn, we should restrain the spirit of nourishing the heart, and according to the principle of "happiness wins sorrow", be more happy and less sad to slow down the influence of cold air in autumn on the human body. In normal life, you can take a deep breath to expand your lungs, which will help you get enough oxygen and happiness. It is advisable to go to bed early and get up early to maintain abundant energy and physical strength. People with dryness syndrome suggest choosing foods that moisten dryness and promote fluid production, such as radish, lotus root, lily, black fungus, yam, tremella, pear, loquat and kumquat.
Pay attention to nourishing kidney and storing essence in winter. According to the principle of "thinking over fear" in the five elements, we should calm down and think to avoid intimidation. It is advisable to go to bed early and get up late to keep your spirits up. While following the laws of nature, we should properly replenish and reserve nutrition and energy to resist the cold winter and save energy for the coming year. People with cold syndrome are more likely to look relaxed in winter and often feel tired. Eating cold food or raw food is easy to cause stomach and abdomen discomfort, loose stool and other symptoms. It is suggested to choose warm foods, such as beef and mutton, leek, pepper, onion, ginger, garlic, bergamot, sweet potato, chestnut, litchi, longan, pomegranate, cherry, etc., to increase thinking vitality and improve mental fatigue.
"autumn freezing", "winter training" and "therapeutic tea" improve mood.
Proper "autumn freezing" is conducive to nourishing the heart. Through thin clothes to keep out the cold and strengthening exercise, we can "pre-adapt" to the cold winter, mobilize the body's resistance and immunity, and adjust our mental state, so that we are not afraid of the cold and are not easy to get sick in the really cold season. "Autumn freezing" means not to put a coat on your upper body too early, but your neck, navel, back and feet should not catch cold.
"Winter exercise" can improve depression and enhance physical fitness. Close your eyes, sit still, vomit turbidity, take new things to help you recuperate, and store essence, qi and spirit in it. Exercise You can choose to take a walk, play Tai Ji Chuan, do exercises, dance and other aerobic exercises to increase your vitality and make your mind agile and energetic. In particular, indoor workers, the physically weak and mental workers should spend no less than half an hour every day. Going hiking after autumn can make people absorb more negative oxygen ions in the air, which has a good nutritional and regulatory effect on people's nervous system. More sunshine and outdoor activities in winter can supplement calcium and strengthen the body, which is of great benefit to refreshing the mind and preventing depression.