06/06/2026
🌿 The Causes of Disease in Chinese Medicine
In TCM, understanding the root cause of disease is essential for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, we ask: Why did this imbalance develop in the first place?
⚡ The 3 Main Causes of Disease in TCM:
🌬️ 1. The 6 External Pathogens
These are environmental influences that invade the body when Wei Qi is weak:
- Wind
- Cold
- Heat/Fire
- Dampness
- Dryness
- Summer-Heat
💡 Think: Wind-Cold invasion, Damp-Heat, external pathogens affecting the channels and organs.
💭 2. The 7 Emotions
In TCM, emotions directly affect the Zang-Fu organs:
😡 Anger → Liver
😄 Excess Joy → Heart
😟 Worry & Overthinking → Spleen
😢 Sadness/Grief → Lungs
😨 Fear & Shock → Kidneys / Heart
When emotions become excessive, prolonged, or suppressed, they disrupt Qi flow and create internal imbalance.
🧬 3. Other Causes
These include:
- Overwork (mental or physical)
- Poor diet
- Lack of exercise or excessive exercise
- Smoking, alcohol, recreational drugs
- Medications
- Trauma or injury
- Radiation
- Weak constitution
- Incorrect treatment
🕰️ Clinical Pearl: Always Look at the Patient’s Timeline
When assessing causes of disease, it helps to divide the patient’s life into 3 phases:
👶 Prenatal Phase
The health of the parents at conception and the mother’s health during pregnancy influence the child’s constitution and Kidney Essence.
🧒 Childhood to Age 18
Diet, trauma, emotional stress, overexercising, and lifestyle habits during development can create long-term imbalances.
🧑 Adulthood
This is where the classic TCM categories become most apparent: external pathogens, emotions, and lifestyle-related causes.
💡 Understanding how disease developed helps you identify the correct pattern and create a more effective treatment plan.
🌱 If you love visual, simplified explanations of TCM theory and diagnosis, check out my Chinese Medicine Made Easy PDF or hard copy — an illustrated guide designed for acupuncture students and practitioners.
👉 https://acupro-academy.mykajabi.com/ChineseMedicineMadeEasyBook?utm_source=fb&utm_mediumfr47ui9&utm_campaign=facebook
