Understanding PMS
According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), PMS is not a "syndrome." In TCM, the problems you may put up with every month -- pain, water retention, irritability -- are symptoms of underlying problems within your body.
Dr. Xiolan Zhao, a physician originally trained in Western medicine who later earned a degree in TCM, says PMS symptoms are the body's way of telling a woman something is wrong. "PMS is a symptom of an unbalanced body," she says. "Chinese medicine is about finding a harmonious balance and being happy."
TCM studies the way energy flows through the body. Often, problems such as PMS symptoms will arise when energy, or qi (pronounced "chee"), gets blocked and starts to accumulate somewhere.
In Dr. Zhao's book on women's health, Reflections of the Moon on Water (Random House, 2006), she explains that PMS-associated moodiness is an example of stagnant energy that tries to unblock itself through outbursts of anger or crying. Blocked energy can also result in pain, water retention, reduced libido, cold hands and feet and digestive problems -- all depending on the individual and where this energy accumulates. "Chinese medicine then looks at what's causing the disharmony," says Dr. Zhao. "Is the body warning you you're drinking too much coffee, or not getting enough sleep? Are you overworked or need to work something out in your personal life?"
Dr. Zhao recommends that women who suffer with PMS symptoms and pain during menstruation -- what she refers to as "heavenly water" -- should start with common-sense lifestyle practices. Here are some of the recommendations she offers in Reflections of the Moon on Water:
Emotional health
• Talk to someone about your feelings (a friend, family member or TCM practitioner).
• Develop awareness of when you are denying your emotions.
• Learn your stress/emotional triggers.
• Keep a journal.
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