Nervous system dysregulation (or emotional dysregulation) has become an increasingly pervasive mental health concern. While the name is relatively new, the symptoms are referenced in Chinese texts dating back 2,500 years. Nervous system dysregulation manifests as physical, mental and emotional symptoms. Because its cause and mechanism are poorly understood in modern times, it typically gets subsumed and lost in other diagnoses which themselves are also not clearly defined. These include Lyme disease, chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), anxiety, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), adrenal fatigue and burnout, and brain fog.
Chinese medicine offers insight and treatment for symptoms related to nervous system dysregulation. This article discusses one approach that is classified under the classical heading of “Lily Disease.”
Zhang Zhongjing is the author is the author of two classical texts that lay the foundation for the clinical practice of Chinese medicine. They are the Shang Han Lun, or the Treatise on Cold Disorder; and the Jin Gui Lao Ye, or the Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet. They originally appeared together in a larger volume entitled Shang Han Za Bing Lun, or On Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases. The Shang Han Lun deals with externally contracted illness and the mechanism of disease manifestation and progression. The Jin Gui Lao Ye deals with other sorts of disease, referred to here as “miscellaneous.”
The Jin Gui Lao Ye devotes an entire chapter to the miscellaneous disease referred to as Baihe Bing, or Lily Disease (lily bulb is a Chinese medicinal herb, and in Chinese it is called “bai he”). It describes a sort of mental imbalance that arises from Lung Yin insufficiency. The text describes the following characteristics displayed by the person with this disease:
- A desire but inability to eat, talk, lie down or walk
- Sometimes having an appetite, sometimes averse to even the smell of food
- Feeling sometimes cold but no chills, sometimes hot but no fever
- Bitter taste in the mouth, and urine dark red
- Incurable with all medicinal herbs, as severe vomiting and diarrhea occur after taking them
- Appearance as if possessed by a spirit, but appears normal other than a minute and slightly rapid pulse
The Shennong Bencao Jing, or The Divine Farmer’s Classic of Materia Medica, is the oldest surviving Chinese herbal medicine text. It was complied around 2,500 years ago. It describes Bai He this way: “Lily is sweet and balanced. It mainly treats evil qi, abdominal distention, and heart pain. It disinhibits urination and defecation, supplements the center, and boosts the qi.”
In part, lily treats what we would refer to in modern times as “nervous system dysregulation.” That is to say, a nervous system that is both overstimulated and depleted, leading to a sort of chronic, anxious depression that both arises from and perpetuates psychological stress. Essentially, there is an overarching theme and presentation of “wanting to” but being “unable to.” In my own clinical practice, I have found lily bulb to be effective and oftentimes invaluable for treating anxiety symptoms that are connected with food, appetite and digestion. Lily can be used in small medicinal herb formulas, as outlined in the Jin Gui Lao Ye; or eaten as a food, typically cooked with rice or soup. It is particularly useful for treating dry throat and cough during fall and winter.
Lily bulb is soothing, calming and nourishing. It gently cools heat and moistens the Heart and Lungs, and in doing so reduces agitation and settles the spirit. In this way, it treats depletion that arises from overwork, overstimulation and long-term low-level stress.
Classical Chinese medicine includes many complex approaches for nervous system dysregulation, and these will be discussed in future articles.