Excessive worry refers to the symptom of frequently pondering and being unable to shake off a sense of melancholy and unhappiness, even in the absence of any actual distressing events.

bubble_chart Pattern Analysis

1. Heart-Spleen Qi Stagnation︰Depressed mood, constant worry, epigastric distension and discomfort, loss of appetite, difficulty falling asleep, white tongue coating with a dull tongue body, and wiry pulse. This is often due to excessive mental strain or emotional stimulation, unresolved worries, or persistent contemplation, leading to qi stagnation and obstruction. Lingshu. Benshen states: "Worry and sorrow cause qi to become blocked and fail to circulate." Suwen·Discussion on Bi Syndrome mentions: "Excessive qi due to melancholy and overthinking accumulates in the heart." Puji Fang suggests that "excessive contemplation leads to qi stagnation." The key clinical diagnostic features include: excessive worry accompanied by chest and epigastric fullness due to disturbance of qi movement, loss of appetite or even absence of hunger due to dysfunction of spleen in transportation, and insomnia caused by overthinking. Zabing Yuanliu Xizhu notes: "Overthinking affects the spleen and heart... Some may experience mental exhaustion from excessive contemplation, leading to dizziness, blurred vision, heart deficiency with shortness of breath, palpitation due to fright, and irritability. Others may suffer from heart injury due to overthinking, resulting in insufficient heart-spirit and insomnia... Some may damage the heart and spleen through mental strain, leading to forgetfulness, disorientation, and incoherent speech resembling dementia..." Treatment should focus on tonifying and replenishing the heart and spleen, with prescriptions such as Returning to Spleen Decoction supplemented with Curcuma Root, Cyperus, and other herbs.
2. Lung Qi Deficiency︰Chest tightness and shortness of breath, low spirits, melancholy and reticence, pale tongue with thin coating, weak pulse. Mostly due to constitutional weakness, insufficiency of {|###|}generation and transformation{|###|} or excessive grief, {|###|}sorrow causing qi consumption{|###|}, leading to lung qi deficiency. The lung governs qi; if lung qi is insufficient, its dispersing and descending functions are impaired, and qi movement tends to stagnate. The key clinical diagnostic points are: melancholy and tendency to grieve, chest tightness and shortness of breath, {|###|}mental fatigue and lack of strength{|###|}, weak pulse and pale tongue, or low and weak cough sounds. Treatment should focus on {|###|}tonifying lung and replenishing qi{|###|}, with the prescription Lung-Nourishing Decoction plus White Atractylodes Rhizome, Dried Tangerine Peel, etc.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Danxi Xinfa: "When there is contemplation, there is movement, which pertains to emptiness."
2. Zabing Yuanliu Xizhu: "Neijing says: The lung's emotion is sorrow, and it also says that sorrow causes the qi to sink. Lingshu says, unresolved sorrow harms the will, and the will is the spirit of the spleen. It also says, sorrow causes obstruction and blockage, severing the qi channels and preventing the flow between upper and lower body."