Integrating Tibetan and Western Medicine in the Treatment of Anxiety

By Mempa (Doctor) Yangdron Kalzang, Tibetan Wellness & Healing Center, San Francisco

At the present time, more anxiety disorders are seen in the clinic than any other mental health disorder. In the United States, anxiety affects about 15 percent of adults, most of whom are women. Anxiety worsens during stress, yet it is ignored and is not recognized by our health care professions. In the Western medical profession, the manifestation of anxiety is categorized under “non-specific complaints.” As a result, the care given is often lacking in attention, nurturing, and appropriate treatment methods for patients.

Anxiety is defined as a feeling of apprehension, worry, uneasiness, dread (especially pertaining to the future), or fear that lingers. The alternative names for anxiety are feeling uptight, stress, tension, jitteriness, and/or worry. The source or the cause for this uneasiness is not always known or recognized in biomedical science. It is true that if we have a small amount of worry or anxiousness, it creates more enthusiasm for dealing with different experiences and supports better preparation than not having any stress at all. However, if this exceeds the normal range, our body, mind, and spiritual life are disturbed. In severe cases, some people will end up in emergency care situations because of losing control of their behavior and speech, and a lack of mental clarity leading to a paralysis of their ability to manage daily life.

Anxiety in Tibetan medicine is only one of the symptoms of rlung, or air disorder. rLung, or air, is one of three important fundamental energies in the body. In this context, however, we are specifically referring to a subdivision of rlung called life-sustaining rlung, which has various effects in our body. In general, rlung is the vital force or source of energy for our body, speech, and mind because it travels throughout the body with the blood to promote and sustain our health when it is in balance. If it gets disturbed, our body, speech, and mind will suffer because the out-of-balance rlung energy will then bring about a disease state as well. According to Dr. Rapgay, a Tibetan psychiatrist, “rLung is most intimately related to our mental and physical health, it serves as a basis for nerve, skeletal and smooth muscle, vascular, hormonal, and membrane transport activity. On a subtle level, it serves as a foundation of sensory consciousness. Thus, rlung encompasses the mind.” Because of this reason, the life-sustaining rlung controls any mental activities and reflects the status or condition of the flowing of rlung energy…

This article can be read in its entirety in Mandala

 – Return to top –

– Click to Subscribe to Mandala–