How Does Aging Affect Mental Health

Hu, Charles
2011 How Does Aging Affect Mental Health and the Onset of Senility from a Chinese Medical Perspective
Final Paper, Anthropology of Chinese Medicine 98T, UCLA

It is an inevitable element of societies and cultures to evolve and innovate, improving technology and medicinal practices. Given the constant improvement of biotechnology, the increase in human lifespan has become an inevitable facet of our growing population. As a result, the number of senior citizens (over the age of 65) will continue to dramatically increase. In the United States, the proportion of elderly citizens has increased from 4% in 1900 to about 12% in 2000. This translates to approximately 3 million senior citizens present in 1900 and 35 million in 2000.
Yan De-xin, author of Aging and Blood Stasis examines the changes that occur as humans age and how senility manifests in the scope of TCM methodologies. Previous TCM geriatric specialists have reduced the cause of senility to vacuity detriment in the viscera and bowels. What exactly do the terms vacuity detriment and viscera/bowels encompass in regards to Chinese medicine? Wiseman and Feng (1998) describe vacuity detriment as “any form of severe chronic insufficiency of yin-yang, qi-blood, and bowels and viscera arising through internal damage by…excesses…or enduring illness.” To further elucidate the meaning of yin and yang, one may be able to understand it as the “bipolar manifestation of all things in nature” (Flaws 2001). Within nature and the body, there is a dynamic relationship between yin and yang. During times of normality, there is usually a balance between the two; however, this equilibrium is not static but constantly changing. Shifts in yin and yang are natural, but when one is consistently altered or dominates the other, health problems will
More importantly, the kidney is an essential component for maintaining balance within the body (Flaws 2001). Its importance lies in its function as the center of the body’s yin and yang, the origin of life. Kidney yin nourishes all other organs by providing them with energy while kidney yang is responsible for the storage of kidney yin to promote proper functioning of other organs. When yin and yang are in harmony, the body will exhibit harmony, whereas the dissociation of yin and yang will exhaust essence (the essential qi, which is the basis for growth/development and various other physiological activities throughout the body) and qi, two elements essential to the maintenance of health. Therefore, the phrase, “too much of anything is not a good thing” summarizes the perspective on yin and yang. Knowing how to balance yin and yang is crucial to preventing vacuity and stagnation of qi. Furthermore, the kidney and spleen are two of three organs responsible for the control of fluids within the body. When vacuity occurs in the kidney and spleen, a decline in their function will cause dampness leading to its congelation into phlegm. With the onset of qi vacuity, common symptoms are lack of movement and activity. However, this lack of locomotor activity will lead to qi stagnation, blood stasis, and phlegm congelation. Since the lifestyle of most elderly individuals is sedentary, it is not surprising to