Grief and sadness from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective

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As I put an acupuncture needle into a point on her arm, she began to cry. Not because it hurt—it didn’t, she assured me—but because she had been bottling up emotion for months, perhaps years. Grief and sadness build up as people try to move on, be brave, and show stoicism. Sometimes sufferers are prescribed antidepressants as they feel their deep sorrows over life’s heartbreaks and challenges. But the feelings don’t dissolve and disappear. They may become less acute over time, but unaddressed,…