What are the Chinese patent medicines that relieve depression and anxiety

Chinese patent medicines that are currently commonly used in clinical practice and have a clear effect on improving mild to moderate depression and anxiety include Shugan Jieyu Capsules, Jiawei Xiaoyao Pills, Wuling Capsules, and Zizioren Mixture. Most of them are targeted at people who have not been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety disorder and do not want to take Western antidepressants for the time being. They are also used as auxiliary drugs for Western drug treatment to help reduce adverse reactions and adjust the overall state.

I have been working in the Department of Psychosomatics for almost five years, and the first thing I ask when I meet half of the patients who come to see me is whether there are any Chinese patent medicines with less side effects that can regulate mood. Either students are afraid that taking Western medicine will make them sleepy and affect their exams, or young office workers are afraid that it will affect their work status, or menopausal women are afraid of hormonal disorders, and they are generally more accepting of Chinese patent medicines than Western medicines. There used to be a little girl who worked in content operations. She had just graduated half a year ago. She kept chasing hot topics and changing plans until two or three in the morning. She shed tears for no reason for more than a month. She squatted on the side of the road and cried while walking on the way to work. She went to a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with mild depression. She refused to take any Western medicine for fear that she would not be able to write. Without copywriting, I saw that she always said that her chest was so congested that she felt like she had pressed a wet rag, she liked to sigh, and her ribs and forks hurt from time to time, which was typical of liver stagnation and qi stagnation. I was prescribed Shugan Jieyu Capsules. Three weeks later, she came back for a follow-up visit and said that the feeling of chest congestion was basically gone. Last week she went to climb Xiangshan Mountain with her friends, and she hadn’t felt so relaxed in a long time.

In fact, using Chinese medicine to treat emotional problems is just like clearing the sewer pipes at home. You must first find out whether it is blocked or leaking. If it is blocked, drain it, and if it is leaking, repair it. If you try to drain it even though it is leaking, it will make the problem worse. For example, people who are usually sulky, have breast swelling and pain before menstruation, and have emotional breakdowns during menstruation are mostly suffering from liver stagnation, and Jiawei Xiaoyao Pills are more suitable for the symptoms; if the main problem is tossing and turning, unable to stop, and always having tinnitus and forgetting things, then Wuling Capsules will be more targeted; if you are just too anxious to sleep and have no other obvious discomfort, drinking jujube kernel mixture can also help a lot.

Of course, there has always been controversy in the industry about the use of Chinese patent medicines to regulate mood. Many psychiatric colleagues feel that the evidence-based evidence of this type of medicine is not sufficient. There is no large-scale double-blind trial support, and the effect is not as stable as conventional antidepressants. This statement does make sense. After all, the effect of Chinese patent medicines depends to a large extent on the accuracy of syndrome differentiation. The same is true for poor mood. Some people take it to be effective, and some people have no reaction after taking it. They cannot have a relatively uniform effectiveness like Western medicine.

I really don’t recommend that you just buy medicine after checking the claims on the Internet. I once had an elder brother who bought Shugan Jieyu capsules and took them for half a month, but he became even more tired. He even breathed when he climbed to the third floor. I came to check for a pulse. He was a typical heart and spleen deficiency. It was not a blockage due to liver stagnation at all. Taking liver-soothing medicine is like trying to open a water pipe that doesn’t have much water in the first place. Of course, the more open it is, the more deficient it is. There is also an aunt who took Xiaoyao Pills for more than half a year to regulate her mood. In the end, she had extremely heavy menstrual flow and felt weak all over. This was because her physical condition was not good and she was depleted of her righteousness.

If you have been diagnosed with moderate to severe depression and anxiety, don’t insist on taking only Chinese patent medicines. Don’t delay using western medicine or psychological counseling. Chinese patent medicines play more of an auxiliary role and cannot replace standard clinical treatment. If you really want to use them, you should first find a regular Chinese medicine doctor or a psychopsychiatrist to identify your constitution before using them. Only then will you be truly responsible for yourself.