Chinese medicine has five elements that help guide them in helping individuals heal. The five
elements consist of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each element is associated with a quality. The qualities are known as damp/wet, dry, cold, and hot/heat. The earth is associated with the quality known as Damp, Metal is associated with dryness, fire is connected to heat/hot, and water is connected to cold. Wood is associated with wind in Chinese medicine (Hughes, n.d.). The wind quality is known as the cause of illness, which can arise from wind-cold, wind-dampness, or wind-heat. The hot/dry qualities are yang; the cold/wet qualities are considered yin in Chinese medicine (Wiseman & Ellis, 1996). Each element also corresponds with specific climates, colors, emotions, body parts, organs, and tastes. The qualities and 5 Chinese elements lay the foundation that helps Chinese medicine providers identify the elemental personality types of their clients and determine their diagnosis (Wiseman & Ellis, 1996).
The five-element theory used in TCM establishes the connections between season, organs, emotions, flavors, colors, and climates. Identifying each individual’s element and quality is crucial in diagnosing and treating patients with the guidance of the yin and yang theory. Identifying each client’s elemental personality type and imbalance is one of the first steps in developing a diagnosis. Determining the elemental personality type and imbalance in each client will set the foundation in diagnosing and treating clients with TCM methods.
References
Hughes, G. (n.d.). Discovering the 5 personality types - Which one are you? (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from http://orientalmed.ac.uk/the-five-personality-types-by-galit-hughes/
Wiseman, N., & Ellis, A. (Trans.). (1996). Fundamentals of Chinese medicine (Rev. ed.). Brookline, MA: Paradigm.
