Yin deficiency produces heat at night, night sweats, poor sleep, dry skin, thin tongue, heat on hands and feet and chest.

Blood deficiency is like yin deficiency but milder. Generally there is not much heat but the skin will show some signs of dryness (particularly nails, lips and hair). Sleep is often affected, particularly difficulty falling asleep.

Yang deficiency produces cold – particularly hands and feet, fatigue, and urination at night.

Qi deficiency is like yang deficiency but milder. Generally at that point there is not much cold but the client will be tired. Exhausted and overwhelmed. Cold, timid and demotivated. I am too exhausted to change. I give up.

Stagnation will cause Wood symptoms, but often involves other elements. For example, an Earth pattern of looking after others and not looking after self will inevitably lead to internal stagnation. That is why Earth types often feel frustrated and can get depressed. They are often not good at recognising this depression because they will continue to ‘cope’ and not recognise their own internal emotional state.

Depression is the outcome of stagnation. It represents a lack of expression of the inner self.

Stagnation may be caused by illness and deficiency. When we are run down and ill it is difficult to express ourselves fully. We become stagnant simply because we do not have the energy to move. This is one factor at play in post-natal depression.

Sp-Damp - Excess thinking, excess giving, needy, unnourished - bloating

Overthinking, pensiveness, and worrying usually harms the spleen’s distribution and transformation abilities and play a huge role in water metabolism disorder along with internal dampness.