Reference no: EM133334694

A 32-year-old female presents with a chief complaint of feeling "extremely stressed out." Her work is very demanding, and she is in the process of separating from her romantic partner of many years. She has been feeling very frustrated and short-tempered all of the time, and also feels resentful of her partner. She complains of a feeling of distension in the hypochondrium and chest. You note that she sighs often during the treatment but seems unaware of this. She describes that her throat feels "full" and she has trouble expressing her emotions with her partner. Her pulse feels wiry and slightly rapid. Her tongue looks fairly normal other than being fairly red on the sides. She has noticed this, and is concerned about it, saying that her tongue "has never looked red before." She also feels uncomfortably warm lately and thinks this is strange as she used to always feel cold. She shares that she has been drinking more alcohol than normal because it "helps with the stress."

1. Is this patient hot, cold, or both? Which signs and symptoms support this?

2. Is this pattern internal, external, or both? Which signs and symptoms support this?

3. Is this patient excess, deficient or both? Which signs and symptoms support this?

4. Which organ system(s) do you think are involved for this patient?

5. How would you diagnose this patient? (give a zang-fu diagnosis, such as Heart Blood Deficiency)

6. What would your treatment principle be? (this must match your diagnosis)

7. What is one lifestyle recommendation you would make for this patient?

8. Why has this patient developed redness on the sides of her tongue (explain the pathomechanism)?