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Anxiety, Insomnia, Fatigue

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)Psychiatry

Anxiety, insomnia and fatigue affect a large amount of Hong Kong people. On top of anxiety and insomnia causing difficulties they can also add stress to day-to-day life leading to a constant feeling of fatigue.

What is Anxiety, Insomnia and Fatigue?

A lot of the time, people who encounter anxiety, insomnia and fatigue will commonly have the following symptoms.

Anxiety

People with anxiety can be easily affected by their surrounding environment, causing an overwhelming amount of worry and restlessness. This can also cause the following physiological symptoms

Elevated heart rate and rapid breathes, tightening in the chest, dry mouth, excess sweating and dizziness

Insomnia

Insomnia causes a major drop in our quality of sleep

This can include difficulty sleeping, waking up in the middle of the night, waking up easily, a fatigued feeling even after sleep, constant drowsiness, emotional instability and difficulties concentrating

Fatigue

People who are fatigued experience a lack of energy and motivation, coupled with persistently feeling lethargic and unbothered with their environment. All of which can negatively impact physical and mental health.

Anxiety, insomnia and fatigue have high comorbidity meaning that are likely to simultaneously present together, even if the patient has a good amount of sleep they still feel physically exhausted. The three phenomena can form a vicious cycle severely affecting the quality of life.

Risk factors for Anxiety, Insomnia and Fatigue

Currently, psychiatric research has not found a definitive cause for anxiety, insomnia and fatigue, however, they have identified potential risk factors such as:

Anxiety	Surrounding environment Genetic factors Family history Personality Work induced stress
Insomnia	Medications Work or emotional induced stressed Illness Mismatched circadian rhythm (A result from night shifts or consistently staying up late) Age (Insomnia has been shown to be more prevalent in the elderly)
Fatigue	Depression Chronic pain Pressure Insomnia Can also be associated with other diseases such as anemia or hypothyroidism

Diagnosing anxiety, insomnia and fatigue

Anxiety, insomnia and fatigue can presently in a variety of ways. The doctor will conduct a physical exam and patient history inquiring about family history, day-to-day life and mental health. If required the doctor may order more tests such as blood tests, liver function, thyroid function etc to see if there was a biological cause. If not, a more thorough mental health screening may be done.

Treatment

When other potential causes have been systematically excluded the doctor will reassess the patient, taking into consideration the patient's current situation ,symptomology, or prescription medication (such as anxiolytics or sleep aids) maybe given to help alleviate the patient's symptoms. Additionally, they will also consult a clinical psychologist to discuss potentially implementing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help relieve any stress and relax. Patients will also be advised to maintain good sleep hygiene.

Using Chinese medicine to treat anxiety, insomnia and fatigue

Chinese medicine view anxiety, insomnia and fatigue as a result of our busy day-to-day lives, inducing a lack of rest. As a result a drop in visceral ( internal organ) function, yin and yang imbalance and blood deficiency. Chinese medicine has the following methods of treating anxiety, insomnia and fatigue:

Anxiety

Chinese medicine suggests that anxiety is caused by numerous factors accumulating into emotional turmoil.

Diagnosing based on syndrome differentiation a differing treatment method will be selected, such as acupuncture, traditional herbal medicine, auricular point therapy or acupressure to help relieve symptoms.^[3]

Insomnia

Using the information from the consultation the most appropriate treatment method will be formulated which could include the use of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture to reconcile the yin and yang imbalance and restore a healthy state.

Fatigue

Taking a holistic approach use of acupuncture, traditional exercises and a diet plan to tackle both physical and psychological symptoms.

Impact of anxiety, insomnia and fatigue

Over time if anxiety, insomnia and fatigue are not treated properly it can lead to disastrous consequences, the condition will continue to deteriorate impacting daily life, work performance, interpersonal relationships and psychological state. These three illnesses are primarily induced by pressure, therefore managing stress properly is essential.

In our day-to-day life, we need to ensure that our lifestyle is healthy and monitor it regularly, like maintaining a regular sleep schedule. Chinese medicine has a variety of treatment methods to help patients avoid falling into a vicious circle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a type of chronic disease, affecting most bodily functions. Patients commonly experience severe fatigue, an inability to continue with daily activities and persistent feeling of exhaustion even with adequate rest. Currently the medical community is still unsure as to what causes chronic fatigue syndrome, which could be related to the immune system, mental and physical stress, infection and long covid.

Sleeping pills can only relieve sleeplessness, it cannot change the quality of your sleep, furthermore patients who consistently take sleeping pills may develop a dependence. Patients are advised to relax and avoid stressful or anxiety inducing situations that could affect sleep. If needed seek advice from doctors to understand the root cause of the insomnia, on top of maintaining good life habits and discussing comprehensive treatment options.

Sleep hygiene means good sleep habits such as maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, a quiet and relaxing environment , avoiding alcohol and caffeine before bed and minimizing use of electronic devices ( Such as your phone,table, etc) before bed, doing exercise will also help.