Acupuncture and the Heart-Mind Split

The Oriental medical concept of a Heart-mind split has no obvious counterpart in Western medicine. Patients with such a split are often labelled as anxious or depressed, and treated pharmacologically. The author contends that the omission occurs because the split is a fundamental feature of collective consciousness, and an expression of both medicine and scientific rationalism. He goes on to say that conventional treatment regimens may inadvertently exacerbate the split while in contrast, acupuncture’s holistic philosophy can offer a way to successful re-integration.