What if the 'Speed Control Device' of Your Body Broke Down? | Incheon Thyroid Korean Medicine Clinic
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Incheon Thyroid Clinic
Some days, your heart races for no reason as if you are sprinting, and other days, your body feels as heavy as a thousand pounds, as if you are struggling in a swamp. The clock of my body, which is sometimes too fast and sometimes too slow, regardless of my will.
“I sweat and feel anxious even when I am staying still. Then suddenly, the next day, I feel so lethargic that I don’t even want to lift a finger.”
Thyroid disease is like having both the ‘accelerator’ and ‘brake’ that control the speed of my body broken at the same time. It is a bleak situation where the initiative of my life is taken away not by me, but by the unpredictable condition of my body.
Causes and Symptoms
‘Overheated Engine’ and ‘Extinguished Engine’
The ‘thyroid’, a small butterfly-shaped organ located in the center of the neck, is a key ‘engine controller’ that regulates the speed of our body's metabolism.
When this controller malfunctions, two opposite problems occur.
First, ‘Overheated Engine’ (Hyperthyroidism)
As if the engine is running wild, it is a state where thyroid hormones are secreted excessively. Energy consumption becomes extreme, so you feel hot even when staying still, your heart pounds, your hands shake, and you continue to lose weight.
Second, ‘Extinguished Engine’ (Hypothyroidism)
As if the engine's output has weakened, it is a state where hormone secretion is insufficient. Metabolism slows down, so you are always tired, feel the cold more severely than others, your face and body swell, and weight increases easily.
Korean Medicine Perspective
Disharmony of ‘Fire’ and ‘Water’, Restoring the Balance of Yin and Yang
In Korean medicine, the health of our body is compared to a blazing ‘bonfire’. This is the harmony of ‘Yin (陀)’ and ‘Yang (陀)’.
Thyroid disease is viewed as a state where the balance of this bonfire is broken.
Hyperthyroidism is a state where ‘water (Yin fluid 陀涵)’ is lacking, but only the ‘flames (Yang energy 陀气)’ are burning fiercely. Just as an engine overheats due to a lack of coolant, unnecessary heat stimulates the heart and mind, causing palpitations and anxiety.
Hypothyroidism, conversely, is a state where the ‘embers (Yang energy 陀气)’ themselves have weakened, losing warmth and going out. Since there is not enough energy to warm and move the body, the body becomes cold and lethargic, and unmetabolized waste (phlegm-dampness) accumulates, causing the body to swell.
Therefore, Korean medicine treatment goes beyond adjusting hormone levels and focuses on restoring the fundamental balance of Yin and Yang by ‘controlling excessive flames with water (nourishing Yin and clearing heat 胕陀清热)’ and ‘reviving dying embers by adding firewood (warming and supplementing Yang energy 温先陀气)’.
Lifestyle Management
3 Tuning Methods for Volatile Energy Levels
It is important to observe your own condition in daily life and make efforts to find balance.
Tuning Method 1: Managing Waves of Emotion (Emotional Regulation)
Stress is the most direct factor that disrupts thyroid function. Managing the waves of emotion calmly through meditation, deep breathing, or light hobbies is essential for both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.
Tuning Method 2: Balanced Activity (Balanced Activity)
When energy overflows due to hyperthyroidism, yoga or stretching that stabilizes the mind and body is better than excessive exercise. When lethargic due to hypothyroidism, wake up your body with a light walk rather than forcing yourself to move violently.
Tuning Method 3: Dietary Balance (Dietary Balance)
For hyperthyroidism, consuming foods that cool the body, and for hypothyroidism, consuming foods that warm the body can be helpful. Above all, the basic is to avoid processed and stimulating foods and maintain a healthy diet.
Prognosis and Golden Time
Will you ignore the warning sent by your ‘heart’?
Thyroid hormone imbalance is not just a simple poor condition. It is a state of confusion in the ‘command center’ that governs all organs of our body.
Leaving this confusion unattended is a path where the overheated engine eventually [affects] the heart
it is a path leading to systemic diseases that either cause serious problems such as arrhythmia by putting pressure on the body (hyperthyroidism), or worsen heart failure or depression as a cooled-down engine stops the systems of the entire body (hypothyroidism).
However, recognizing these signals and precisely 'tuning' the 'speed control device' of my body is the wisest choice to protect the long-term health and stability of the entire body, including the heart and mind, beyond simply eliminating fatigue.
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