Yin and Yang Mental Disorders

The other night in the Indian food cooking class, we were talking about extreme foods and how according to macrobiotic philosophy, they can tip us out of balance. Here are the foods and the resulting characteristics.... True? You decide!

Yin Mental Disorders

Over-consumption of sugar and other sweeteners, fruits, fruit juice, chemicals, most medications, drugs, alcohol, hot spices, ice cream, some vegetables of tropical and semitropical origin, excessive liquid, and other strong yin substances produce

1. General mental fatigue, which manifests as complaining and as gradual loss of clear thinking and behavior
2. Feeling of melancholy gradual loss of ambition, and self-confidence; the beginning of forgetfulness and vague memory
3. Emotional irritability and fear, prevailing depression; a defensive attitude.
4. Suspicion and skepticism, misconceptions and misinterpretations, general attitude of retreating from life.
5. Discrimination and prejudice based upon an inferiority complex
6. Loss of self-discipline; chaos in thinking and attitude; schizophrenic symptoms
7. Yin arrogance characterized by total inability to adapt to the environment and the creation of a world of fantasy and illusion

Yang Mental Disorders

Over-consumption of meet, eggs, poultry, cheese, and other hard dairy food, other animal quality food, salt, baked and burned food, and other extreme yang substances, as well as insufficient liquid intake, produce

1. General mental fatigue, which manifests as frequent changing of the mind and gradual loss of steadiness in mind and attitude
2. Beginning of rigidity, gradually developing into stubbornness and insistent attention to trivial matters.
3. Excitability, short temper, prevailing discontent, and an offensive attitude
4. Conceptualization, leading to adherence to various “isms” and delusional beliefs
5. Discrimination and prejudice against others based upon a superiority complex
6. Exclusive indoctrination, egocentric thinking and attitude, and paranoid symptoms
7. Yang arrogance characterized by total inability to accept others and self-righteous attempts to control or coerce others