The Inner Pulse: A Clinical and Ancestral Approach to a Mental Health Check-In
By Mae — Herbalist. Healer. Your grandmother's remedies, backed by a nurse's knowledge. ·
The Art of the Morning Pulse
It is September here in Portland. The air is starting to crisp up, the leaves are beginning their slow surrender to the pavement, and I find myself reaching for a warmer sweater before my morning Tai Chi practice. In my twenty-five years at OHSU, I learned that medicine isn’t just about treating a crisis; it’s about listening to the body before it has to scream at you.
We often treat our mental health like a car dashboard—we wait for the ‘check engine’ light to glow bright red before we even consider popping the hood. But in my practice, and in the wisdom passed down from my parents in Guangdong, the goal isn’t to fix what’s broken; it’s to maintain the flow. A proper mental health check-in isn't just about asking ‘how am I?’ It’s about checking the pulse of your spirit against the reality of your day.
The Clinical Perspective: Reading the Signs
In nursing, we look for clinical markers: blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart rate variability. We use data to tell us what the patient cannot always articulate. Your mental health has its own vitals.
When I sit down with a client, I don’t ask, “Are you happy?” That’s too broad. I ask about the ‘vital signs’ of their daily life. How is your sleep latency? Are you waking up feeling refreshed, or does your mind feel like a cluttered desk you didn’t clear before leaving work? How is your digestive ‘fire’? In Chinese medicine, the gut and the mind are inextricably linked. If your digestion is sluggish, your thoughts are often muddy.
When you check in with yourself, start with the physical. Don’t start in your head. Start by scanning your body for tension. Is your jaw clenched? Are your shoulders holding up your ears? These aren't just physical quirks; they are the early warning system of a nervous system that is bracing for an impact that hasn't happened yet.
The Ancestral Wisdom: The Five Elements Within
My mother used to say, “If the heart is a house, don’t leave all the windows open to the storm.” In traditional Chinese medicine, we look at the Five Elements—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—to understand our emotional landscape.
When we are overwhelmed, our ‘Wood’ element (our drive, our planning, our growth) can become brittle. When we are anxious, our ‘Fire’ (our joy, our connection) can burn too hot, leading to insomnia and restlessness.
To conduct a true mental health check-in, I invite you to look at your week through these lenses. Are you over-planning (too much Wood)? Are you isolated (not enough Fire)? Are you ruminating on the past (a stagnation of Earth)? You don’t need to be an herbalist to see the pattern. You just need to be willing to look at your habits as reflections of your internal climate.
Your Weekly ‘Check-In’ Protocol
I recommend doing this every Sunday evening, perhaps with a cup of chrysanthemum tea. It takes ten minutes. No phone, no music. Just you.
1. The Bodily Scan: Lie flat on the floor. Start at your toes and work your way up to your scalp. Where is the resistance? Don’t judge it—just note it. Tell your body, “I see you. Thank you for carrying me through the week.” 2. The Energy Ledger: Write down three things that drained your ‘Qi’ this week and three things that replenished it. Be honest. If a specific friend drains you, write it down. If a walk in the park fills you, note that. You cannot manage what you do not measure. 3. The Breath Assessment: Take three deep, diaphragmatic breaths. If you cannot inhale deeply, it means your ‘Metal’ element—which governs boundaries and grief—is constricted. Try a drop of peppermint oil on your palms, rub them together, and inhale deeply to clear the stagnant air. 4. The Gentle Adjustment: Based on your findings, set one ‘micro-boundary’ for the coming week. Maybe it’s turning off your email at 7:00 PM, or perhaps it’s finally saying ‘no’ to that extra committee meeting.
Closing the Loop
We often think that self-care is a luxury—a spa day or a vacation. But true self-care is the mundane, persistent act of checking in. It is the nurse in me who wants to monitor the vitals, and the healer in me who knows that the spirit needs to be invited to the table, not just managed.
In this season of change, give yourself permission to be a little slower. Give yourself permission to be a student of your own life. You are the only person who will walk every single step of your journey with you. It is only right that you check in with your companion now and then, don’t you think?
How does your inner landscape look this week? Are you feeling the pull of the coming autumn, or are you still holding onto the heat of summer? I’d love to hear how you’re navigating the transition—leave a comment below or drop by the studio for one of our weekend tea sessions.
Stay well, and keep listening to that pulse.
Mae