↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.
Clinical manifestations: Frequent sighing, chest and rib distension, irritability with mood swings — worse with emotional stress, frustration, greasy food, alcohol or a sedentary lifestyle; better with gentle exercise and stress relief.
Tongue: Normal or slightly dark, red or slightly purple sides, thin white coating. Pulse: Wiry, taut like a guitar string, prominent at the left Guan.
Treatment principle: Smooth Liver-Qi and relieve chest and rib distension by dispersing constraint and moving Qi.
Clinical manifestations: Persistent sighing, throbbing temple or crown headaches, a bitter taste, intense irritability and a quick temper, red painful burning eyes, dry mouth and throat.
Tongue: Red with redder sides, dry yellow coating, possible red prickles. Pulse: Wiry, rapid, forceful, especially at the left Guan.
Treatment principle: Clear Liver-Fire and drain Damp-Heat, targeting the intense heat and irritability.
3. Qi-Phlegm
Clinical manifestations: A lump-in-the-throat sensation, chest oppression with sticky phlegm, nausea or queasiness, a sense of relief from sighing itself.
Tongue: Normal pink-red, possibly slightly swollen, white greasy or slippery coating. Pulse: Wiry and slippery.
Treatment principle: Disperse Phlegm and move Qi to relieve the stuck sensation in the throat and chest.
Note: Confirmed absent again: no deck on this site names a standalone Qi-Phlegm category (the same pattern is left unlinked on this site's own Acid Reflux page).