"When Rapeseed Flowers Bloom, People Go Mad": In March, Guard Not Only Against Allergies but Also Mania
The three spring months are called the season of "dispelling the stale": heaven and earth give rise to life, and all things flourish. One should sleep late at night and rise early, walk widely in the courtyards, let the hair down and loosen the body, so that the will may take life. Give life and do not kill; give and do not take away; reward and do not punish. This is the correspondence with spring qi and the way of nourishing life. Going against it injures the liver; in summer it will turn into cold-induced disorders, and there will be little basis for nourishing growth.
— Excerpted from the Suwen of the Huangdi Neijing: Chapter on Regulating the Spirit in Accordance with the Four Qi
There is a Chinese folk saying: "When the rapeseed flowers turn yellow, people go mad." March is a season of warmth and blooming blossoms, yet many people find this season extremely hard to endure. Allergic conditions and several nervous-system disorders easily produce distressing symptoms at this time of year.
The March air is filled with the breath of spring. That breath embraces everything; invisible pollen and microorganisms are part of it. The immune systems of healthy people may be unaffected, but those with overly strong or prolonged immune responses cannot escape the torment of hypersensitivity reactions. In spring, animals' sex-hormone secretion is also vigorous and daylight lengthens; people with over-sensitive nervous systems are likewise prone to a series of problems this season.
Those who suffer both problems at once are likely the most miserable; in such a season they suffer doubly, in body and mind. Such people should avoid as far as possible every kind of exogenous and endogenous stimulus—staying away from places heavy with pollen, and avoiding stimulating drinks and irritating foods.
After a long winter, healthy people naturally become more emotionally excitable in spring when they see the warmth and blossoms. Those with mood disorders become even more hyperactive in spring; the season makes them more irritable, and trivial setbacks can plunge them into psychological distress, producing manic or depressive episodes, or alternating between the two. We can even observe the same phenomenon in animals: the proportion of rabies outbreaks is higher in spring, dogs more often attack humans, and more people are vaccinated against rabies in hospitals in spring than in other seasons.
Highly sensitive people have a hard time in spring; family and friends should minimize stimulation, keep them away from exciting foods or drinks, and watch their sleep closely. If a patient cannot sleep well for several days running, be on guard for an oncoming episode. Some patients show abnormal shopping behavior in spring, which is another sign of an episode; uncontrolled excessive spending is one of the typical clinical symptoms of borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder.
Those with severe stress responses should take medication. The Chinese patent medicines Erzhi Wan, Xiaoyao Wan, Jieyu Anshen Keli, and Zaoren Anshen Keli offer some relief. But if manic symptoms are marked and there are signs of self-destruction or of harming people or destroying property, the patient must be admitted to a hospital psychiatric department or a specialized mental health center. Patients already on medication must not stop on their own. When drugs cannot control the condition, medical restraints may even be needed to prevent serious self-injury or injury to others.
Several authoritative medical studies show that the suicide rate in spring is 20%–30% higher than in other seasons, and spring is also a peak season for couples breaking up—all related to people being generally more emotional in spring. Spring is indeed the season when all things grow, but it is also a season of great destructiveness. While we enjoy the beauty of spring, we should also care for those whom it torments.