02/18/2026
Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) & The 6 Stages —> Why Symptoms Change As Illness Progresses
In TCM, illness doesn’t happen randomly, it moves in stages. The “Six Stages” come from the classical text Shang Han Lun and describe how an external pathogen (like a cold or flu) progresses through the body.
Instead of naming a disease, TCM asks:
1) Where is the pathogen?
2) How deep has it gone?
3) Is it heat, cold, excess, or deficiency?
Here’s a simplified breakdown of what you’re seeing:
• Tai Yang (Surface Stage)
Early onset. Chills, fever, stiff neck, body aches.
Think: the very beginning of a cold or flu.
• Yang Ming (Heat Stage)
High fever, thirst, sweating, restlessness.
This is when inflammation is strong.
• Shao Yang (Pivot Stage)
Alternating chills & fever, nausea, rib-side tension.
Symptoms come and go. Often where people “linger.”
• Tai Yin (Digestive Weakness Stage)
Low appetite, bloating, loose stools, fatigue.
Common after illness or antibiotics.
• Shao Yin (Depletion Stage)
Deep fatigue, insomnia, cold limbs or internal heat.
Seen in prolonged recovery or burnout states.
• Jue Yin (Complex Mixed Stage)
Cold hands, heat in chest, nausea, dysregulation.
When the body feels confused or unstable.
Why this Matters:
Two people can both “have the flu”, but be in completely different stages. That’s why treatment in TCM is individualized.
This framework helps explain:
• Why symptoms shift over time
• Why some people recover quickly
• Why others develop lingering fatigue or cough
• Why treatment changes as the pattern changes
The Western column on my poster shows modern parallels, not exact diagnoses, but clinical comparisons to help bridge both worlds.
If you’ve ever felt like:
“I was sick… and then it just never fully went away.” —> You were likely stuck in one of the middle or interior stages.
Understanding the stage changes everything!
