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Shenjing shuairuo The American term related to this is neurasthenia. Shenjing shuairuo is a condition characterized by fatigue, aches, pains, trouble sleeping, problems with memory, difficulty concerntrating. Shenjing shuairuo can also cause stomach problems, sexual dysfunction, and make the patient excitable and/or irritable. In the early 1900's,Shenjing shuairuo appeared in Chinese medical documents. It came from the American and European concept of neurasthenia (http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/shenjingshuairuo.aspx). Acoording to Lee and Ching, the patient has to experience fatigue after expending effort (mental or physical) and have two somatic/psychosomatic symptoms out of the seven that are commonly attributed to this disorder(muscle ache/pain, dizziness, headache, problems sleeping, chronic tension, irritability, and dyspepsia)before they could be diagnosed with shenjing shuairuo, (Lee and Ching 1995:93).

In the study by Chang et al. in 2005, the people who said that they had shenjing shuairuo focused on the symptoms having to do with their central nervous system, (head, brain, etc) which may be why they sought help in neurology. Because the patients are looking for help in nuerology, they do not have to deal the the stigmas surrounding mental illness (Chang et al. 2005:214). As the stigmatization of depression decreases, and the diagnosis of depression increases in hina,the diagnosis of shenjing shuairuo dwindles.

Sources:

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/shenjingshuairuo.aspx

Doris F. Chang, Hector F. Myers, Albert Yeung, Yalin Zhang, Jingping Zhao, and Shunying Yu. ''Shenjing Shuairuo and the DSM-IV: Diagnosis, Distress, and Disability in a Chinese Primary Care Setting,'' Transcultural Psychiatry June 2005 vol. 42 no. 2 204-218

Rethinking neurasthenia: The illness concepts of Shenjing Shuairuo among Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong.Full Text Available. Lee, Sing Wong, Kit Ching ; Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, Vol 19(1), Mar, 1995. pp. 91-111.