• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.9-15
• /
• 1994

Hwabyung is a culture-related disease generally know among people in Korea, and various studies have been done by the Psychiatrists and by the Oriental Medical Doctors. While the Psychiatrists explain the Hwabyung as a disease having a unique patholoical process, the Oriental Medical Doctors explain it as a symptoms having the character of fire. When interpreted in Oriental Medical point of view, this can be concluded as 1)the cause of the disease is the depression of liver-energy(肝氣鬱結) induced by emotional suppression, 2)the reason why the disease occurs mostly to female is that they usually fail overcoming stresses and have physical and visceral weaknesses, 3)the symptoms are associated with the dynamics of fire, because the disease originates from the rising character of fire and from the inadequit supression of extreme heart-fire(心火) by the kidney-wter(腎水), 4)the reason why the disease goes through chronic process is because of the complexed emotions, converted fire caused by prolonged emotional disorder and inapropreate supression of fire with grow older. This results suggest thst the cooperative study of the clinical examination of the Psychiatrsis and the study on the fire by the Oriental Medical Doctors is necessary to establish the process of the disease, the pathological procedure, the prognosis and the method of treatment.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.120-124
• /
• 2008

Objectives : The current study aimed at assessing clinical symptoms and personality characteristics on MMPI of patients in Hwa-Byung clinic. Methods : Thirty-one female patients($45.4{\pm}8.4$ years old) who visited to the Hwa-Byung Clinic in Ewha womans Dongdaemoon hospital were recruited. Semistructured interviews and laboratory tests for symptoms were performed for the patients group. Patients group and control group($42.9{\pm}8.0$ years old) completed MMPI. Results : All patients had symptoms of chest tightness or chest pain. 19(61.3%) out of 31 patients had gastrointestinal complaints. There were respiratory symptoms in 13(41.9%) patients. 12 patients(38.7%) suffered from difficulties in their sleep. 12 patients(38.7%) had psychiatric symptoms including anxiety or depressed mood. 8 patients(27.6%) were diagnosed as gastrointestinal diseases by the laboratory test. After controlling age and education, scores of Hs, D, Hy, Pt on MMPI in patients group were significantly higher than control group (p=0.001, p=0.049, p=0.000, and p=0.029, ANCOVA, respectively). Conclusion : In the current study, patients who have visited Hwa-Byung clinic showed various somatic symptoms including chest tightness, gastrointestinal symptoms, complaints in respiratory system and psychiatric symptoms. Based on laboratory tests, considerable proportion of patients was diagnosed as physical illnesses. Additionally, patients in Hwa-Byung clinic have a tendency to be more hypochondriatic, depressed, hysteric and anxious.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.109-114
• /
• 2000

Objectives: This study was performed to examine the characteristic cardiovascular response patterns associated with the imagination and discussion of anger-provoked events in patients with hwa-byung. Methods: Forty-three female patients with hwa-byung were evaluated with the Korean version of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety, Beck Depression Inventory, and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression just before the task. Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS) and Vividness of the event (VIVID) during the imagination and discussion of the event were evaluated immediately after tasks. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) during baseline, rest, and tasks were also evaluated. Results: Both startle and recovery responses of BP, startle response of HR, SUDS, and VIVID in discussion task were significantly larger than in the imagination task. Conclusion: Results suggest that it is undesirable for the patients to excessively and repeatedly recall and talk about the anger events.

• 건강소식
• /
• v.4 no.9 s.35
• /
• pp.16-18
• /
• 1976

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.783-792
• /
• 1999

• Journal of Korean Medical Ki-Gong Academy
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.45-60
• /
• 2003

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.68-82
• /
• 1998

This study attempted to develop fundamental data of nursing intervention for Women's health improvement through literature review related to women's health. Women's health problems are focused in nursing because the quality of women's health influences on public health directly and indirectly. Especially women experience more stressors and mental disorders than men. This paper reviewed rationale of mental problems to understand Women's mental problems through various research paper analysis. As a result, it was found that women's mental problems as well as the health were affected by various factors and were connected with social, cultural elements closely. This result means that women are affected by social, economical, psychological states from gender unequality in this society. So to solve the women's mental problems, women have to be considered as human beings, women, mothers with multiple roles. And like Hwabyung, one of the women's mental problems related to Korean traditional culture, nursing needs to be done to solve the problem through cultural approach. To do this, nursing has to research negative effect as well as positive effect on women's mental health by modern culture which includes "Han" and traditional family culture. The multidisplinary, interdisplinary communication is important to develop nursing intervention and nursing must build a pertinent Korean women's mental health research system to improve a sociopolitical environment.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.470-482
• /
• 2007

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the experience of family breakdown of Hwabyung patients in a socio-cultural context. Methods: Data for this study came from 5 participants, 2 family members and 1 friend of participant by interviews and participant observations from January 2006 to April 2007. Sociology of everyday lives analyzing method were adopted. Results: There were two processes of family breakdown ; sudden on set and progressive processes. The sudden breakdown was unpredictable death of a husband, the significant family member. On the other hand, their family structure and function were broken down through the husband, who repeatedly destructive and malicious behaviors. The experience of family breakdown of middle-aged women with Hwabyung in a socio-cultural context was weakened or severed family-relationships, exhaustion of economic sources, and the breakdown of participant's body. Participant's experience of family breakdown were influenced by Korean culture, the patriarchal social system and the clan-centered family system. Conclusion: Hwabyung is the result of a clan-centered family system and patriarchal system. The approach to Hwabyung should involve not only the person with the illness but also their family.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.47-57
• /
• 2000

This study was designed and performed to identify the effects of oriental medical therapy on hwabyung patients by investigating the life events as the cause of Hwabyung, recent stress perception which influences the clinical appearances and change of symptoms by means of objective scales. 1. Through life events rating scale, life events are reported as follows, in the order of majority. Health, discord within family, martial life, friendship and interest, religion etc. Hwabyung patients experienced negative stress much more than positive stress. 2. Through the GARS (Global Assessment of Recent Stress), there were some significant decreases of stress perception in stress4(stress of sickness or injury), stress7(stress of change or no change in routine) and stress8(overall global stress)(p<0.05, respectively), but there were no significant decreases in five items out of eight items. 3. There were significant decreases of all rated symptoms(feeling of chest oppressed, stuffy in the chest or epigastric mass, feeling of something pushing-up, flushing of body or face, abrupt impulsion of anger, resentment), which were checked weekly for 4 times (p<0.05, respectively). In this study the symptoms of hwabyung were improved regardless of stress perception. It means that hwabyung can be improved significantly with oriental medical therapy.

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.126-134
• /
• 2003

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to supply the basic materials for the development of objective tools to measure 'Hwa-byung' and for the development of the theories and statements associated with 'Hwa-byung' by making clear the meaning and characteristics of 'Hwa-byung' and by analyzing the concept of 'Hwa-byung'. Method: The concept analysis of Hwa-byung was proceeded according to the concept analysis process of Walker and Avant(1995). Result: The conceptual characteristics of Hwa-byung resulted from the research are like these : (1) Injustice (2) Anger (3) Rumination (4) Anxiety. Therefore, we can describe Hwa-byung as the feeling repeatedly accumulated through the heavy mental pain, injustice, and anger and it is appeared with the physical and behavioral symptoms. Conclusion: Through this concept analysis, we propose as followings ; First, there's need of the objective tools which make it possible to assess Hwa-byung through the theory development and the statement associated with Hwa-byung. Second, there's need of interdisciplinary approach in the development of nursing intervention to coordinate the characteristics of Hwa-byung by understanding the total nature of Hwa-byung and finding the variables associated with Hwa-byung.