RYAN FRAZEE WRITES — Tik Tok is democratizing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) at a rapid rate.
The hashtag #traditionalchinesemedicine has over 19 million views. If you look it up, you will find accessible home remedies like gua sha, moxibustion, and acupressure for a wide array of physical and mental health problems such as insomnia, bruises, and anxiety. The videos are brief but educational. Wisdom is shared freely by licensed professionals and TCM aficionados alike with the same goal: spreading positivity and health.
One TCM professional Tik Tok account that caught my eye is that of Kathy, a doctor who continually posts health-oriented videos for all ages. Her account “@sightsage” is posted here. Kathy’s dedication to wellbeing is truly inspiring. The doctor is an expert on physical, mental and spiritual health and gracefully shares her knowledge. Another licensed Chinese medicine professional rich with Tik Tok health tips is Laurel, an acupuncturist focusing on skin care. I’ll post her account here.
I struggle with anxiety, depression, and poor physical posture. Today, I browsed the #traditionalchinesemedicine hashtag and quickly found short videos explaining simple techniques to alleviate my problems of stress and soreness. Although I’m normally hesitant to try new things, I found myself dancing joyously around my room after watching Kathy’s video on mood-lifting exercise. Also, I tested positive for COVID-19 last month and still can’t taste or smell anything. Sure enough, Kathy has a video explaining tips for lost sense of smell.
The hashtag shines a light on TCM’s bright potential in spreading hope during times of confusion and fear. I hope everyone who reads this can learn something new and benefit individually from TCM on Tik Tok.