For about some months, I'd been having little sores(aphtha) and eruptions in my mouth and the tongue. Once it developed, it would last for about two weeks even though I tried applying ointments for stomatitis. It hurt when saliva or food touched it, and even when my mouth got dry. It was so painful to put on the ointment which didn't have much effect. It seemed that it took more than two weeks to calm down once it started. It had cycles. Eruptions for about two weeks with not an ointment effective, and another two weeks and the eruptions somehow calmed down. But it only calmed down to erupt again in a couple of days. I couldn't stand the pain nor the sizzling sensation when I put on the liquid medication.

When I had to get a new bottle of the liquid medication, I got to thinking that there must be some more original cause. Since it was in the middle of school year I thought I needed some rest. But when it occurred again after winter vacation, I consulted a Korean Medical doctor. Knowing that I major in Korean Medicine, he told me not to fidget all the time. He prescribed ten chups of Shimmidojeoksan for me. The medication was in 15 pouches for me take one after every meal, three times a day. Surprisingly enough, 2 pouches was enough to calm the sores and eruptions down.

I looked up my 『Donguibogam』 for the prescription of Shimmidojeoksan. I first looked up the chapter titled "mouth and tongue". But I couldn't find it there. It was for Heart disease, when the Heart is overly heated up. It functions to quell the heat down. It says: It treats where excessive Heat of the Heart causes sores and eruptions in the mouth and tongue with fright, palpitation, restlessness, and thirst.

The prescription for Shimmidojeoksan goes like: 2g of Rhizoma Coptidis, Radix Scutellariae, Radix Liriopis, Rhizoma Pinelliae, Cortex Lycii, Poria, Radix Rubra Paeoniae, Caulis Akebiae, Rehmanniae Recens Radix, and Radix Glycyrrhizae, which are mixed into one chup(20g) and boiled with five pieces of ginger(Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens).

With what it says in 『Donguibogam』, in my mind I started writing down what characteristics of mine caused those problem and how much it matches with what it says in the text.

1. I push myself with energy all the time and love to plan things out. But I also tend to worry too much beforehand with nervousness. I enjoy the accomplishments that come after all the hardships. This often causes mental exhaustion and since I don't much enjoy physical activities, there's just no other way around for my mental health to keep up a healthy level.

2. I get frightened and scared of things too easily, which belongs to fright of the seven basic emotions. I'm not the type of person to enjoy slayer films or riding on scary things at amusement parks. I get most frightened at sound-related shocks. Interestingly, the ear belongs to the function of the Kidney.

3. My nose and throat gets out of condition very easily. Talking for about an hour changes my voice and my nose is frequently stuffed or runny. Since the nose and throat belong to the functions of the Lung, I readily knew I had weak Lung, maybe because I was born prematurely-at nine month's period.

If I think about something for a period of time, I can hardly get to sleep. Then, I can hear my heart beating faster. The relationship of the body and the mind or emotions, is a very widely-dealt with topic in news articles. But after majoring in Korean Medicine, the relationship came to mean something more than just being related.

「Introduction to Korean Medicine」taken at Grade 1 and other major subjects so far made me pretty much acquainted with what color, direction, taste, odor, emotion, etc. matches to the according phase of the Five Phases. Somehow, through memorizing what emotion belongs to what phase from the five, I was probably starting to notice what's really in it. (Liver-anger, Heart-happiness, Spleen-thinking, Lung-sadness, and Kidney-fright)

Three years of studying Korean Medicine enabled me to realize that I have a weak Heart, since I'm too vulnerable to affection by frights, the emotion of Kidney or Water, which inter-controls the Heart or the Fire. Some particular phrases I memorized actually made sense. The one that hit upon me this time is "舌, 心之苗.(The tongue is the bud of the Heart.)" And since sadness is the emotion related to the Lung, my weak Lung may have been making me get depressed at occasions, which can also be interpreted as excessive thinking damaging the Spleen, which inter-promotes the Lung.

It was so timely for me to have Shimmidojeoksan prescribed for my irritating pain. Also ,studying the "case" for myself also helped me in refining my medical knowledges. The new school year started just yesterday. I'm sure Pathology II-of Western medicine and Korean Medicine, Prescriptionology, Herbology II, Pharmacology-of western drugs and herbal drugs, Meridianology I of grade 4 will bring me a step closer to understanding Korean Medicine.

With classes, labs, two group studies, working out at gym, and cello lessons, it seems to be another tight semester. I'd better plan ahead so I don't overwork myself to have those eruptions again. I'll first have to calm myself down and stop worrying too much, although I'll have to go get another package of Shimmidojeoksan if I fail to stay calm.