This map of life must integrate mind, body, and spirit - it must explain how our emotions can get in way, and how we can make them healthy- it must show how bad mental habits lead to physical problems. It must give remedies for our habitual imbalances. It must suggest viable strategies for improving our health, our habits, our abilities, and ourselves.

You know where you are. Balance is where you want to go. You need this map of life to get there. But who has such a map? Where would you find it?

Chinese medicine has a mind-body life map that acknowledges your uniqueness, explains how everything is connected, describes imbalances, and suggests remedies for them. When you fail, it can explain why and what to do next.

This Chinese medicine map of life is quite forgiving. You don't have to be or live perfectly. It's better if you improve, because you prevent disease and save money, but if you mess up, and while you are making progress, you can take advantage of remedies that return you to balance, increase your energy, relieve stress and pain, improve mental function, and smooth out your emotions.

This is essential, because then we are not thrown miles off course with every mistake or surprise - we get back on track immediately - we don't make bad decisions or plans that come from disturbed emotions of someone who's been thrown off track. Thus, we get where we're going faster, and save time and grief.

Since life is always a journey, always a learning experience, hardly ever an arriving or stopping except for a short rest, Chinese medicine is an indispensable guide and companion for confusions and vagaries of adventure.

For herbal remedies, see an acupuncturist/herbalist. They can make sure which type you have, and help you get better.

Chinese herbal remedies are personalized, synergistic, balanced... best way to go in my opinion - much better than a number of single herbs from health food store.

Difficulty Reading Although not as likely in your case, since you used to do better with reading, many people learned to read wrong. They learned to visualize entire word as a picture (using wrong part of brain), instead of sounding it out (phonics - using correct part of brain). If you use visual part, it takes more mental effort, and makes you sleepy. So it is possible that as you age, or if you get worn out, using visual part of brain for reading would be more and more impossible.

If this is your problem, you may want to see a specialist, or look into various phonics products - they say you can re-learn reading even as an adult. But this isn't my area of expertise. It's just a supplemental idea for you to think about, and pursue with others.

*Source of Pattern Differentiation: The Treatment of Disease in Chinese Medicine, Vol 1 by Philippe Sionneau and Lu Gang.