One of the questions I hear at Finer Point Acupuncture is some version of: “Why do I have all these different things going on at once — is it all connected?” Chinese medicine has a way of answering that question that’s different from a symptom-by-symptom checklist. Rather than treating fatigue, sleep trouble, and digestive upset as three separate problems, it looks for the underlying pattern that ties them together.
To make that way of thinking a little more accessible, I’ve built two free interactive tools for the website: What’s My Pattern? — Women’s Health and What’s My Pattern? — Men’s Health.
How it works
You tick whichever symptoms have been showing up for you lately — things like poor sleep, low energy, digestive changes, mood, or (depending on which version you use) menstrual or urinary symptoms. As you select, a small “Five Phases” wheel fills in, giving a visual sense of which system the pattern is leaning toward. Once you’ve selected enough to get a meaningful picture, the tool shows you the Chinese medicine pattern your symptoms most closely match, along with a plain-English explanation of what that pattern means and some general lifestyle notes that traditionally support it.
The women’s version covers patterns like Liver Qi Stagnation, Blood Deficiency, and Kidney Yin Deficiency, with symptom categories spanning the menstrual cycle, energy and temperature, digestion, sleep and mood, and skin and hair. The men’s version covers a similar spread of patterns — including Kidney Yang, Kidney Yin, and Kidney Essence (Jing) Deficiency — with symptom categories built around energy and vitality, digestion, sleep and mood, and urinary and reproductive health.
Why patterns, not just symptoms
In a first consultation, a lot of my time goes into exactly this kind of pattern-spotting — noticing that persistent fatigue, cold hands and feet, and a sore lower back tend to travel together, for example, or that irritability, digestive upset, and a cycle that runs on its own schedule often point in the same direction. Seeing your own symptoms grouped this way can make a first appointment feel less like starting from scratch, and can help you describe what’s going on more clearly when you do come in.
What this tool is — and isn’t
I want to be very clear about this: What’s My Pattern? is an educational tool, not a diagnostic one. It doesn’t replace a consultation with me or with any other registered practitioner, and it’s not a substitute for advice from your GP or another qualified health professional.
- It can’t examine your tongue or feel your pulse, which are core parts of a proper Chinese medicine assessment.
- It doesn’t know your full health history, your medications, or anything specific to your situation.
- It isn’t designed to catch symptoms that need urgent or specialist medical attention — if something feels seriously wrong, please see your GP or seek emergency care rather than working through this tool.
- The patterns it shows are a starting point for a conversation, not a finished answer.
Think of it the same way you might think of a well-written pamphlet in a waiting room: useful for orienting yourself and knowing what questions to ask, but no replacement for the person sitting across from you, who asks the right follow-up questions.
Try it for yourself
Both tools take a couple of minutes and are free to use, with no sign-up required:
If your result leaves you curious — or if you’re dealing with symptoms that concern you — booking a consultation is the next step. A proper assessment, including pulse and tongue diagnosis and a full discussion of your health history, gives a much clearer picture than any online tool can, and lets us build a treatment plan that’s actually built around you.