Chinese Medicine focuses on achieving health and well-being through the cultivation of harmony in our lives. In Traditional Chinese Medicine there are internal and external factors that contribute to disharmony and illness. Internal factors include emotions; for example, a deficiency or excess of an emotion, such as anger or grief, can contribute to the development of an illness. External or pathogenic factors such as cold or heat can damage aspects of our bio-energy system and can contribute to the development of an illness. In addition, constitutional factors, such as our genetic makeup, and our lifestyle (nutrition, exercise, relationships, coping mechanisms, stresses, and maladaptive and disharmonious views of life) also contribute to the development of illnesses.