Emotions and TCM

Emotional strain can most definitely affect our health, not just mental health but physical health too. Today I’m going to take a short look at the emotions and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). I’ll discuss what the effects of emotions can be on the body.

First of all, all our emotions have their natural place. It’s fine to feel an emotion, any emotion. It can become a problem to our health however, if it becomes long lasting, or if we feel it very deeply, or both. In these cases, the emotions can cause a pattern of disharmony and imbalance. Over time, if not addressed, they can make us ill.

All emotions affect the Heart. Different emotions also affect different TCM organs (these are not quite the same thing as the Western medicine view of these organs but I’ll discuss this in another article). They also affect our Qi in different ways.

Anger (whether expressed or bottled up), resentment, or frustration makes Qi rise and it affects the Liver. This often results in symptoms that occur in the head and neck, for example headaches, migraines, dizziness or tinnitus.

Joy slows down Qi and affects the Heart. Most of us think of joy as being a positive emotion and most of the time it is, when it comes and moves on. If it is long lasting, or felt too deeply though, then this excess of excitement and craving can lead to overstimulation and addiction. If you think how children can be when over-excited, this gives a better idea of Joy in TCM. This can result in symptoms such as palpitations, insomnia and restlessness.

Overthinking and worry, knots Qi and affects the Spleen. This can result in symptoms affecting the digestion, such as poor appetite, bloating, stomach pains and tiredness.

Sadness, grief and regret all deplete Qi and affect the Lungs. This can result in symptoms felt most in the chest area, such as breathlessness, discomfort in the chest and tiredness.

Chronic fear, anxiety or a sudden fright, makes Qi descend and affects the Kidney. This can result in bed-wetting, incontinence and diarrhoea.

Some of the emotions affect first one organ but then can go on to affect others, so the route is not always simple. It’s also possible for a symptom to link back to more than one organ/emotion. For example, depression could be due to repressed anger or resentment, or it could be due to grief.

If you’d like to understand how your emotions could be affecting your health and learn some strategies to prevent becoming a slave to them, then please join me for a telehealth session. 

Stay safe, stay well, stay home.