Feeling Fearful? Worried? Sad? Angry?

In Chinese Medicine we consider it vital that the emotions we feel are balanced. It is human to feel emotions, whether that be angry, sadness, happiness, fear or worry. But to feel emotions to an excess is seen as a contributory factor in disease and  symptoms of ill health. In the West we have increasingly recognised that stress can lead to all sorts of other health issues such as heart attacks, stroke, headaches, migraine, IBS, anxiety and depression. Stress in one person may manifest as anxiety, for another it may be anger and feeling frustrated and irritable, for another feeling tearful and sad. We all have individual ways of managing our emotions.

Although it can be argued that emotions can be an appropriate and healthy response to some external stimuli, and indeed, they are often what makes us feel human, it is when emotions become out of balance and take over that they pose a concern for health.

In Chinese Medicine each emotion is linked to a particular organ and bodily function. For example, The Stomach and Spleen, the cornerstone of digestion, are linked with worry. We can see the link in people who are unable to eat when they are nervous or worried about something. The Kidneys and Bladder are linked to fear. Often people who are scared feel a need to empty their bladder or bowel. Remember the old saying about being ‘livery’? In Chinese Medicine the Liver is linked with feelings of anger and frustration when out of balance. You may notice signs of feeling impatient or being snappy.

My colleague Jason Moskovitz, writes here about ways in which you can balance your emotion, offering handy tips for reducing fear and worry, anger, sadness and being overly joyful.