It’s no secret that your mental and emotional state can have a big impact on your life – but you may not fully understand the impact it can have on your physical health.
In traditional Chinese medicine, emotions and physical health are intimately connected. This integrated mind-body approach to health and healing operates in a dynamic loop where emotions impact the health of the body and vice versa.
With this in mind, holding onto accumulated emotions long-term, or emotional imbalances, can be bad for your physical health.
Yin-Yang Five Elements theory
According to the Yin-Yang Five Elements theory of Oriental medicine, there are five key organs which are the home of emotions. It is believed that emotions that are unconsciously held back and stored up too long can directly damage the organs and cause various physical ailments. (Mayer 2023). Many of these emotions can be linked back to stress and can result in feelings of fatigue and weakness.
Anger and the liver
The liver controls circulation, metabolism, excretion, and detoxification. In traditional Chinese medicine, holding onto too much anger raises the Qi too much and damages the liver.
One scientific review suggested that liver-associated health patterns might be useful in understanding and managing anger syndromes, revealing a link between the two (Kwon et al. 2020). Another study using rats as test subject showed that internalising anger is linked to an increased hypothalamic response (your body’s way of responding to stress) and that traditional Chinese herbal medicine used to regulate liver Qi lowers the hypothalamic response (Ge & Zhang 2011), further establishing the link between anger and your liver health.
Fear and the kidneys
Traditional Chinese medicine considers the kidneys the root of your constitutional strength, responsible for willpower and endurance. It’s believed that kidney imbalances can manifest as fear and fear lowers and weakens the Qi, leading to a negative cycle that further weakens your kidneys.
Modern science reveals that traditional Chinese herbs used to reinforce the kidneys can have benefits including improving cellular energy metabolism, increasing neurotrophic factors and the number of cholinergic neurons, and decreasing neurotoxin production (Li et al. 2006).
Joy and the heart
The feeling of “joy” is a good thing, and traditional Chinese medicine dictates that it usually allows the flow of Qi, leading to a good mood and relaxation. However, excessive or prolonged joy can cause damage to the heart.
Because the heart is thought to be the centre of thought and mental vitality in the Chinese tradition, excessive joy leads to forgetfulness, insomnia and brain fog, as it disperses the heart-Qi. (Tan et al 2013)
Grief, sadness and the lungs
The emotions of sadness, sorrow or grief can leave you feeling lethargic and unmotivated – understandably so! Traditional Chinese medicine also suggests that excessive or prolonged sadness can affect your breathing and lungs.
Traditional Chinese methods can also be an effective treatment for lung complaints. One study showed that asthma could be managed through traditional Chinese methods, including acupuncture sessions, dietary counselling, increased water intake and use of homeopathic medication (Huang 2018).
Worry and the spleen
Traditionally, worry is related to the stomach and digestive issues. You’ve probably heard the phrase “a knot in your stomach”. In traditional medicine, both liver stagnation and spleen deficiency are common features and causes of depression (Han et al 2024).
Traditional treatments for worry and depression include herbal formulas and acupuncture. Studies have shown that acupuncture has a positive effect as a treatment for depression, even sometimes being shown to be more effective than western medicine alternatives (Han et al 2024).
How to balance your emotions and physical health
So, now that you have all this knowledge, what can you do about it?
A big part of traditional medicine is balancing your Qi in order to stay healthy. And one technique to do so is acupuncture. Our friendly and expert acupuncturist, Yukiko, can help you to get to unblock the flow of your body’s energy, helping to balance your emotions and get your physical health back on track too. Book an appointment today!
Sources:
Mayer BA., The Five Elements: What Science Has to Say About This Chinese Medicine Theory, Healthline, 2023
Lee YS, Ryu Y, Jung WM, Kim J, Lee T, Chae Y., Understanding Mind-Body Interaction from the Perspective of East Asian Medicine, Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2017
Chan-Young Kwon, Jong Woo Kim, Sun-Yong Chung, Liver-associated patterns as anger syndromes in traditional Chinese medicine: A preliminary literature review with theoretical framework based on the World Health Organization standards of terminologies and pattern diagnosis standards, European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 2020
Ge QF, Zhang HY. Effects of Chinese herbal medicines for regulating liver qi on expression of 5-hydroxytryptamine 3B receptor in hypothalamic tissues of rats with anger emotion, Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2011
Li L, Wei HF, Zhang L, Chu J, Zhao L. [Modern biological basis of Chinese medical theory that "kidney nourishes marrow and brain is sea of marrow"]. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2006
Tan C, Wu Y, Chen S., Chinese Medicine for Mental Disorder and its Applications in Psychosomatic Diseases, Alternative Therapies 2013
Huang WL., The Treatment of Asthma Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Homeopathy, Journal of Pediatrics and Infants, 2018
Han YS, Saw JA, Yu J, Chen XW., Effectiveness of the integration of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine (integrative medicine) for treating liver stagnation and spleen deficiency in major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial protocol, Cogent Psychology, 2024
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