The seven emotions

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are seven main emotions that we all experience.

These are: Joy Anxiety Contemplation Anger Grief Fright Fear.

Traditional Chinese Medicine has a long history. Imbalances in these organs typically result in patients expressing the emotion linked to it.

Joy: We usually think of joy as a positive emotion. But it can be negative too. Someone who is always over excited and overly positive isn’t able to react appropriately to their surroundings or to social situations. Joy is associated with the heart.

Anxiety and Contemplation: These two emotions are tied to the spleen. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the spleen isn’t only responsible for digesting food. It is also involved in digesting our thoughts and turning knowledge into wisdom. If the spleen is out of balance, we can get too stuck in our thoughts – contemplation. Or we can’t prevent worries about the future racing through our heads – anxiety.

Anger: Our livers are associated with anger, including irritation and frustration. People with an overworked liver, such as those who drink too much alcohol, often have a more aggressive personality because their liver is in excess.

Grief: Our lungs are the organ tied to grief. If you think about how we express grief physically with tears and crying, you see that it has a strong association with the breath and the lungs.

Fear and fright: These emotions are linked to our kidneys and urinary system. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the kidneys are where we store our essence, which dictates our longevity. So, if we are always fearful, it can eventually affect how long we live.

From Danielle Collins

A very concise, if not overly simplified guide to emotions and the organs 🙏🏽☯️