Traditional Chinese Medicine on Health Preservation
Traditional Chinese medicine holds that human emotions—joy, anger, worry, thought, sorrow, fear, and shock—are known as the “seven emotions.” Among these, anger, joy, thought, worry, and fear are the five basic emotions, closely linked to the five zang organs. The Inner Canon states: “Anger injures the liver, sorrow overcomes anger,” “Joy injures the heart, fear overcomes joy,” “Thought injures the spleen, anger overcomes thought,” “Worry injures the lung, joy overcomes worry,” “Fear injures the kidney, thought overcomes sorrow.” This principle has been widely applied in medical and health preservation practices throughout history, playing an irreplaceable subtle role in emotional regulation, disease prevention, and longevity.
We know humans are complex organic beings. Emotions and desires are natural mental activities beneficial to health. But abnormal emotional states can cause emotional imbalance, leading to nervous system dysfunction, internal yin-yang disruption, resulting in myriad diseases, premature aging, and even early death. Therefore, those who value health preservation must pay attention to emotional regulation. Excessive emotions can disrupt internal organ functions and affect the five zang organs.
Emotional injury to the liver
Anger is a common emotion. Anger causes qi to rise, injuring the liver, manifesting as irritability, frustration, dizziness, and blurred vision. It is also a major cause of hypertension, coronary heart disease, and peptic ulcers.
Emotional injury to the heart
Joy promotes blood and qi circulation, relaxes muscles, and aids recovery from fatigue. But excessive joy harms heart qi. As recorded in Huainanzi: “Great joy leads to recklessness.” Excessive joy damages yang, causing heart qi to surge, leading to scattered spirit and invasion by pathogenic factors. Symptoms include palpitations, insomnia, forgetfulness, and senile dementia. The story in The Scholars, where Fan Jin goes mad after finally passing the imperial exam in old age due to overwhelming joy and sorrow, is a classic example of joy harming the heart.
Emotional injury to the spleen and stomach
Traditional Chinese medicine holds: “Overthinking causes qi stagnation.” Excessive rumination disrupts nervous system function, reducing digestive fluid secretion. Symptoms include poor appetite, loss of interest in food, emaciation, shortness of breath, fatigue, and depression.
Emotional injury to the lungs
Grief and sorrow are closely tied to the lungs. Intense sorrow can damage the lungs, causing dry cough, shortness of breath, hemoptysis, hoarseness, altered breathing patterns, and serious digestive issues. Lin Daiyu in Dream of the Red Chamber, whose melancholy and sorrow led to her demise, is a perfect example.
Emotional injury to the kidneys
Fear and fright disturb the nervous system, causing tinnitus, deafness, dizziness, impotence, and even death. Reports of people dying from psychological fright due to terrifying words are not uncommon. This illustrates the danger of fear causing qi to descend.
In summary: emotional activities are closely linked to internal organs. Elderly people, with declining organ function and weaker adaptability, struggle to withstand extreme emotional changes, making them prone to illness. As Chen Zhi said: “The frail are like candles in the wind—easily attacked by all diseases.” This shows that extreme emotions are a major factor in disease onset. Throughout life, emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are inevitable. The best way to avoid emotional extremes is to remain calm and composed when facing complex situations. Afterward, don’t dwell on past events, creating unnecessary suffering. Cultivate an optimistic outlook, strengthen psychological resilience, broaden your horizons, maintain a positive mood. Practice detachment and contentment, finding joy in simplicity. Treat life’s joys, sorrows, honors, humiliations, labors, and gains as fleeting illusions. Seek only peace of mind, maintain inner tranquility, and one will live long. Additionally, cultivating diverse interests beneficial to mind and body provides spiritual fulfillment, actively helping prevent emotional excess and ensuring organ harmony.