Traditional Medicine: Talking About the Seven Emotions in TCM Health Preservation
Chinese medicine holds that humans experience seven emotions: joy, anger, worry, thought, grief, fear, and shock—collectively known as the "seven emotions." Among these, anger, joy, thought, worry, and fear correspond to the five zang organs. The *Huangdi Neijing* states: “Anger injures the liver; sorrow overcomes anger,” “Joy injures the heart; fear overcomes joy,” “Thought injures the spleen; anger overcomes thought,” “Grief injures the lung; joy overcomes grief,” “Fear injures the kidney; thought overcomes sorrow.” These theories have been applied throughout history in health preservation, playing an irreplaceable subtle role in emotional regulation, disease prevention, and longevity.
We know humans are complex organisms; emotions and desires are natural mental activities beneficial to health. However, abnormal emotional states can lead to loss of self-control, nervous system dysfunction, internal imbalance of yin and yang, resulting in various diseases, premature aging, or even early death. Therefore, good health preservation requires emotional regulation. Excessive emotions disrupt internal functions and harm the five zang organs.
Emotional damage to the liver: Anger is common; it causes qi to rise, harming the liver, leading to irritability, restlessness, dizziness, and blurred vision. It also triggers hypertension, coronary heart disease, and peptic ulcers.
Emotional damage to the heart: Joy promotes blood circulation and muscle relaxation, aiding recovery from fatigue. But excessive joy harms heart qi. As stated in *Huainanzi: Yuan Dao Xun*: “Extreme joy leads to collapse.” Excessive yang depletion causes heart qi agitation, scattered spirit, and invasion by pathogenic factors—resulting in palpitations, insomnia, forgetfulness, and dementia. The story in *The Scholars*, where Fan Jin goes mad from overwhelming joy and sorrow after passing the imperial exam in old age, exemplifies extreme joy harming the heart.
Emotional damage to the spleen and stomach: Chinese medicine teaches: “Excessive thinking causes qi stagnation.” Overthinking disrupts nervous system function, reducing digestive secretions—leading to poor appetite, reduced food intake, emaciation, shortness of breath, fatigue, and depression.
Emotional damage to the lungs: Grief and sorrow closely relate to lung health. Intense sorrow damages the lungs, causing dry cough, shortness of breath, hemoptysis, hoarseness, breathing changes, and severe digestive disruption. Lin Daiyu in *Dream of the Red Chamber*, perpetually melancholy and sorrowful, illustrates this clearly.
Emotional damage to the kidneys: Fear and shock disrupt the nervous system, causing tinnitus, deafness, dizziness, impotence, and even death. Reports abound of people being frightened to death by verbal threats—demonstrating the danger of “fear causing qi to descend.”
In summary: Emotional states are deeply linked to internal organs. With aging, organ function declines and adaptive capacity weakens, making older adults vulnerable to illness under intense emotional stress. As Chen Zhi said: “The frail are like candles in wind—easy prey to disease.” This shows that intense emotions are key triggers for illness. Life inevitably involves joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. The best way to avoid emotional extremes is to remain calm and composed when facing complex situations. After events pass, don’t dwell on them—avoid self-inflicted distress. Cultivate optimism, strengthen psychological resilience, broaden your perspective, keep emotions positive. Practice detachment, contentment, and equanimity—view life’s joys, sorrows, honors, humiliations, labors, and gains as fleeting clouds. Seek peace of mind, preserve inner tranquility, and longevity follows. Additionally, cultivating healthy hobbies and finding spiritual fulfillment can actively prevent emotional excess and safeguard organ harmony.