If we are not careful, our emotions can rule us instead of us mastering them… And to live a balanced life with Health , Joy, and Wealth, we MUST do all in our power to master them. According to an article in The Lancet on Infectious Diseases, our emotions are also used against us. It reads: ‘We human beings are creatures not only of intellect but of emotion too. Understanding this very well, campaigners against medical advances appeal to the latter at least as much as the former. From battles over the earliest vaccines, through cornea grafting in the 1950s and heart transplantation in the 1960s, to embryo research today, opponents invariably deploy emotional ammunition as well as whatever rational arguments they can muster.’ So what emotions are poked and prodded to make us feel forced to do things with our health that we should not?
Chinese medicine teaches us of seven (7) emotions that can cause disorders of our internal organs and disease. These seven emotions are: fear, shock, joy, sorrow, worry, contemplation, and anger. Of these there are specifically two (2) that must be focused on to help us overcome the others. These are Fear and Anger. Let me elaborate on these two main emotions.
- I have noticed these to be more prevalent today than ever before in my 23+ years in practice. First, what organs do you think are weakened by Fear? The answer? The Kidneys. Before I continue, I must remind you to open up your minds. You must unlearn what you think you know about your bodies when I discuss Chinese Medicine. It is the only way to truly understand it and help your bodies heal themselves. Having said this, let’s continue…
Do you know someone with kidney problems? Have you noticed they are harboring unresolved fear issues? Did you know Holistic Medicine also teaches us that unresolved forgiveness, resentment, are also related to kidney health? And an even more interesting fact, did you know that the kidneys are known to be the residence of the loins according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)? In other words, if you are having problems in the Sex department, know that Sexual Health also depends on controlling and overcoming negative emotions, and keeping the kidneys optimally healthy. And how are unresolved forgiveness and resentment linked to fear affecting kidney health, and in turn affect sexual health also? The person holding on to these negative emotions with so much of their being fears subconsciously that if they forgive, or let go of their resentment, that the hurtful act done towards them may happen again…
TCM focuses on strengthening these organs to help a person overcome debilitating emotions. The kidneys are important organs in charge of growth, reproduction, and maintenance of the metabolic balance of water throughout the body. Everything from bone health, to fertility, to blood pressure health depends on kidney health. Think of those you know with back pain, joint problems, infertility issues, ear problems or hearing problems, low or high blood pressure, edema, fears, resentments, not able to forgive, etc.
Here are other specific symptoms Chinese Medicine teaches us are experienced when the kidneys are weak:
- Impotence
- Weak legs
- Brittle bones
- Arthritis
- Kidney inflammation
- Osteoporosis/ Premature over calcification
- White/graying hair
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ear)
- Back problems
- Problems when climate turns cold
- Premature aging
- Ailments in the bones
I recommend to patients to balance and help diminish an excess of the emotion known as Fear, strengthen the kidneys, and increase energy in the body, a specific combination of natural herbal therapies.
These provide a basic balancing of yin energy of the vital organs with specific focus on kidney health.
And now, the second emotion,… Anger. This is the emotion related to the Liver. This negative emotion forces energy upward. Think of someone who’s face and/or eyes become red when angry. Heat rises and so this is the perfect example of how this negative energy flows within the body. This upwards energy, which comes from the chemical plant of the body, the liver, will have a person demonstrating symptoms of nausea, vomiting, vomiting blood and diarrhea containing undigested foods. Do you know someone who gets ‘ticked off’ all the time? Someone who lives angry at others all the time and/or angry at the world? Please know, these are symptoms of liver imbalances. Do you know someone who has already been diagnosed with a liver disease? Most likely the person lives with underlying anger. The liver is one of the most important internal organs in the human body. It is the filter of blood, fat and hormones. It stores and regulates the blood throughout the entire body and is also in control of extending and flexing muscles and joints. The liver loves to grow and disperse, and hates to be inhibited and oppressed. For this reason, when the liver is inhibited by the emotion of anger, it is harmed as a result. Anger and anxiety are even linked to heart disease according to an article this year in The Atlantic. All this contributes as a root problem to diseases of the liver. And therefore, when the liver is diseased, a person demonstrates many more subsequent emotional problems.
Here are specific symptoms Chinese Medicine teaches us demonstrate Yang liver imbalances:
- Gastric acidity-gastric
- High triglyceride count
- Irritability, anger or hardheadedness
- Throat irritation
- Tonsil inflammation
- Gallbladder stones
- Eye infections (ex: sties)
- Allergies
- Digestive problems
- Migraines
- Menstrual irregularities
In this case, I recommend to patients a combination of natural herbal therapies that help to balance the liver, help bring more harmony within, and more joy to the body and self.
If we balance the emotional, the physical will follow.
