“Seven Emotions” refers to the seven normal emotional activities: joy, anger, worry, thought, sadness, fear, and fright, which are the human mind’s responses to external events. The Seven Emotions are closely related to the functional activities of the body’s organs. They are associated with the five organs, represented by joy, anger, thought, sadness, and fear, and are commonly referred to as the five emotions.
The Seven Emotions are different reflections of human responses to objective phenomena. Within a normal range of activity, they generally do not cause disease. Only sudden, intense, or prolonged emotional stimuli that exceed the body’s normal physiological activity range can disrupt the flow of Qi, leading to imbalances in the organs’ Yin, Yang, Qi, and blood, which can result in disease. Therefore, as a causative factor, the Seven Emotions refer to excessively strong, prolonged, or sudden emotional changes that lead to imbalances in the organs’ Qi and blood, resulting in disease.
Diseases caused by the Seven Emotions are termed emotional stagnation-induced diseases. Additionally, due to certain chronic diseases, long-term dysfunction of the organs can lead to abnormal emotional states, referred to as diseases causing emotional stagnation. The Seven Emotions are also related to the body’s tolerance and regulatory capacity.
The pathogenicity of the Seven Emotions differs from the Six Excesses. The Six Excesses (wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and fire) are external pathogenic factors that invade the body through the mouth, nose, or skin, while the Seven Emotions directly affect the related organs and cause disease.The Seven Emotions can not only trigger various diseases but also significantly influence the progression of diseases, promoting either improvement or deterioration.Since the Seven Emotions are one of the main pathogenic factors for internal injuries, they are also referred to as “internal injury from the Seven Emotions.”
1
The Relationship Between the Seven Emotions and the Organs’ Qi and Blood
1. The Relationship Between the Seven Emotions and the Organs: The emotional activities of the human body are closely related to the organs, and the basic principle is: the heart governs joy; excessive joy harms the heart; the liver governs anger; excessive anger harms the liver; the spleen governs thought; excessive thought harms the spleen; the lungs govern sadness and worry; excessive sadness and worry harm the lungs; the kidneys govern fright and fear; excessive fright and fear harm the kidneys. This indicates that organ pathologies can manifest corresponding emotional responses, and excessive emotional responses can damage the related organs (mutual dialectics). The theory that the Seven Emotions arise from and harm the five organs has significant guiding implications in diagnosis and treatment.
2. The Relationship Between the Seven Emotions and Qi and Blood: Qi and blood are the two fundamental substances that constitute the body and maintain life activities. Qi has a warming and promoting effect on the organs, while blood nourishes the organs. Qi and blood are the material basis for emotional activities, and emotional activities are closely related to Qi and blood. Changes in the organs’ Qi and blood can also affect emotional changes, hence the saying: “when blood is abundant, there is anger; when it is insufficient, there is fear.” The physiological activities of the organs must be based on Qi and blood, while emotional activities are manifestations of the organs’ physiological functions, thus the relationship between emotional activities and the organs’ Qi and blood is closely intertwined.
2
The Pathogenic Characteristics of the Seven Emotions
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) studies the laws of human life, not just patients and diseases, which is quite different from Western medicine. TCM often places humans within two circles; the first circle is the natural circle, as stated in the Huangdi Neijing: “Avoid the virtual evil and the wind at the right time.” For example, in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, TCM often mentions that when wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and fire are excessive or untimely, they are referred to as the “Six Excesses” or “Six Evils.” When there is a lack of coordination between humans and the natural world, diseases arise; this is the first cause of disease.
The second circle is society, which discusses the relationship between human joy, anger, worry, thought, sadness, fear, and fright and human life and health. TCM has a saying in health preservation: “calmness and emptiness lead to true Qi.” This means that when your mood is in a very calm state, your Qi and blood will run normally. This normal flow is an important function for maintaining life activities. Conversely,when your emotions undergo abnormal changes, they can disrupt the flow of Qi and blood, leading to disease.
3
The Liver Governs Anger; Poor Liver Function Leads to Irritability
Many women are particularly prone to anger, especially around their menstrual periods. Why? Because women are primarily governed by blood and the liver is their innate organ. When menstruation approaches, blood flows downward, while Qi rises; at this time, the balance of Qi and blood is disrupted, leading to excess Qi and thus heat, which causes irritability. Therefore, women should pay attention to regulating their emotions before and after menstruation, avoiding excessive anger and depression. Both excessive anger and depression are not in line with normal physiological states, and over time, they can lead to disease.
In the clinic, I often tell women, if you argue with your husband, make sure to tell him to leave after making you cry, don’t let him leave while you’re still angry, because if he leaves while you’re still angry, the anger will stagnate inside you, and if it cannot be released, it will transform into heat, leading to further arguments. If you cry, what happens? Crying is related to the lungs; when you cry, the lung Qi becomes vigorous, which calms the liver Qi, because in TCM, the lungs and liver correspond to the elements of metal and wood, which have a mutual restraining relationship. When lung Qi is vigorous, liver Qi calms down. You can try it; when you feel particularly depressed, find a place where no one is around and cry it out; you will feel much better afterward.
We also see many patients with liver diseases who are particularly irritable. Why? Because the liver governs anger, the liver meridian inherently has heat, so they easily become angry. Therefore, when you feel particularly troubled and irritable for no reason, you need TCM to help you adjust. This liver issue is not the same as what Western medicine refers to as the liver; it does not mean you have hepatitis, but rather that your emotional state is problematic. This requires an adjustment process. We know that many diseases transition from quantitative changes to qualitative changes; when the changes are quantitative, they may not be detected, and Western medicine may say you are fine. For example, some people feel particularly uncomfortable after getting angry, with headaches and a feeling of pressure in the head; when they go to the hospital, Western medicine says you are fine, and all your indicators are normal. But you still feel uncomfortable; if you take some herbs to calm the liver and regulate the Qi, it will help.
4
The Heart Governs Joy; Excessive Joy Can Scatter Qi
The heart governs joy, and we all know that when we say someone is overjoyed, we don’t say they are over-livered. We also see many elderly patients with heart issues; why do they often pass away after a joyful reunion with their children? Because excessive joy can scatter Qi, and when one is overly joyful, their heart Qi is depleted. So, while joy is a good thing, excessive joy may not be beneficial.
5
The Spleen Governs Thought; Excessive Worry Harms the Spleen and Stomach
The spleen governs thought; “thought” refers to excessive worry. People who worry excessively will have issues with their spleen and stomach. Those who frequently use their brains often have poor spleen and stomach function. Why? Because we all know that we need to eat every day, and after eating, the Qi and blood go to the stomach to aid digestion. If at this time, your blood does not go to the stomach but instead stays in the brain for a long time, the spleen and stomach function will be affected over time.
For example, many long-distance drivers have stomach issues. Why? Because of their occupational habits; as soon as they sit in the driver’s seat, blood naturally flows to the brain. Over time, you can imagine that their blood is always going up, while the food they eat does not get digested properly. Eventually, this leads to diseases such as gastric ulcers and gastric prolapse. Therefore, TCM states that the relationship between thought and the spleen and stomach is that excessive worry harms the spleen, leading to Qi stagnation.
6
The Lungs Govern Sadness; Excessive Sadness Harms the Lungs
The lungs govern sadness; everyone has seen Dream of the Red Chamber, and you can see that Lin Daiyu must have lung issues; otherwise, she wouldn’t cry endlessly. Frequent crying and tearing are certainly related to the lungs. Recently, I treated an elderly gentleman with lung cancer, and he said, “Doctor, I don’t know why, but I feel like crying every time I see you.” I said, “This is because you have a problem with your lungs, as the lungs are directly related to the emotion of sadness.”
7
The Kidneys Govern Fear; Fear Can Scatter Kidney Qi
The kidneys govern fear, and fear is directly related to the kidneys. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Zhang Fei shouted on Changban Bridge, he scared a person next to Cao Cao to death; I think that person must have had weak kidney Qi. Fear scatters Qi; there is a saying among the people that when someone is frightened, they lose control of their bowels. Why does this happen? Because the kidneys control the two excretions. When a person is excessively fearful, their kidney Qi scatters, and the kidney’s ability to hold is weakened, leading to incontinence.
【Conclusion】Thus, the changes in emotions such as joy, anger, worry, thought, sadness, fear, and fright are closely related to the five organs. In fact, when we read historical novels, we see many such examples. For instance, why did Wang Xifeng fall ill? “Cunning calculations led to her demise,” as she was always scheming against others, and in the end, heaven punished her. Lin Daiyu cried every day, and eventually, her tuberculosis developed. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, we see that Zhou Yu, despite being young, died because of his jealousy and imbalance in his mindset, always feeling that Zhuge Liang was smarter than him, which ultimately led to his demise.
This article is excerpted from “Mr. Ni Haixia’s Summary of the Neijing.”
