The Seven Emotions and Their Characteristics and Manifestations: The seven emotions consist of joy, anger, worry, contemplation, sadness, fear, and shock. Generally, the seven emotions are a reflection of a person’s mental and emotional responses to various external influences or life environments, representing normal mental activities. However, if external factors or life circumstances cause significant or sudden fluctuations in a person’s mental state, or if these fluctuations persist beyond the body’s physiological capacity to regulate, it can lead to imbalances in yin and yang, qi and blood, and dysfunction of the organs and meridians, resulting in disease, which is termed as disease caused by the seven emotions. The occurrence of emotional diseases depends on the nature and intensity of external stimuli, as well as the individual’s constitution and the functional status of their organs. The seven emotions, as “internal injuries,” contrast with “external pathogens,” indicating that organ diseases can be directly caused by external pathogenic factors or indirectly caused by abnormal emotional responses triggered by objective circumstances and life environments. Regardless of whether the cause is external or internal, they are merely conditions for disease onset, while the true internal causes are the strength of the constitution, organ function, and mental state. The characteristics of emotional diseases are primarily reflected in the following aspects: 1) Human emotional activities are closely related to corresponding internal organs. As stated in the “Su Wen: On the Correspondence of Yin and Yang,” “Humans have five organs that correspond to five emotions, giving rise to joy, anger, sadness, worry, and fear.” It is also said that the liver corresponds to anger, the heart to joy, the spleen to contemplation, the lungs to worry, and the kidneys to fear. Different emotional changes can harm related organs; for example, excessive anger harms the liver, excessive joy harms the heart, excessive contemplation harms the spleen, excessive worry harms the lungs, and excessive fear harms the kidneys. However, the relationship between emotional changes and organs is not absolute, as humans are an organic whole, with the heart being the master of the five organs and six bowels, where the spirit resides. Therefore, abnormal changes in the spirit are related to the heart. 2) Changes in the seven emotions can often harm the qi mechanism of the corresponding organs, leading to disease. For instance, joy can cause qi to relax; excessive joy can harm the heart, leading to shortness of breath, excessive laughter, inability to concentrate, and in severe cases, incoherent speech and disordered behavior. Anger causes qi to rise: excessive anger harms the liver, causing liver qi to rebel, resulting in a flushed face and bulging eyes, and in severe cases, can lead to blood stasis and fainting. Worry causes qi to sink: excessive worry leads to a depressed emotional state, obstructed qi mechanism affecting the lungs and spleen, chest tightness, abdominal distension, fatigue, excessive phlegm, reduced appetite, and a rough pulse. Contemplation causes qi to stagnate: excessive contemplation leads to qi stagnation harming the heart and spleen, resulting in fatigue, reduced appetite, forgetfulness, excessive sleeping, and a deep and tight pulse. Sadness causes qi to dissipate: it harms the lungs and heart, leading to excessive sadness, a desire to cry, sighing, a pale complexion, insufficient spirit, and lung stagnation. Fear causes qi to descend: fear harms the kidneys, causing anxiety, sinking of vital energy, nocturnal emissions, prolapse of the rectum, and urinary incontinence. Shock causes qi to become chaotic: shock leads to a lack of mental stability, disorientation, and chaotic qi, resulting in mental unrest, palpitations, and a dazed expression. 3) Changes in emotions can disrupt organ function, and imbalances in organ yin, yang, qi, and blood can also affect emotional changes. For example, liver qi stagnation can lead to irritability and anger, while excessive heart fire can lead to mania and delirium.
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