Monday, October 23, 2006

Emotional Organs

Parents, do you know that how you feel can affect your organs and your well-being? Well, Traditional Chinese Medicine studies have shown that:

Joy is related to the HEART (circulatory disorders, palpitations, insomnia, poor memory, tongue ulcers)

Anger is related to the LIVER and GALL BLADDER (headaches, muscle tension and spasms, dizziness, high blood pressure)

Grief is related to the LUNGS (respiratory discorders, asthma, bronchitis, constipation, sinus, skin rashes)

Contemplation is related to the SPLEEN (disgestive disorders, nausea, belching, vomiting, knotted feeling in stamach, ulcers, diarrhoea, loss of appetite)

Fear is related to the KIDNEYS (urinary disorders, sexual disorders, impotence, low back pain)

Each emotion has a specific effect on the vital energy "Qi" in Chinese term.

Joy makes Qi harmonious
Anger makes Qi rise
Grief makes Qi disperse
Contemplation makes Qi concentrate or "knot up"
Fear makes Qi sink

JOY is . . .
  • warm, friendly, open and expansive
  • a hearty laugh that bubbles up spontaneiously from deep inside
  • enthusiasm
  • free and unconditional
  • free to anyone who claims it
To demonstrate how one can achieve true joy, try this exercise:
  1. Write down everything that has ever made you feel happy, from the great moments in your life to the most trivial joys.
  2. Cross out any item that require others to make it happen.
  3. From the remaining items, select one and do it right now.
  4. There you go, you are already looking happy.
  5. Next, choose another item and do it each for the rest of your life.
  6. When one list is completed, start another new list.
Joy should be practised until you are very good at it. It is something you do and not something that happens to you.

ANGER is destruction when left unresolved. When this happens, people are trapped into a vicious cycle of anger, rigidity and frustration. To resolve anger, the following suggestion may be useful:
  1. Try some form of exercise that emphasizes flexibility such as yoga, Tai Chi or dance.
  2. Regular massage is a good way to start softerning up
  3. Counselling and various group self-development activities are good for dealing with stored anger.
  4. Relaxation exercises, meditation and self-hypnosis can help in unwinding.
  5. Talk to someone who is willing to lend a listening ear.
GRIEF means coming to terms with loss. It relates to functions of the lungs and the large intestine. Both these organs are about expelling what we do not need. We can breathe in fresh air only after we have empty the stale air out of our lungs. So, take deep breathes to calm yourself and expel out all the bad airs.

CONTEMPLATION is emotional and mental digestion. Digestion refers to retaining what is good for the body and getting rid of what is useless. What the body keeps becomes a part of us so we are shaped by the process of digestion/reflection. Contemplation brings us face to face as to what to keep and reflection is about what to part. When there is too much contemplation, reflection can be stuck. This can then cause a feeling like a knot in the stomach. When the inward-focusing energy prolongs, this can lead to ulcers. So reduce contemplation and spare the SPLEEN.

FEAR is winter, midnight, darness and death. It makes Qi sink which is why the frequency of urination is increased by fear. Extreme fear can also cause diarrhoea. When dealing with fear, it also enhances our ability to deal productively with anger. Fear which is not faced frequently emerges as irrational anger. If fear is the root of anger, such feeling can only be dealt with by coming to terms with the fear that generated it.


In Singapore, life can be quite stressful. Just make sure you maintain a balanced diet and be try to be have more JOY in your life to avoid all the heart problems. Avoid being angry and your liver and gall bladder will be fine. When in grief, be sure to breathe well so that the lungs are still in good shape. Contemplate not and fear not so that the spleen and kidneys can also perform properly.

The above list of symtoms is just a guide and does not imply that all health problems are caused by emotions. So parents, just take the tips lightly and for knowledge.




1 comment:

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