In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the different emotions are related to specific organs in the body. When the Qi is stuck, knotted or disrupted, emotions can be a tell-tale sign of where its stuck and where to begin treatment using Acupuncture or Chinese Herbal Medicine.
TCM believes emotions like joy, anger, sadness, and fear directly affect and often exhaust and deplete the body’s organs, with each organ system governing a specific emotion. A trained practitioner can also find in the pulse on both wrists, clues as to which organ system and meridian to begin treatment with.
Overall Mental and emotional wellbeing begins with the Shen.
The Shen (Our Spirit) resides in the Heart and reflects a person's emotional well-being. A healthy Shen manifests with mental clarity, focus concentration, emotional balance, and clear eyes. Individuals with a healthy Shen are calm, alert, and mentally strong.
When the Shen is disrupted, it can lead to symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, restlessness, or forgetfulness, mentally scattered, right through to aggressive outbursts or parasomnias including sleep walking and talking. This disruption may result from emotional stress, poor lifestyle habits, or imbalances in the Heart meridian system or other meridian systems. In TCM, restoring Shen involves addressing both the physical and emotional imbalances to promote being mentally present, clear headed and grounded.
In TCM, the meridians and pulses we pay attention to are:
The Heart + Pericardium:
Heart represents the Emperor, at the apex of the organ hierachy. The emotion of the Heart is JOY or a clue something is disrupted here is showing LACK OF JOY. Another support to the Heart is the Pericardium, which is an actual piece of anatomy around the heart, a sheath. In TCM we call it ‘Heart Protector’. People with Heart emotional patterns are usually “expressers” and outwardly express their feelings. Pericardium people, tend to “bottle things up”, harder to tell if they’re sad, angry or anxious. When reflecting on projects, tasks or decisions, a good question to ask is, “Is my Heart in it?”
The Liver:
The emotional continuum of the Liver is FRUSTRATION, Anger and Rage. Or the flipside of this coin is feeling low, down or DEPRESSED. We talk about Liver Qi Stagnation or Depressed Liver Qi in people who are easily frustrated, irritable or moody. Exercise is the EASIEST way to move stuck Liver Qi. Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs are another tool very useful at moving stagnancy and supporting the Liver.
The Kidneys:
The emotion of the Kidneys is FEAR. In cases of anxiety often there is a dual issue with Heart and Kidney. In TCM we describe it as Heart and Kidney not communicating. Heart representing the Fire element and Kidney representing Water. To have balance, water and fire need to temper and moderate each other, but not overtake each other.
The Spleen:
The emotion of the Spleen is WORRY. Overthinking, rumination, deep thinking all can exhaust the Spleen and be another aspect of an anxiety picture. OCD and checking behaviours associated with it is a pathological extreme of worry and deficient Spleen.
The Lungs:
GRIEF, SADNESS and LOSS are the emotions of the Lung and Metal element. It reflects the ability to let go - breathe in what we need and breathe out what we don’t need. When traumatic events happen with loss, grief affects the voice, breathing and chest.
So can Acupuncture make you emotional?
The short answer is yes, but usually not for long. It can make you feel emotional, as your body has an outlet to release this stuck emotion.
In clinic, with my clients, I use a phrase "Healthy Heart Expression". Tears, although perhaps embarrassing to you or making you feel self conscious, is a HEALTHY HEART EXPRESSION.
What is worse? - keeping emotions bottled up inside? Or letting them go through a "good cry" or release?
Many clients have often come in for something - examples include "STRESS" and underlying their stress is deep emotions, often stuck and have no outlet. It could be loss of a loved one, a breakup of a relationship, loss of a job or family tensions.
With consent, Acupuncture can be a respectful, positive and productive way to release pent up emotions that might otherwise be keeping people stuck.
Stuck emotions can also be part or present as a physical pain or problem such as sore shoulder, sore lower back, neck, jaw. It can also be part of hormonal changes. Not always, but sometimes.
Using acupuncture or Chinese herbs to ACKNOWLEDGE this part of you can be a POWERFUL part of treatment.
Ignore it and (in my clinical experience) physical pain may stay put. You may see very little or no progression though a condition that is bothering you. Books such as "The Body Keeps Score" by Bessel Van Der Kolk talks about the effects of Trauma on the Brain, Nervous system and Body.
If anything I have observed over 20+ year in clinical practice that Acupuncture provides relief for pent up emotions. It may even regulate and assist balancing out emotions. If clients do shed a few tears on the table (and that is on the rare occasion) they generally FEEL BETTER FOR IT and are RELIEVED.
As their practitioner, I reflect that if they do cry, its because that emotion has been sitting there, stuck, waiting to be expressed. In a private and confidential clinical space, it gives people the room to let it out and release it. If the client feels lighter for it, then I see it as working towards and supporting the client's overall wellbeing.
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