5 elements Theory - Emotions

[Guest guest]

>What is the meaning for example of Joy being the emotion related to

>Fire and the Heart, or Small Intestine ? Does it mean that somebody

>really joyous has heart problems, or that he has a very good heart ?

 

Each of the Elements has one or more different emotions associated with it.

These are anger - Wood (Liver & Gall Bladder), joy - Fire (Heart & Small

Intestine), pensiveness and worry - Earth (Spleen & Stomach), sadness -

Metal (Lungs and Large Intestine), and fear - Water (Kidneys & Bladder).

(Shock affects both the Kidneys and Heart.)

 

The 7 Emotions in are anger, joy, worry, pensiveness,

sadness, fear, and shock. They each affect a different Organ or Organs.

Sadness primarily affects the Lungs but also can impact the Heart. Worry

" depletes and knots " the Spleen and Stomach but also " knots Lung-Qi leading

to anxiety, breathlessness and stiffness of the shoulders and neck. "

(Maciocia, Foundations, p. 132.)

 

When emotions are processed correctly, there is little if any long-term

problems that result. Some examples of improperly processing emotions

include suppressing emotions, blocking emotions, denying one has certain

emotions, substituting one emotion for another (like in the case of an

individual who consistently embraces anger in order to keep from feeling and

acknowledging how afraid s/he is), etc. Sudden, very strong emotions also

can cause lasting problems that need to be corrected.

 

What improperly processed or sudden, very strong emotions do is they affect

Qi flow. Anger makes Qi rise, joy slows it down, worry and pensiveness knot

it, sadness dissoves (dissipates) Qi, fear makes it descend, and shock

scatters it. (Maciocia, Foundations, p. 130.)

 

" Most of the emotions can, over a long period of time, give rise to Fire.

There is a saying in : 'The five emotions can turn into

Fire'. This is because most of the emotions can cause stagnation of Qi and

when Qi is compressed in this way over a period of time it creates Fire,

just as the temperature of a gas increases when its pressure is increased. "

(Maciocia, p. 130.)

 

Being aware of the emotions and the Elements and Organs they primarily

affect can be diagnostic clues. For example, if a client appears angry a

lot, suspect and rule in or rule out Liver imbalance. If a client appears

fearful a lot, suspect and rule in or out Kidney imbalance. If a person is a

student, suspect and rule in or out Spleen imbalance as excessive thinking

can damage the Spleen. If there is a history of loss in the family (a

death, the loss of a job or home, etc.) and there is unworked-through grief,

suspect and rule in or out Lung imbalance.

 

" Joy " often is a poor translation of what the Chinese mean by " joy " damaging

the Heart or pointing to Heart imbalance. A better term for excessive joy

would be mania. At its mildest this can be a person who talks too much and

never takes anything seriously. (Suspect and rule in or rule out Heart

imbalance in such individuals.) At its worst, this is the mania of Bi-Polar

(Manic-Depressive) Disorder. A number of the more severe mental illnesses

have a Root of severe Heart imbalance.

 

Some healers in China deliberately will invoke certain emotions as an

antidote for certain problems. Some people will embrace certain emotions as

a way of avoiding emotions that are more threatening to the individual.

Like some cases where individuals will embrace anger as a way of avoiding

facing and dealing with fear issues.

 

I find the Chinese view of the connection between mind and body far more

sophisticated than the Western view. Most Western allopathic healers pay

attention only to the effect of mind and emotions on the body, often

misdiagnosing anything and everything as " psychological " . This is

particularly apt to happen when the Western allopathic doctor is lazy,

rushed for time, and/or just plain doesn't know what is wrong with the

patient.

 

But the Chinese are very much aware that mind-body is a two-way street, that

physical based problems also generate emotional and mental symptoms.

Chinese medicine recognizes that emotions can be diagnostic of physical

problems.

 

Anger and its effect on the Liver is a good example. It doesn't matter if

the original assault on the Liver is emotional (like in the case of

long-term frustration), or if it's viral/ bacteria, or due to trauma, or due

to toxins, or due to improper diet or whatever. Once Liver imbalance takes

hold, the person is going to be more prone to feeling anger. In turn, the

tendency to feel angry is going to generate more Liver imbalance. It's a

snowballing situation.

 

No competent TCM healing is going to fob a client off with " it's

psychological - see a psychiatrist, I can do nothing. " The competent TCM

healer is going to use his or her training to address the physical part of

the problem - the Liver or Kidney or whatever imbalance. There will be some

cases where the client will need and benefit from counseling. The competent

TCM healer recognizes these cases and refers, but also realizes that the

counseling is more apt to be successful if the TCM healer also addresses the

TCM imbalance. It's a whole lot easier to face and address as well as talk

about long-standing problems of frustration and anger (or grief, fear, etc.)

if Liver (Lung, Kidney, etc.) imbalance no longer is priming the person to

feel these particular emotions.

 

Victoria

 

 

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