The Root of Emotional Imbalance in Your Organs

Published on Sakara S LIFE MAG • May 3, 2016

The mind and the body are inseparable.

Ancient Eastern civilizations have long understood the way our mental and spiritual bodies inform our physical nature. Western science too has begun to understand the interdependence between the emotional and physical body: we know the ‘gut’ acts as our second brain and that stress is pathological.

In fact, every organ corresponds to the energy of a certain emotion, and every disease stems from an imbalance in an organ or its meridians (energy channels). This is a fundamental idea in Chinese Medicine. Many times a physical disorder linked to a certain organ actually stems from an imbalance in the emotion associated with that organ. The reverse could be true: an imbalanced organ can heighten the specific emotion experienced by an individual. It can become a vicious cycle.

All emotions are inevitable, physiologically normal and will not cause disease when they arise in daily life. Chinese medicine only considers emotions as pathological when they are repressed, contained, or expressed intensely, often, without control, or out of context.

There’s a lot we can do on an internal level to balance our emotional health in the framework of eastern medicine. My training in Yin Yang Psychology under Grandmaster Hong Liu taught me that it is not always enough to simply decide to participate in our emotional lives through awareness exercises and meditation. We can treat the organ systems on a physical level much more effectively by using ancient Energetic or Yin/Yang Psychology to address an individuals specific needs in a much more targeted way. To learn more about this approach, feel free to get in touch with me.

Likewise, there’s a lot we can do on a physical level to support our emotional health, which we’ll primarily discuss here: specific foods and herbs that resonate with each organ’s energy can be used to appropriately strengthen, tonify, and detoxify the organ to help facilitate the flow and recycling of emotions on subtle levels. 

GRIEF + DEPRESSION

Grief is the emotion of the lungs and the large intestine, organs associated with the metal element. Loss of any kind will often trigger a cold, a feeling of being energetically drained, and/or difficult bowel function. Grief can stay with us for a while, and when it remains chronically unresolved it weakens the lung and large intestine energy making us more prone to depression and an inability to ‘let go’ of things. This can eventually interfere with lung function and oxygen circulation, since our lungs control the flow of energy in our bodies. Nutrition that supports the metal element is acrid, moving and dispersing in nature.

To Balance: pungent flavoured and/or white colored foods and herbs. Onion, radish, mustard greens, daikon radish, scallions (white part), almonds, white meat, white rice, white beans, white mushrooms, gingko nut, white mustard seed, ginger, pears.

Reduce: dairy, citrus, rich, processed or fatty foods that cause congestion.

FEAR 

Fear is the emotion of the kidneys and the bladder, organs associated with the water element. Fear is a normal adaptive emotion that evolutionarily has saved us from threat, but can cause chronic stress and elevated cortisol when we ignore it. Kidney issues often arise when we are dealing with fear, such as a change in life direction or unstable living conditions. When we experience extreme fright, our kidneys struggle to stabilize and we can quite literally pee our pants (as seen in ‘stage fright’). Nutrition that balances the water element has a descending energetic that supports us in cultivating a sense of grounding and courage. 

To Balance: salty flavoured and/or black colored foods and herbs. Black beans, walnuts, black sesame, mushrooms, water chestnuts, seaweed, blackberries, black tea, goji berries, lotus seed, cordyceps black rice, purple yam, rehmannia root. 

Reduce: cheese, salt, heavy meat, sugars, excessively cooling foods

WORRY + NERVOUSNESS

Worry is the emotion of the spleen and the stomach, organs associated with the earth element. Too much pensiveness, worrying and insecurity can weaken our ability to digest. When we are anxious, we find it hard to digest and accept a situation or life event. Lack of trust and ease towards the experiences and the foods we take in to our lives will make it equally difficult for us to let them in to nourish us. This can make us feel tired, lethargic, and unable to concentrate: a bit of a paradox, too much mental stimulation can actually cause mental heaviness. A weak spleen can also be the cause of stubborn weight problems, which get further worsened by extreme dieting and irregular eating. Nutrition that supports the earth element is warming, sweet and harmonizing in nature.

To Balance: sweet flavoured and/or yellow, orange, brown colored foods and herbs. Root veggies! Carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin, parsnip, squash, chestnuts, fig, taro, liquorice root, ginger root, jujube dates, honey, ginseng, astralagus.

Reduce: meats, salads, smoothies, cold, raw, and all frozen foods, iced drinks, refined sugars and grains.

ANGER + FRUSTRATION

Anger is the emotion of the liver and the gallbladder, organs associated with the wood element. Emotions like rage, fury or aggravation can indicate that this energy is in excess, and when we experience these emotions consistently, our liver can get further damaged. At this point, headaches and dizziness can be experienced often. An imbalanced gallbladder can be caused by longstanding feelings of repressed anger, such as resentment, frustration, and irritability. On the flipside, a gallbladder imbalance can manifest as indecisiveness and timidity. Nutrition that supports the wood element is sour in nature.

To Balance: sour flavoured and/or green colored foods and herbs. Dandelion greens, beetroot, green bell pepper, peas, sprouts, bok choy, string beans, cabbage, zucchini, mung beans, avocado, citrus, bergamot, buddha’s hand, milk thistle, goji berry, vinegar.

Reduce: dairy, crabmeat, alcohol, fried foods, peanuts, and excess citrus.

HAPPINESS + JOY

Joy is the emotion of the heart and the small intestine, organs associated with the fire element. When we experience true joy and happiness, we are nourishing our heart and small intestine energy. When they are balanced, we feel mentally clear and able to process experiences. When we are lacking joy in our lives, the heart suffers and we can feel stuck, mentally chaotic, and have difficulty sleeping. Mania or obsessive joy can indicate excess scattered heart energy, and can be the cause of more severe mental emotional disorders. Over stimulated heart energy could also cause agitation, insomnia and palpitations: even the good emotions can be out of balance. Nutrition that supports the fire element is bitter and cooling in nature. 

To Balance: bitter flavoured and/or red colored foods and herbs. beet, tomato, okra, cherry, watermelon, broccoli rabe, bitter melon, lettuce, arugula, dandelion, berries, chillies (in moderation), green tea, lotus root, sour jujube seed, hawthorn berries, garlic.

Reduce: excess spicy foods, caffeine, coffee, chocolate, sugar, salt, vinegar.

ANXIETY

Anxiety can have one of four origins according to TCM:

If related to the lungs and large intestine (metal), qi blockage can provoke shallow and irregular breathing or even holding of breath. The large intestine can be detrimentally affected by anxiety, making one more prone to issues like ulcerative colitis and IBS.

Kidney and bladder (water) issues could also be at the root of this emotion. Our adrenals regulate our stress response and when adrenal problems become chronic, they can cause anxiety. TCM recognizes the adrenal glands as the same as the kidneys. Anxiety can also be caused by disharmony between the kidneys and a blazing heart fire, in this case rapid heart palpitations are experienced.

Anxiety can stem from liver (wood) imbalance too, when longstanding anger and irritation goes unresolved. In this case anxiety manifests as nervous tension, irritability, and insomnia.

Anxiety from excess worry and pensiveness stems from spleen and stomach (earth) imbalance. This can cause excess rumination and stomach swelling and bloating after eating.

General anxiety aids: cooling foods to build yin, mulberries, longan berries, jujube dates, celery, valerian, chamomile, pearl extract.

Reduce: caffeine, stimulants, alcohol, cinnamon.

*Chinese herbs are more effective in formulas than alone. Always check with a trained TCM physician before taking anything new. Foods should not be restricted to these suggestions, they are simply a guide!