The Liver and Anger - Part 3

By Emma Suttie, D.Ac, AP

Ever see a really impressive display of anger? Someone losing it in the lineup at the bank, an exasperated parent yelling at a child having a tantrum in the grocery store, or someone, after being on a plane for a bazillion hours being told that they have missed their connecting flight and that the airline has lost their luggage. Yeah, we've all seen that. And it is most of our instincts' to back away a few steps because of how powerful that anger can be. That, my friends, is your liver talking.

Now in the West, this doesn't make much sense. The liver, we are taught, is the body's filter, making sure that we stay clean and toxin-free. But in Chinese Medicine, each of the organs has an emotional component, which is just as important as its physical functions in the body, and the emotion of the liver is anger. Below is a list of the organs and the emotions associated with them in Chinese medicine.

The Liver - Anger

The Lungs - Sadness & Grief

The Spleen - Overthinking & Worry

The Heart - Joy

The Kidneys - Fear

Now these outbursts of anger are not the liver in its normal state, they are obviously a liver terribly out of balance. It is, of course, normal to experience emotions like anger, but as we know in Chinese medicine, it is when those emotions are unexpressed or repressed that things can build up and in the case of the liver if left long enough, can cause a Chernobyl like effect. And nobody wants that.

So how do you not let it get there, you may ask? Well, it is interesting to me that of all the life skills that are most useful to us, none of them to be taught in the place where it would be useful to acquire them - school. Emotional wellness is vital to our health and wellbeing and yet, most of us are at a loss at how to deal with them.

In Chinese medicine thinking, the emotions are a cause of disease. Now, this may sound ominous, but let me clarify. HAVING emotions is not a cause of disease and that is an important distinction. It is emotions out of balance, and they become imbalanced when we do not express them freely, or worse when we do not express them at all.

Let me give you an example...

Expressing Your Feelings

Two friends are having a conversation and one says something that is hurtful to the other without realizing it. The conversation continues with one person being very hurt and the other having no idea that they hurt the others feelings. After the conversation, the hurt person starts to feel angry at their friend for having hurt their feelings and not even realizing it. But, once they have had a few days to cool off they realize that they need to express their feelings to their friend so they will feel better. After the conversation the friend who said the hurtful thing unintentionally apologizes and explains what they meant when they said the thing that the other perceived as hurtful. The hurt friend sees it from the other's perspective and realizes it was not said intentionally and that anger was diffused and let go. The friends make up and their relationship is made stronger by the fact that they can openly express their feelings to each other.

Suppressing Your Feelings

The alternate scenario and many people do this, is for the hurt friend to be hurt which turns into anger and never mention anything to the other friend about it. This builds up over time and every time any other little thing the other friend does frustrates the already angry friend it just adds to the anger that is growing and growing. The friend who initially said the hurtful thing, completely unintentionally, has no idea that their friend is harbouring so much anger and one day, after a small disagreement, the angry friend has a complete blowup and all the anger that has been growing comes out all over the bewildered friend who had no idea that all that anger was in there, and certainly not that things they had been inadvertently saying or doing were the cause.

Not Expressing Your Feelings

Another scenario is that the hurt friend internalizes the initial hurt, and all other hurts, frustrations, etc... and never speaks about them. They do this not only with this particular friend but with everyone in their life. Eventually, this person becomes sick, despite being otherwise healthy and wonders why. This is one of the theories about where many cancers come from - a long-standing stagnation of energy, and in many cancers, many believe that there is a huge emotional component.

Now all that said, sometimes expressing your feelings isn't easy. We are not taught how, but it is of vital importance for your health and well being. A lot of us are taught to avoid confrontation, and many see expressing emotions that are seen as negative as opening the door to possible confrontation. But, I can tell you, that if you can speak your mind, and express what you are feeling, with kindness and compassion, it will almost always strengthen a relationship, and if it doesn't, that might not be a relationship you want to keep.

A Healthy, Happy Liver

When the liver is balanced and healthy we are able to move freely because of the liver's responsibilities of governing the smooth flow of Qi in the appropriate directions. You may wonder what happens when Qi flows in the wrong direction? Well, each of the organs has a natural direction in which its Qi flows. For example, the Qi of the stomach flows downward, helping to move food and drink through the digestive system, but when the flow of that Qi is reversed due to pathogenic factors it causes belching, hiccups, nausea and vomiting. A healthy liver means a strong immune system because the liver is responsible for the body's resistance to exterior pathogens. Because the liver opens into the eyes, if you have a healthy liver your vision will be clear and your eyes moist. If your liver is in a state of balance you will have strong nails, recover quickly from physical activities, your movements will be smooth and your body flexible. Those with a healthy liver will also have great courage and resoluteness, and will easily be able to plan their lives wisely and effectively with a clear sense of direction.

Some Symptoms of Liver Stagnation & Imbalance

frustration, depression or repressed anger
hypochondriac pain
sensation of oppression in the chest
a feeling of a "lump" in the throat
abdominal distension
women - pre-menstrual tension, depression, irritability, distension of the breasts
belching, sour regurgitation, nausea, vomiting
diarrhoea
bitter taste in the mouth, belching, jaundice
contraction and/or spasms in the muscles and sinews, impaired extension/flexion, numbness of the limbs, muscle cramps, tremors
dark, dry or cracked nails
blurred vision, myopia, floaters, colour blindness, a feeling of dryness or grit in the eyes
bloodshot, painful or burning sensation in the eyes
irritability, outbursts of anger, red face, dizziness, tinnitus, headaches
lack of direction in life, feeling of being stuck

As you can see, there are a wide variety of symptoms that can point to a disharmony of the liver. The liver has a great many responsibilities in the body, so keeping it healthy and happy is not only good for your physical health, it is important for your emotional health too. The other thing to remember is that having prolonged feelings of anger or frustration that are repressed or unexpressed can damage the liver and the opposite is true as well. A deficiency in the liver from either external pathogenic factors or an internal imbalance can make you more prone to feelings of anger and frustration. Expressing our emotions honestly and regularly is one of the best ways we can keep this important organ healthy. You'll know you achieved it the next time you are in a stressful situation and you are able to shrug it off and see the positive instead of going nuclear and destroying everything in your wake. ;)