Dissatisfaction, frustration, animosity, grudges, resentment, rage, aggressiveness, impatience, bitterness, repression, irritation… are all states to which we attribute a common factor: anger.
This emotion that overwhelms and invades us, to the point of blinding us in states of extreme rage, expresses itself in various forms. A man mad with rage ready to destroy everything around him and an exhausted depressive can be subjects of the same emotion, despite radically different expressions.
It is important to distinguish between "good" and "bad" anger. Felt occasionally and controlled, it is healthy. It becomes pathological if repressed or if it becomes a way of life, as in irascible people or those constantly on edge.
TCM Vision
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), anger is the emotion of the Wood element, whose season is Spring, the organ is the Liver, the climate is wind, and the sense is sight. With the eyes being the opening connected to the Liver, the expression "blind rage" takes on its full meaning!
Excessive, inappropriate, or prolonged anger is pathological. When repressed, it leads to stagnation of Liver Qi, causing:
- frequent sighs
- irritability
- fullness in the flanks and chest
- bloating, constipation, diarrhea
- frequent yawning
- lump in the stomach or throat
Repressed anger can eventually lead to Liver blood stasis, menstrual and digestive disorders, and even a depressive state.
Violent anger will cause an abnormal ascent of Liver Yang with symptoms such as:
- headaches, migraines
- blurred vision, dizziness
- insomnia (around 1 am-3 am)
- redness of the eyes, neck, and head
- body heat
Liver Qi, called "Yang of Yang," rises to the upper body to expel excess energy, like a burning fire within us.
Managing our emotions is essential for the health of our organs, especially the Liver, whose expansive energy promotes contact but tolerates constraint poorly. Fear often serves as the basis for Anger: deeply buried feelings can make us defensive and hostile.
Good emotional balance guarantees the free circulation of Qi and good health. To support the Liver, drainage combined with courses of borage (men) or evening primrose (women) will be beneficial.
