Even
when an illness is seen as physical only, such as a state of chronic
after an injury, there is always an emotional component, either around
the event of the injury or our emotional response to the pain, whether
it is anger, depression or even sadness. Although we may not be aware of
it, our emotions have a direct effect on our bodies’ physiology. When
we get angry we tend to tense up, which can contribute to muscle aches,
pains, high blood pressure and in extreme situations a heart attack or
stroke. Stress has an obvious effect on our bodies and many of us in
times of stress will hold the tension in their neck and shoulders or in
their abdomen. Another example is the effect of immense grief: you may
feel like there is a lump in your throat, your chest feels tight and
heavy, your eyes begin to burn, and you have difficulty swallowing or
breathing.
In
some cases in order to “control” our emotions we bury them away, but
these emotions do not just disappear. If these latent emotions are not
addressed, they may lead to physical problems. Chinese medicine has
long acknowledged the effect of our emotions on health, qualifying them
as causes of diseases alongside things like climate, epidemics or poor
diet. An important part of the healing process consists in discovering the roots of our emotional response and transforming them.
