TCM Wellness · Unit 6: Six Excesses and Seven Emotions · 中醫養生六

The Seven Emotions

Anger, joy, worry, sadness, grief, fear, fright — seven emotions, each matched to an organ they can injure in excess.
怒喜思悲憂恐驚——七種情緒，每一種過度時都對應著一個可能受傷的臟腑。

Unit 28: The Seven Emotions

Alongside the six excesses, which attack from outside, Chinese medicine describes seven emotions capable of causing illness from inside: anger, joy, worry, sadness, grief, fear, and fright. The claim isn't that having emotions is dangerous — feeling angry or afraid occasionally is a normal, healthy response to life. The claim is that any one of these seven, when sustained at an extreme level over time, can injure a specific organ, the same way any of the six excesses can, just from the inside rather than the outside.

除了從外部攻擊的六淫之外，中醫還描述了能從內部造成疾病的七種情緒：怒、喜、思、悲、憂、恐、驚。這裡的主張不是「有情緒就是危險的」——偶爾感到生氣或害怕，是對人生正常、健康的反應。這裡的主張是，這七種情緒裡的任何一種，如果長時間維持在極端的程度，就能傷害一個特定的臟腑，跟六淫能造成的傷害一樣，只是從內部而不是從外部而已。

Each emotion is matched to a zang organ from earlier in this course, following the same five-element logic. Anger is said to injure the liver. Excessive joy — meaning overstimulation, not ordinary happiness — is said to injure the heart. Worry and pensiveness are said to injure the spleen. Sadness and grief are said to injure the lung. Fear is said to injure the kidney. A person under prolonged anger developing digestive trouble, or a person under prolonged grief developing shortness of breath, is showing exactly the pattern this framework predicts.

每一種情緒都對應到這門課前面介紹過的一個臟腑，遵循同一套五行的邏輯。怒被認為會傷肝。過度的喜——意思是過度的刺激，不是一般的快樂——被認為會傷心。思與憂被認為會傷脾。悲與憂被認為會傷肺。恐被認為會傷腎。一個長期處在憤怒中的人出現消化問題，或一個長期處在悲傷中的人出現呼吸急促，展現的正是這個框架所預測的模式。

This is not a claim that emotions are the only cause of illness, nor that feeling a difficult emotion once will damage an organ. The seven emotions become a medical concern the same way the six excesses do: not through a single instance, but through a sustained, extreme pattern that the body isn't given enough time or support to recover from.

這不是在主張情緒是疾病唯一的成因，也不是說感受一次困難的情緒就會傷害一個臟腑。七情變成醫療上的顧慮，跟六淫一樣：不是透過單一一次的事件，而是透過一個持續、極端、身體沒有得到足夠時間或支持去恢復的模式。

Read aloud · 課文朗讀

Questions · 閱讀理解

According to the passage, what is the difference between "having emotions" and the seven emotions becoming a medical concern?

Having emotions occasionally is normal and healthy; they become a medical concern only when sustained at an extreme level over time, injuring a specific organ.

According to the passage, which organ is anger said to injure, and which organ is fear said to injure?

Anger is said to injure the liver, and fear is said to injure the kidney.

According to the last paragraph, what does the passage say the seven emotions are NOT claiming?

That emotions are the only cause of illness, or that feeling a difficult emotion once will damage an organ.

Words & Phrases · 生字及片語

extreme(adj.)極端的An extreme reaction to small stress can be a warning sign.對小壓力有極端的反應，可能是一個警訊。overstimulation(n.)過度刺激Overstimulation from screens can make it hard to fall asleep.螢幕造成的過度刺激會讓人難以入睡。pensiveness(n.)沉思；憂思A quiet pensiveness settled over the room after the news.聽到這個消息後，房間裡瀰漫著一股沉靜的憂思。shortness of breath(ph.)呼吸急促He experienced shortness of breath after climbing the stairs quickly.他快速爬完樓梯後，出現了呼吸急促的狀況。instance(n.)一次事件；例子One instance of forgetfulness doesn't mean a serious problem.一次健忘的事件，不代表有嚴重的問題。recover(v.)恢復It took her a week to recover from the flu.她花了一週才從流感中恢復。response(n.)反應Fear is a natural response to danger.恐懼是對危險的一種自然反應。

Quick Check · 小測驗

1. According to the passage, what is the claim about occasional anger or fear?

2. According to the passage, which organ is "worry and pensiveness" said to injure?

3. According to the last paragraph, what does the passage clarify the seven emotions framework is NOT claiming?

This lesson explains a framework connecting emotion and organ function, not a diagnosis. Persistent emotional distress or physical symptoms should be addressed with a licensed doctor or mental health professional.
這是情緒與臟腑功能之間關係的框架說明，不是診斷；持續的情緒困擾或身體症狀，應該找合格醫師或心理健康專業人員處理。