EMOTIONS according to Classical Chinese Medicine

Course overview

Based on the Chinese classical and medical texts, the class discusses the general vision of the emotions. From where they are surging; for what reason they start; how they are seen as movements of qi; how they disturb the regulation of life from the very inside; how they proceed to damage the health and to shorten life; how we can qualified and classified them, for instance according to the Five phases or elements, and how we can treat. The role of the heart is described: it is the centre of an individual and personal life; it is the place where spiritual, intellectual, mental, emotional aspects of life are unified and ruled. Each of the emotions is discussed in detail, showing how each may injure the organ it is related to and what is the mechanism for the symptoms and pathologies they cause; also, since all the relationships which exist between the various functions of the body may be involved, how an organ may be affected by various emotions and how an emotion may affect different organs. During the presentation, the Chinese characters for each of the emotions are explained, allowing a deeper understanding and a better approach of what they are in Chinese thought.