Breaking the Cycle: Understanding Spleen Qi Deficiency and Liver Overactivity

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Navigating health challenges such as weight gain, high blood pressure, and managing multiple medications can feel overwhelming. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), these physical realities are often seen through the lens of energetic patterns, specifically spleen qi deficiency and liver overactivity.

When our spleen energy (or spleen qi) becomes weak, it affects digestion, metabolism, and how our body handles fluids, often contributing to weight gain and a sense of sluggishness. Add to this the stress-induced pattern where our liver energy becomes overly active*, and we find ourselves caught in a cycle of imbalance—leading to emotional ups and downs, frustration, anger, and even deep-seated grief.

Here's what this cycle can look like: Your spleen struggles to maintain efficient digestion and fluid metabolism, resulting in weight gain, fatigue, and a heavy feeling in your body. Meanwhile, a stressed liver energy, rather than supporting a smooth emotional flow, may manifest as irritability, frustration, or even angry outbursts. These emotional upheavals further weaken the spleen, trapping you in a loop.

Breaking this cycle involves gentle self-care and mindful practices:

1. Emotional Awareness: Observe your emotions without judgment. Notice when anger, frustration, or sadness arise. Often, acknowledging these feelings without rushing to "fix" them can help dissipate their intensity. Your emotional health directly impacts your physical well-being.

2. Gentle Movement: Light exercise such as walking, tai chi, yoga, or swimming is beneficial. Movement encourages circulation, keeps fluids flowing, supports digestion, and gently relieves emotional stress. The key is regularity rather than intensity—small, consistent actions have significant long-term benefits.

3. Nutrition and Hydration: Warm, easy-to-digest meals nourish the spleen. Consider soups, stews, lightly cooked vegetables, and whole grains. Hydrate thoughtfully—drink warm or room-temperature fluids, avoiding icy cold beverages which can strain your digestive system.

4. Mindful Rest: Rest isn't simply physical; it's emotional too. Allow yourself quiet moments, meditation, or mindful breathing practices that give space for your nervous system to recalibrate.

5. Supportive Community: Stay connected with people who nourish your emotional health. Sharing your journey, whether joys or struggles, helps to cultivate resilience and emotional stability.

Your body, given gentle and consistent support, has an incredible capacity to heal. Remember, this journey is not about quick fixes—it's about nurturing a deeper, balanced relationship with your body and emotions. Each mindful step you take brings you closer to well-being, vitality, and emotional peace.

Be patient with yourself; you're moving forward beautifully.

*Liver energy becoming overactive: Liver energy is connected to nerves and connective tissue. When we experience frustration, anger, or unregulated emotional ups and downs the energy can get bottlenecked or flush freely. This creates and imbalance as an example not wanting to eat during stress or the other way around becoming ravenous during stress. Liver QI (energy), is also closely related to reproductive hormonal cycles so when it is in disfunction it deeply affects our digestion, breathing and mental clarity.