Anger in the Liver, Grief in the Lungs: The Hidden Map of Emotions in the Body

When most people think about emotions, they imagine feelings happening only in the mind. We say, “I feel stressed,” or “I’m anxious,” as if these experiences sit entirely in our thoughts. But emotions do not just live in the mind. They live in the body. They leave marks, signals, and sometimes even symptoms in the very organs and tissues that we depend on every single day.

This does not mean every illness is “just emotional,” and it does not replace medical advice. What it means is that your body and emotions are always in conversation with each other. When we learn to listen differently, symptoms begin to look less like random accidents and more like signals that point us toward the deeper work of healing.

KNOWING IS NOT THE SAME AS HEALING

Awareness is powerful, but awareness is not the end of the story. Many people reach the stage where they can observe their triggers, name their patterns, and even explain where these patterns came from. But that is not healing. That is knowing.

Healing asks more of us than simply noticing. Healing is when the observation begins to shift how your body responds, how your emotions move, and how your choices change. Naming a pattern without transforming it is like identifying a locked door without ever walking through it.

This is where most people stop in the comfort of awareness. But the body does not stop there. The body continues to carry the weight of unprocessed emotions until they are actually worked through. If this resonates with you, you may also want to read my article on embracing all aspects of you to see how integration really takes shape.

THE BODY-EMOTION MAP 

Let’s take a tour through the body, from head to toe, and look at how emotions often show up in different places. This is a general guide, not a medical diagnosis, but it can help you begin to notice the patterns in your own life.

Head and Brain

• Overthinking, worry, and constant pressure often show up as tension headaches.

• Migraines can be linked to emotional overload or the pressure of unspoken thoughts.

Eyes

• Strained vision may symbolise resistance to seeing reality.

• Avoidance often shows up in the eyes as “not wanting to look.”

Throat and Thyroid

• The throat is the centre of communication. Tightness, soreness, or thyroid imbalance can symbolise blocked communication.

• Swallowing emotions rather than speaking them often leaves its mark here.

Lungs

• The lungs are where grief and loss often settle.

• Breathlessness and tightness can reflect unprocessed sorrow, making life itself feel harder to breathe in.

Heart and Chest

• The heart holds love, connection, and heartbreak.

• Palpitations or chest tightness often arise when vulnerability, betrayal, or loneliness weigh heavily.

Liver

• Anger, frustration, and resentment lodge here.

• Irritability or outbursts often accompany a “heated” liver.

• I’ve written more on how unresolved emotions can weaken the body if you’d like to explore this further.

Stomach

• Anxiety and dread often sit here as “butterflies” or knots.

• Digestive issues can reflect difficulty in “stomaching” life’s challenges.

Gut and Intestines

• The gut is closely tied to boundaries and intuition.

• Ignoring gut instincts often shows up as bloating, IBS, or irregular digestion.

Kidneys and Adrenals

• Fear and chronic stress live here.

• When fear is ignored, the adrenals burn out from constant fight-or-flight activation.

Reproductive System

• This area is linked with creativity, sexuality, shame, and guilt.

• Unresolved lineage pain, performance anxiety, or vulnerability often manifest here.

Back and Spine

• The spine represents support.

• Back pain often reflects feeling unsupported; shoulders carry “the weight of the world.”

Skin

• The body’s largest boundary.

• Rashes, acne, or eczema often mirror unexpressed anger, shame, or the need for protection.

Legs and Feet

• These represent progress and movement.

• Problems here may reflect fear of moving forward or feeling stuck.

HOW TO START LISTENING TO YOUR BODY

You do not need to overhaul your entire life to begin. The first step is simply learning to pause and notice.

• When a symptom flares, ask yourself: What am I feeling right now that I might be pushing away?

• Start tracking patterns. Does your throat tighten before a difficult conversation? Does your back ache when you feel unsupported?

• Try putting these observations into a journal or even just into your phone notes. Sometimes naming the link between emotion and body is enough to bring a little relief.

These steps are not the full journey. They are starting points to help you tune in, but they will not resolve the deeper layers by themselves. Most people quickly find that once they notice the body, emotion link, they do not know what to do next.

That is exactly why I created the Emotional Empowerment Blueprint. It is a 12-module program designed to take you beyond awareness, giving you practical tools to process and release the emotions your body is carrying. Instead of staying stuck in observation, you learn how to actually shift the patterns and build emotional resilience that lasts. For more on this, you may enjoy my post on how bold decisions heal the nervous system.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Every single person has a body, and every single person has emotions. Yet most of us were never taught how the two connect. By paying attention to how emotions live in the body, you begin to realise that your body is not betraying you, it is speaking to you. Symptoms become signals. Pain becomes information.

But do not mistake knowing for healing. Awareness opens the door. Healing is what walks you through it.

If you are ready to move beyond awareness and into transformation, you can begin your journey here: https://www.shamalatan.info/emotionalempowerblueprint

© 2025 Shamala Tan