It was thought in Medieval European medicine that the spleen was a seat of ‘ill-humour and melancholy’. Therefore to vent ones’ spleen was to release anger and negativity that were building up in the body. This is not entirely different to the Chinese medical version of the Spleen, although the emotion usually associated with it is worry. The two systems of medicine are at least in accord, in that the spleen has an influence on our emotional well-being.
It’s probably safe to say that most of us have a degree of what is known as ‘Spleen Chi deficiency’. This is one of my most common diagnoses, and with good reason. To understand why this is, we must first break down the Spleens’ functions in to its three component parts; the physical, the energetic and the spiritual.
Physically the Spleen is located near to the pancreas, and the two organs are seen as one in Chinese medicine. This may seem strange at first but they are actually both within the same fascia band and if you were to have your spleen removed, as some people do, then the pancreas often takes over some of the spleens’ functions. It is therefore seen as an organ that aids in digestion as well as in blood formation.
Energetically the Spleen is said to take the Chi from our food and drink and transform it in to an energy form that the body can use. This idea can be thought of as similar to that of our metabolism. If you have low Spleen energy then no matter what you put inside you, you won’t be getting the full amount of energy out of it. Signs of low Spleen Chi are digestive issues, particularly bloating, diarrhoea and I.B.S. as well as general feelings of tiredness and lassitude.
Its other energetic function is to ‘hold things in place’ and keep things where they should be. For example, if you bruise too easily this may indicate poor Spleen function, or for a more extreme example a prolapse is seen as a total collapse of Spleen Chi.
Spiritually the Spleen is said to house our intellect, our attention and the thinking part of the mind. This is known as the Yi and gives us the ability to focus upon tasks. If this becomes out of balance then this may result in worrying too much.
So why are problems with the Spleen so prevalent? Well, the pathogen associated with the Spleen is dampness. The Spleen hates damp. And we live in a damp part of a damp country. This dampness literally invades the body and impairs the Spleens ability to function. This then slows down our metabolism which creates more damp within the body. (Fat is seen as Damp in TCM).
Add to this a poor diet of damp forming, cold foods such as dairy and sugar, as well as the fried and fatty foodstuffs, then we have damp coming at the Spleen from all angles. On top of this we have a tendency to reside too much in the thinking part of our minds, which further depletes Spleen Chi and we have a recipe for a Spleen disaster!
However all is not lost…Don’t worry!!! There are steps we can take to help the Spleen function. The Spleen has its own Meridian and points along it can be used to warm, tonify and increase its levels of Chi. And perhaps most importantly, especially at this time of year, is to keep out of the damp as much as possible and consume lots of warming, Spleen nourishing soups and stews.
It’s not so much as to ‘vent your spleen’, but to try and keep it warm and dry, which I guess in a way is actually the complete opposite!