Since the seven emotions are endogenous, they can directly impair the internal organs. For example, excessive joy impairs the heart, excessive anger impairs the liver, excessive contemplation impairs the spleen, excessive grief impairs the lung and excessive fear impairs the kidney, etc. The relationships among the five zang-organs are complicated, so the impairment of one viscus by the seven emotions may involve several zang-organs and fu-organs.

For example, depression and rage impair the liver. But the adverse flow of liver-qi often attacks the spleen and the stomach, leading to imbalance between the liver and the spleen as well as disharmony between the liver and the stomach. Since the heart is the supreme dominator of the mental activities, the impairment caused by the seven emotions is closely related to the heart. Clinically the seven emotions often impair the heart, the liver and the spleen.