In real life, some people get angry very easily. Those around them only know that this person has a bad temper, but they seldom think that this person may be suffering from an illness. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the tendency to get angry easily is called "善怒" (shan nu), which refers to the symptoms of being irritable, prone to anger without reason, and unable to control oneself. It is also known as "喜怒" (xi nu) or "易怒" (yi nu), and it should be considered a type of disease.
According to TCM theory, "肝为刚脏，喜条达而恶抑郁，在志为怒" (gan wei gang zang, xi tiao da er e yu yu, zai zhi wei nu). This means that the liver is a strong and impatient organ that likes relaxed and gentle emotions but dislikes depressive emotions, and its emotional expression is mainly anger. Therefore, "善怒" is mainly related to the liver, primarily manifested in three syndromes: liver depression and qi stagnation, liver fire flaming upwards, and spleen deficiency with liver overacting.
For "善怒" caused by liver depression and qi stagnation, one can eat more foods that soothe the liver and regulate qi, such as celery, crown daisy, tomatoes, radishes, oranges, pomelos, tangerines, citrons, and fingered citrons.
For "善怒" caused by liver fire flaming upwards, in addition to quitting smoking, limiting alcohol, and avoiding sweet, greasy, and spicy foods, one should moderately eat more foods that clear the liver and purge heat, such as bitter melon, bitter herbs, tomatoes, mung beans, mung bean sprouts, soybean sprouts, celery, cabbage, bok choy, daylilies, rapeseed, loofah, plums, green plums, hawthorn, and citrus fruits.
For "善怒" caused by spleen deficiency with liver overacting, the focus should be on strengthening the spleen and regulating qi. The diet should include more foods that invigorate the spleen and benefit qi, such as hyacinth beans, sorghum, Job's tears, buckwheat, chestnuts, lotus seeds, Gordon Euryale seeds, Chinese yam, red dates, carrots, cabbage, pumpkin, and citrus fruits.
TCM believes that excessive emotional reactions can damage the body's organs and lead to diseases. China's traditional methods of spiritual cultivation are very effective in overcoming negative emotions. One can calm their anger through self-regulation. However, when emotions are particularly intense, one should also eliminate anger by methods such as venting in another place, resolving it rationally, or diverting attention, thereby calming the mind.