Hwa-byung caused by stress | Incheon Hwa-byung Korean Medicine Clinic

Hello, this is Baekrokdam Korean Medicine Clinic.

A knot in the chest, a hot stone
A hot stone is lodged right in the middle of the chest.

When a thought or a person you do not wish to recall comes to mind,
that stone burns fiercely, and heat surges up to the face.

I cannot fall asleep because I feel so wronged and resentful.
“Just thinking about it makes my chest feel tight and it feels like I can't breathe.
Deep sighs escape me without me realizing it. I feel like no one understands my heart.”

Hwabyung (Fire Disease)

is not simply a personality that gets angry.
It is a desperate scream from the heart, where knots of unresolved emotions
that have been suppressed and endured for a long time finally manifest as physical symptoms.

The Counterattack of Unreleased 'Emotional Energy'

Emotions such as anger, resentment, and sadness are powerful 'energies' in themselves.

This energy must be naturally expressed and resolved.
However, Hwabyung is a state where this emotional energy cannot be expressed outwardly
and continues to be suppressed and accumulated inside, like in a 'pressure cooker.'

Energy with nowhere to escape boils inside the pressure cooker
and transforms into hot 'fire (火)'.

This uncontrollable heat makes the chest feel tight (heat sensation in the chest),
causes the heart to race (palpitations),
surges to the head causing headaches and dizziness,
and disturbs our peaceful sleep.

Ultimately, the fire created by my own heart begins to attack my body.

The communication path of the 'Liver (肝)' is blocked, and the 'Heart (心)' catches fire

In Korean medicine, the core cause of Hwabyung is seen as 'Liver Qi Stagnation (肝氣鬱結)'.
The 'Liver (肝)' is like a 'sluice gate manager' that coordinates the flow of energy and emotions in our body.

However, unresolved anger and resentment shut this sluice gate tightly,
stagnating the flow of emotions. This is precisely 'Liver Qi Stagnation.'

As time passes, this tightly blocked energy decays
and eventually transforms into hot 'fire (火)'.

This fire spreads to the 'Heart (心)', where our spirit (神) resides,
burning and unsettling the mind. This is the core mechanism of Hwabyung.

Therefore, Korean medicine treatment does not simply use tranquilizers,
but focuses on 'opening the tightly closed sluice gate (Sogan-haeul 疏肝解鬱)'
and 'extinguishing the fire that has spread to the heart (Cheongsim-sahwa 淸心瀉火)'
to normalize the flow of emotions and help the mind regain peace on its own.

3 Ways to Manage the 'Fire' Within

Practicing the healthy expression and resolution of knotted emotions is more important than anything else.

Method 1: Emotional Release

You must honestly face the emotions that make you suffer.
Try pouring out your heart in writing through an 'emotion diary' without any censorship,
or confide in someone you trust. Just expressing it lowers the pressure.

Method 2: Physical Activity

It is good to healthily release suppressed energy by moving the body.
Physical activities that make you sweat, such as walking fast, running, or dancing to exciting music,
are very effective in cooling the fire of the mind.

Method 3: Mind Calming

When you feel anger surging, close your eyes for a moment and try deep abdominal breathing.
Imagine sending the hot energy clumped in your chest outward by exhaling longer than you inhale.
This can serve as a 'brake' to prevent an emotional explosion.

It exists.

Before the flame of the heart spreads into a 'physical illness'
There are many cases where chest tightness and feelings of heat are left untreated as "just how it is."

However, leaving the 'flame of hwabyeong' as it is,
is a path that spreads into serious 'physical illnesses' such as hypertension, heart disease, and stroke
due to chronic stress and inflammatory responses.

It is the same as a pressure cooker eventually bursting.
Additionally, unresolved anger can lead to severe depression and anxiety disorders.

However, right now, listening to the voice of my heart
and finding a way to release pent-up emotions,
beyond simply relieving the feeling of tightness,
is the most important and wise choice to protect myself
from serious physical and mental illnesses that may occur in the future.