Emotions body map: where feelings settle in the body
By the Body Hemi-Sync editorial teamUpdated Editorial policy
People often ask where emotions are "stored" in the body. Science does not show feelings being stored in organs. However, many people notice that stress, grief or anger seem to show up in a particular place: a tight jaw, heavy shoulders, a knotted stomach.
The symbolic approach to the body gives each region a meaning. This map brings together the readings from our pages, so you can see them all at once and follow the ones that speak to you.
Download the printable body map (PDF) · PNG image
You are welcome to print it, use it in a journal, or share it with a link back to this page.
The map, area by area
| Part of the body | Feelings it is often linked with | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Control, worry, mental pressure | Head and nervous system, worry |
| Eyes and ears | What you refuse to see or hear | Eyes and ears |
| Jaw | Held-back anger, words not said | Jaw pain, teeth grinding |
| Throat | Speaking up, taking your place | Thyroid, sore throat |
| Shoulders | Burdens, responsibility | Shoulders, shoulder pain |
| Chest and heart | Love, sorrow, joy of living | Heart and circulation, sorrow |
| Lungs | Grief, personal space, taste for life | Respiratory system, grief |
| Liver | Anger, bitterness, criticism | Liver and gallbladder, anger |
| Stomach | Fear, what you cannot digest | Digestive system, fear |
| Kidneys | Fear, balance, letting go | Kidneys |
| Middle back | Guilt, the past | Middle back pain, guilt |
| Lower back | Support, security, money worries | Lower back pain |
| Arms and hands | Giving, receiving, action | Arms and hands |
| Hips | Moving forward, decisions | Hips, hip pain |
| Skin | Boundaries, contact, self-image | Skin, rejection |
| Knees | Pride, flexibility | Knee pain |
| Legs and feet | Moving forward, direction, autonomy | Legs and feet, foot pain |
The side of the body can add a nuance as well. See the left and right sides of the body.
Where is anger stored in the body?
Anger is most often read in the liver and gallbladder, and in a clenched jaw. When anger is held back, it may also show as inflammation, a burning sensation, or tension in the neck and shoulders. See anger for every condition linked with it.
Where is fear stored in the body?
Fear is linked with the kidneys and the bladder, and with the stomach and bowel, the places that "hold" or "let go". See fear and anxiety.
Where is grief stored in the body?
Grief and sadness are read in the lungs and the chest: the breath that catches, the heaviness around the heart. See grief and sorrow.
Where is stress stored in the body?
Stress spreads across the body, but it is often felt in the shoulders and neck, the jaw, the stomach and the back. See stress.
How to use the map
- Start from the body. Notice where you feel tension or pain today, and read what that area is linked with.
- Or start from the feeling. If a feeling has been with you for a while, look at where it is said to settle, and check in with that part of your body.
- Ask, do not conclude. Each reading is a question you are free to recognise or not. It does not explain why you are ill.
- Keep your care going. A symptom always deserves medical attention. Use the map alongside your treatment, never instead of it.
A note on science
Studies on how people feel emotions in their body, such as the well-known bodily maps of emotions (Nummenmaa and colleagues, 2014), show that people across cultures describe similar sensations: warmth in the chest with love, tightness with fear. That research is about felt sensations, not about organs storing feelings. The map on this page is a symbolic, spiritual tool for reflection, not a medical explanation.
If you have a symptom that worries you, please see a doctor. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.
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Sources and inspiration
This page is an original interpretation written by the Body Hemi-Sync editorial team. It is inspired by these sources and does not reproduce them. How we write and check our pages.