Dry January Series Pt 2: Emotions and Liver Health
Something people don't talk enough about in Dry January is the very raw, very real shedding of emotions.
You can't have a drink to take the edge off.
You can't have a drink while hanging out with your brunch besties.
You can't have a drink because it's a sunny day.
You can't have a drink because you 'deserve' it after a long day.
You're quite literally forcing yourself to face every emotion, good and bad, head on. And now, your body will have a LOT more to say in the matter.
Today, we continue our series on Liver Health in honor of Dry January with a focus on emotions.
We started with diet yesterday. You can read that here.
Today we'll be exploring how emotions affect the liver and what you can do to support it.
See, your body does not separate “emotional” from “physical” experiences the way the mind often does.
What you feel in emotions like stress, anger, frustration, or grief can show up as real changes in muscle tension, imbalanced hormones, sluggish digestion, and stagnation in almost every bodily function.
Including your liver.
What You Feel, Your Body Feels
In holistic and traditional frameworks, the liver is a key bridge between emotional energy and physical flow. It does more than just filter blood and process hormones; it's also where many practitioners find imprints of unexpressed anger, frustration, and chronic tension.
When emotions are stuck, the body feels stuck, too.
Emotions so much more than just stories in your head. Oh sure, we are Meaning Making Machines, but that can come with a benefit OR a cost.
These perpetual states of emotion come with measurable shifts in your body.
When you feel threatened, rushed, or overwhelmed, your nervous system shifts into a fight–flight-freeze-appease state. Aka your Survival Mode.
You'll notice your heart rate increase, muscles brace for impact, blood flow moves away from a relaxed state of digestion, and your system prepares to act.
The total opposite of rest and repair that allows for proper digestion.
If you do this enough over time, that state becomes your “new normal.” The eventual "I AM" that defines and identifies you.
And this is where the problems pile up...
Your digestion can feel unreliable. Will this food make you nauseous or feel nourishing? Will you need to stay close to the bathroom? Will you be able to trust a fart?
Your sleep becomes lighter or more fragmented. Are you tossing and turning? Waking up frequently throughout the night? Is 3am your new wide awake state when you haven't even had a full night's rest?
With fewer and fewer windows for detox and repair the signals between your brain, gut, and liver start to feel scrambled.
And because the body speaks in symptoms, it's important to learn what they're saying instead of shutting them up with some numbing agent...
Like alcohol.
Some subtle symptoms you might notice:
- Digestive discomfort that kicks up with only stress
- Tightness or fullness under the ribs, especially on the right side
- Head, neck, or shoulder tension that never fully releases
- Feeling tired but wired, especially in the evenings
From a holistic perspective, this is all connected.
The liver sits between your digestive tract and the rest of your circulation.
It helps filter and process what comes in from the gut, modifies hormones and metabolic by‑products, and helps to maintain steadier blood sugar and energy.
So when stress is habitual and emotional expression is suppressed, the body’s capacity to “metabolize” life (i.e.: foods, feelings, and experiences) feels compromised, and the liver's functions...and everything attached...will show signs.
Common Signs of a “Stuck” Liver–Emotion Connection
Without turning this into a diagnosis (it is not one), there are common patterns Holistic Practitioners notice when emotional flow and liver/gut flow are out of sync. We offer them here more as check‑in points than as labels.
Emotional and mental signs
- Irritability or a quick temper, especially over small things
- Feeling easily frustrated or like you are “pushing against life”
- Moodiness or emotional swings that feel disproportionate to the situation
- A sense of being stuck—unable to make decisions or move forward
In many traditional systems, like TCM and Naturopathy, the liver is associated with the energy of assertion and movement. When that energy has nowhere to go, it can fold inward as irritation or simmering resentment.
Physical and digestive signs
- Bloating or a feeling of fullness under the rib cage
- Digestive discomfort (including gas, constipation, or loose stools) that worsens when you are stressed or upset
- Tension or pressure around the upper abdomen, ribs, or diaphragm
- Headaches, especially those linked with muscle tension or hormonal shifts
These experiences can have many possible causes, which is why it is important not to self‑diagnose, but they do fit the pattern of a system that is bracing rather than flowing.
Sleep and energy signs
- Feeling “wired but tired,” particularly in the evening
- Restless or shallow sleep and waking up unrefreshed
- A sense that your system never fully downshifts, even when you stop working
If you recognize yourself in several of these, it may be a sign that your body is asking for nervous system support and intentional emotional processing, not just a different diet.
*And in many cases, if you've been dieting for years and not seeing a good result, you may need a nervous system reset...not another diet.
Lifestyle Rituals to Support Emotional and Liver Flow
The goal is not to eliminate challenging emotions; the goal is to process emotions in real time so they don't have to build up in the body. Even small, consistent practices can make a meaningful difference.
1. Give your emotions a daily outlet
Your system is designed to complete emotional and stress cycles through actions like movement, vocalization, tears, and breath; not just thinking about what happened. When that doesn't happen, your body tends to hold the negative “charge.”
Some gentle practices that can help:
- Five‑minute free‑write: Set a timer and let your pen move without editing. You can throw the page away, shred it or burn it afterward to release the energy in the emotions. The point is expression, not a perfect journal entry.
- Voice or sound release: Humming, sighing, singing along to a song in the car, or even whispering your thoughts out loud helps your body feel heard. Again, the point is expression, not perfection.
- Two‑minute shake‑out: Put on one song, shake your arms, legs, and shoulders, then pause and notice how you feel. After an animal has been chased in the wild, and survives, they shake out the adrenaline to return back to a grounded state. It works for humans too.
These micro‑rituals signal to your nervous system that it does not have to hold everything alone.
2. Eat in a state of “enough time”
How you eat influences how you digest, which influences how your liver receives and processes what you consume.
A few simple shifts:
- Pause before meals. Place a hand on your belly or heart and take 3–5 slow breaths, making your exhale a little longer than your inhale. This helps your body move toward a rest‑and‑digest state before you begin.
- Put devices away. Eating while scrolling or working keeps the brain in task mode and prevents your body from noticing you ate. Eating with presence tells your system it can devote resources to digestion and activate hormones that tell you when you're actually full. Which is long before the 'overfull' feeling can kick in.
- Start with protein and chew more. Beginning your meal with a few bites of protein and really chewing your food can support digestive secretions and more gradual blood sugar changes, which eases some of the load on the liver.
Even just one present meal per day can change how your body experiences food. Made it a sacred practice and involve all five senses for a more grounded and loving experience.
3. Create a “closure” ritual
Evenings are a powerful time to support both emotional and liver health. Many of the body’s deeper repair processes occur during sleep, and how you transition into the night can either help or hinder that.
Consider a simple sequence:
- Signal the end of “input.” At a certain time, close your laptop, put your phone on Do Not Disturb, and dim the lights.
- Name and release. Write down three things you are grateful for and one thing you are ready to let go of from the day. This gives your mind closure.
- Offer your body a calming cue. A warm or room‑temperature drink, a few gentle stretches, and slow breathing all say, “We are done for today.”
Over time, this predictable pattern teaches your system that it is safe to downshift, which supports better sleep and more effective overnight processing.
When You Need a Little Boost
As you build these rituals, gentle herbal support can help your nervous system remember what calm feels like. Especially when you've been in GO-MODE for far too long.
Instead of using booze to numb out, you can use herbs to anchor into the present moment and settle in.
Our Recommendation: Calming Blend from Complete Natural Products
Calming Blend brings together passion flower, chamomile, California poppy, and valerian root—four herbs traditionally used to support relaxation, soften nervous tension, and ease the transition into rest.
This blend is great for those evenings when your body is tired but your mind is still racing, offering a gentle nudge toward quiet and calm rather than forcing you into sleep.
When taken in combination with your wind-down evening ritual, Calming Blend can help your system move out of fight–flight and into a state of subtle surrender; where emotions feel easier to process and release and sleep feels graceful.
If your inner world has felt cluttered and your body has been stuck in tension, a harsh reset may only make it worse. And Dry January can kick up all those trapped emotions.
Instead of forcing your body to just 'deal with it,' give it a little extra love with small, repeatable steps to shift out of stress and into calm.
Begin with one or two of these suggestions and be sure to track your progress. Even the subtlest of shifts can make a world of difference!
Make Dry January more than just ditching the booze. Use it as a time of coming home to a more peaceful way of being.