Did you know that less than 15% of Americans report feeling very happy in their life?
It doesn’t take much to see that mental health is an issue right now. From anxiety to depression, more and more people are experiencing problems with their well-being.
If you’re struggling, you’re not alone. But did you know that learning how to release trapped emotions could be the key to boosting your mental health and taking back control of your life?
Find out everything you need to know in this guide.
What Are Trapped Emotions?
If you’ve experienced a traumatic event, the emotions that go with it can become trapped within your body. It sounds crazy, but it’s a very real phenomenon! From therapists to medical journalists, trauma manifesting itself physically is a side-effect of mental health issues that is becoming more widely acknowledged by health professionals.
The fact is that your body is constantly creating emotional responses, both consciously and subconsciously. Sometimes, your body can associate these responses with a physical area of your body. If you often find yourself clenching your fists when you’re angry, for example, the response can quickly become subconscious.
Others may store emotions via energy. A build-up of negative energy within the physical body can become trapped, creating blockages and not allowing you to move forward in your healing journey.
Physical tension and pain are common experiences for those who manifest trauma physically.
Different spots can also become triggers, too. For example, during a massage, if an area of your body is focused on, you may find yourself crying for no reason. This isn’t as uncommon as you may think.
How Do Emotions Become Trapped?
There are a number of ways for your trauma from an emotional experience to manifest itself in your body. For example, through the connections, we mentioned earlier. If some part of your body was related to the experience in any way, it can easily become a trigger point that’s storing emotions.
Physical manifestations can also occur due to unresolved issues. Even if your body was never connected to your trauma, by not working through it your nervous system may store the unprocessed event in your body. It becomes emotional baggage, weighing you down and following you everywhere you go.
How to Release Trapped Emotions
Ever wanted to punch a wall after a particularly bad argument or punch a pillow while crying? This could be your body trying to tell you that you have some emotional blocks manifesting themselves physically. Luckily, there are ways to release them and free yourself of their restraints.
Here are some of the most common and effective methods.
Acknowledge Your Feelings
The first step on your journey to release stress and emotions from your body is to acknowledge your feelings. Too often we’re told to bury our emotions and ignore them. Just carry on regardless.
But this isn’t a healthy way to process experiences. Instead, take the time to acknowledge the presence of negative feelings and issues you may have. This can help you to better understand yourself and your emotions, which is vital if you want to practice healing.
Work Through Unresolved Trauma
Now that you’ve acknowledged your emotions, look at what’s causing them. Have you got unresolved trauma in your life? Perhaps there’s a loss you’ve never properly dealt with or bullying from childhood that has affected you in ways you haven’t wanted to know.
Sit with these uncomfortable feelings and allow yourself time to feel. Understand how they’ve been affecting your life and how you can move forward from them. By healing trauma, you can often release trapped emotions.
If you struggle with this step, consider talking to a therapist who can help you.
Make Time to Be Still
In a world of social media and TV, it’s easy to forget to be quiet and still. But these moments of peace are vital for allowing healing and self-reflection. Take walks out in nature, read, meditate: whatever allows you some time to breathe, do it.
Look at Kinesiology and Massages
There are a number of physical therapy options to help release emotions and negative stress responses in your body. Intuitive kinesiology, for example, is a method of re-balancing the body by monitoring muscles and using traditional Chinese medicine. Gentle remedies are combined with a range of tools to release trapped emotions.
Some people also find normal massages and acupuncture a useful way to deal with the physical effects of trauma.
Try Yoga
Yoga is a common method for encouraging emotional healing. It’s a gentle form of exercise that focuses on improving movement, strengthening the body, and helping you breathe consciously. Many find the mindful exercise can cause an outpouring of emotions, and it isn’t unheard of for people to start crying during a session.
Practice Self-Care
Looking after your body and mind is essential if you want built-up negative energy to leave your body. When you feel yourself becoming stressed, anxious, or sad, take some time out for yourself. Do something that allows you space to focus on your feelings and makes you feel good, such as cooking, going for a walk, or journaling.
Keep Working on Your Emotional Healing
Learning how to release trapped emotions is an essential part of healing from trauma. If you feel your negative life experiences may have manifested themselves in your body, these tips should help you process and overcome them. The sooner you begin, the quicker you’ll be on your way to a happy, healthy life.
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