Listen to “Unresolved Emotions: The Seeds of Disease? “.
In recent years, scientists have started recognizing how the powerful connections between emotional, spiritual, and behavioural factors directly affect health. Research into mind-body medicine is discovering that emotions and thought patterns can contribute to imbalances within the body. Now, therapies like hypnosis, visual imagery, meditation, yoga, and biofeedback are being used to reestablish balance and promote health.
Your emotions, the world, your emotions, your memories, the beliefs you hold about yourself and your habits can all influence your mental and physical health. These connections between what is going on in your mind and heart, and what is happening in your body, form the psycho-emotional roots of health and disease.
Emotions like anger, fear, guilt, anxiety, sadness, resentment, low self-esteem and rejection, can manifest within the body and contribute to imbalance and disease. They can also create breakdowns, stress, nervous anxiety and tension.
Many people suppress their emotions unconsciously as a protective mechanism because they feel that they cannot handle the pain and intensity of the feelings they are experiencing. They may also not know how to let go of destructive emotions.
Emotions can be damaging to your health, but how can you detect their presence and release them safely? Here are some recommended suggestions:
- Avoid the buildup of toxic emotions by remaining present and aware. Paying attention allows you to identify emotions as they arise. You can then process them and consciously choose how you react.
One way to adequately express, feel, and release your emotions is to talk about them. This can be done by speaking with a trusted friend or therapist, or on paper by writing a diary or journal.
- Unresolved emotions which are associated with traumatic events often require people to revisit their past and learn to accept what has happened. This can help get rid of some of the negative energies.
Very often, people know that they have to come to terms with their past one day, but this isn’t easy, and they put it off. However, the longer it’s delayed, the longer they will be trapped in their past.
If you are struggling to come to terms with your past, then it’s worth asking yourself, “Can I truly move on with my life by carrying the baggage of the past?”
- Without the ability to focus and be aware of our thoughts, it is difficult to examine our minds and emotions, let alone trying to decipher what they are. Mindfulness meditation helps boost concentration and mindfulness — which are the essential qualities we need to examine ourselves. In addition, meditation also improves mood regulation which allows us to be more aware of our emotions.
Other techniques that focus on the interaction between the body, mind, and behaviour include:
- Yoga
- Pranayama and mindful breathing practices
- Tai chi
- Guided imagery
- Hypnotherapy
- Biofeedback
These can all be valuable tools for increasing awareness of the body’s biological processes such as heart rate and breathing patterns, to help you become empowered and better able to manage emotions and mitigate their neurophysiological impacts.
Using mind-body approaches can help you regain control of your psycho-emotional health and create an environment within your body that supports health rather than disease.
The best-selling author, Dr Bernie Siegel says,
“If we do not pay attention to our feelings and the messages from our body then our body will assume we do not enjoy life and get us out of here as quickly as possible.”
