" title="How to Get Rid of “Emotional Baggage” and the Stress That Comes with It
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How to get emotions out of your body
Have you ever had the urge to dance, shout, cry, laugh, or punch a pillow?
We’re frequently told to push through our suffering and carry on. This over time may result in suppressed feelings, commonly referred to as unconscious avoidance.
According to 2019 research, suppressing one’s emotions can harm the immune system.
You can let go of repressed emotions in the following ways:
recognizing your emotions.
dealing with trauma.
attempting shadow work, making deliberate movements, and practicing being motionless.
Recognize your emotions
The more you comprehend your emotional landscape, the easier it will be to process your emotions in constructive ways.
Work through past trauma
Often, there are things we carry around for years that stem back to childhood. Some examples of past trauma include:
- abuse, including mental, emotional, physical, or sexual
- neglect
- loss of a loved one
- separation from a parent or caregiver
- bullying
- dysfunction at home
Unresolved childhood trauma can show up in many ways, including:
- self-blaming
- casting blame on others
- feeling depressed
- withdrawing from social activities
Connecting with and understanding your emotions is the first step. It can be difficult for people with repressed emotions to recognize their own emotions, which is why speaking with a mental health expert can be helpful.
2007 research
According to a reliable source, naming your feelings can make them less intense.
You can achieve this by exploring different methods to categorize your emotions to help you understand them or by using psychological tools like the cognitive distortion categories.
Working over old hurts
There are things we frequently carry with us for years that date back to our youth. Past traumatic events include:
neglect, the death of a loved one, being separated from a parent or caregiver, abuse, including mental, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, and dysfunction in the household.
Shadow work
Shadow work offers a distinct lens for examining the various aspects of ourselves that we tend to keep buried, usually out of shame or a sense of inadequacy, much like the exploration of childhood trauma.
The aspects of ourselves that people find objectionable are frequently hidden.
Was it ever said to you as a child to “calm down” or “stop weeping” when you were upset? You can feel ashamed of your emotions or try to hide them as a result of this emotional invalidation.
Moving with purpose
To deal with any unresolved tension or emotion that may be present in your body, use somatic experiencing (SE).To treat symptoms, SE takes a body-first approach with the theory that releasing repressed trauma helps hasten emotional healing.
Intentional movement is one approach to this.
How Can Emotional Baggage Be Removed?
It takes time to free up feelings that have been held up. It is impossible to get rid of this baggage, which has accumulated through time and as a result of a variety of experiences, so quickly. It requires persistent effort and works. The following are practical suggestions for letting go of emotional baggage in relationships:
Refuse to tolerate abuse
Our emotional baggage frequently places us in the role of the savior, where we are more concerned with how to help someone else than with saving ourselves from the impending crisis.
If you find yourself in a similar circumstance, do not tolerate verbal, sexual, or physical abuse in a relationship just because you want to support the other person’s recovery. There can be no justifications for criminal activity, and no one should have to live with bad behavior.
Use the “glass half full” strategy to let go of suppressed emotions.
emotional repercussions of previous partnerships
Abuse can result from emotional baggage from previous relationships.
It’s crucial to adopt the “glass half full” perspective in all aspects of your life. Dealing with emotional baggage is made simpler when you decide to view life and circumstances positively. My client thought that her mother had always preferred her siblings and had a difficult connection with her mother.
Put yourself first.
Want to discover how to let go of suppressed feelings? In this process, self-care is your best friend. When you have baggage, you experience emotional exhaustion, stress, and perhaps even world-directed rage. Therefore, nourishing yourself will be greatly aided by taking care of yourself. Your self-growth can be aided by getting enough sleep, eating healthy meals, exercising, meditating, and reading self-help books about the problems you are facing.
Avoid solitary confinement.
“No man is an island unto himself…,” When you are surrounded by others and finding it difficult to socialize, keep this in mind. You must acknowledge the significance of not isolating yourself if you want to comprehend how to get rid of emotional baggage.
Get the assistance you require to deal with this relationship baggage.
The process of letting go of emotional baggage cannot be done alone. You need someone to guide you through it all, and no one is more qualified to do it than a trained professional. You may decide to seek out individual counseling if you become conscious of how your emotional baggage affects your life, your decisions, your relationships, and your mental health.
