08/16/2020
A helpful reminder to contextualize your physical experience while seeking relief. I will share that chronic issues that I had at some point accepted in my life while navigating a 6 day work week, 2 kids, and an unraveling marriage have disappeared or started to subside as I began to embody my emotions and welcome the changes this pandemic has afforded me.
Especially as a woman and a mother, I was taught to accept some of these experiences as a part of aging, childbirth, or an accessory to parenting. I find now that some of this was the result of the suppression of my own voice, taking on more than I could handle, and trying to stay "good" enough that I wouldn't lose the life I had built for myself.
I have lost a lot over the last couple of years. The last year and 1/2 has been especially difficult and this pandemic sucks. But, I'm honestly grateful for the quiet. I have been able to re-imagine my life again from a place of joy. I have been able to heal and honor my body in a new way, and accept that the life I had created was no longer meant for me.
I now know that my body, my emotions had been telling me that truth in the most genius and uncomfortable ways. What a difference it made when I finally started to listen.
'When you shut down emotion, you're also affecting your immune system, your nervous system. So the repression of emotion, which is a survival strategy, then becomes a source of physiological illness later on. ' -Gabor Mate
However, it’s not just your long-term health that can suffer if you suppress your negative emotions.
There have been numerous studies showing that when we ignore our emotions, we can experience short-term mental and physical reactions as well.
Suppressing your emotions can lead to physical stress on your body. What emotion is being suppressed does not matter, the effect is the same.
When it comes to regulating difficult emotions, there are two ways most people respond: they act out or they suppress.
If you act out with a strong emotion like anger, you will most likely create undesirable consequences in your relationships, your work, and even your play.
The ripple effects of acting out usually provoke more anger around you, which leads to more difficulty.
The consequences of suppressing those big emotions can be even more dangerous.
What many people aren’t aware of is that there’s another way to regulate our emotions: Feel the feeling in real time.
On one level, emotions are like energy waves, varying in shape and intensity, just like ocean waves. Their nature is to arise and pass away pretty quickly, like all natural phenomena.
Ironically, efforts to “talk yourself out of your emotions” often results in “increased rumination and perseveration.” In other words, you will keep thinking about and holding onto those emotions you’re trying to avoid.
Research into emotional regulation suggests that mindfulness-based interventions can be helpful.
Particularly focus on feeling the emotion and practicing forgiveness, compassion, and kindness at the same time.
- Mily Gomez
🌻💛
📸 and CAPTION ABOVE ⬆ by
