Emotion = Energy In Motion
Whenever we feel an emotion, our body has a surge of energy which needs to be released. Hence emotions are nothing but energy in motion. How often have you heard yourself say “ I feel it in my gut” or “I’m so angry, I feel I’ll explode” or even “my heart aches with pain”. It’s no coincidence that so many of our common phrases interlink our body and emotions.
When a certain emotion is not felt completely or in other words not allowed to pass through, it gets stuck in the body and over time can cause us physical ailments. To illustrate the same, take the example of your car. When the level of fuel tanks to a low, the car indicates it with a beeping sound, nudging you and calling your attention to the problem. When we do not pay heed to the constant reminders, our car halts or breaks down.
Similarly, our emotions try and nudge us to feel and hear them out, but when they are not felt or are trapped within the body, they start rotting. This is the time we start falling ill. Some experience sudden aches and pains that seem to have no physical cause. In the psychological dictionary this phenomenon is called “psycho-somatic symptoms”. Which is but a classier name to explain physical pain without any medical condition.
Often when such patients go to various doctors, they are prescribed medications, whose effect almost always wears off after sometime, bringing in the patient feeling helpless. Some doctors even prescribe placebos and reassure the patient by saying “it’s all in your head, you are absolutely fine.” But well, its not in the head but in the body!
“Your tissues hold your issues” is a common saying. The body never forgets and records everything that you’ve ever experienced since the day you were born. Bessel Van De Kolk’s book — the body keeps the score, explains in great detail as to how various clients were free of their painful symptoms, even those of early childhood abuse, once they resorted to seeing a therapist and working through their problems/ feelings by the means of body work therapy.
Of course, most of us find therapy expensive or maybe finding the right therapists causes us anxiety. However there are simple ways that can be incorporated into our daily living to release the stuck emotions. This doesn’t mean that you can skip the therapist appointment, it simply is the precautionary measure and for many a first aid treatment.
So here’s how you can feel your feelings and enhance your mental health.
Naming — What are you feeling ? Half the issues are solved when we get in touch with our body and name the feeling. It’s a simple way of acknowledging the message the body is trying to send. Say you are feeling angry/envy, then step back for a second and understand what are you feeling without rationalising it.
Locating — Where do you feel it? The emotion often targets a part in the body, trying to get your attention. For example, you feel heavy in your chest when someone close to you says something hurtful. However, every body feels pain at different places. It is important to locate and focus your attention to it.
Hearing– What is it trying to say? The emotion is probably trying to nudge you towards something. I like to call them the messengers of the mind. Hearing them out is equivalent to understanding the message and fulfilling their work. If we don’t listen they’ll keep nudging at us, much like a persistent child who’ll only stop when you hear him out.
Releasing- Letting it go. Once you give the child what it wants, it stops pursuing/ annoying you. The same way, you emotions, once felt and heard, will be released.
I personally believe that energy must be free flowing , if stuck, it can get nasty. Hence, using the above mentioned technique, equips us to live in alignment with our mind, body and soul.