Emotions are a part of all of us. Positive or negative, all are valuable. The problem is that no matter how beneficial they all are, a lot of us have difficulty expressing the negative emotions, or what are called “dense emotions.”
Think fear, anger, guilt, shame.
And there are many reasons why it’s easy to suppress dense emotions. Maybe you grew up in an environment where there was little to no room to experience or express your feelings. This could be you if you hear “calm down” or “there is no reason to be sad” or “it’s ok, don’t cry.”
Societal narratives have often reinforced suppression.
It’s important to remember, though, that emotions are an innate part of each and every one of us and they are our gifts. For when we shift the angle to view emotions as tools, we can learn to honor ourselves more deeply and strengthen the relationships we have in our lives.
Pushing Down Emotions: The Signs
I often think of how we push down emotions to be like the practice of stomping on garbage in a garbage can to make more room for garbage! Only to discover over a period of time that by doing so it will just make it that much harder for all the garbage to come out.
Since most of what we learn about emotions (actually about anything in life) happens before the age of seven, you may be automatically suppressing your emotions. Here are a few signs that you could be pushing down your emotions:
- Believing that dense emotions shouldn’t be expressed
- Being “fine” all the time
- Focusing more on your physical wellbeing
- Feeling embarrassed if emotions are expressed by you or others
By ignoring your emotions and suppressing them, you’re more vulnerable to physical stress on your body, such as blood pressure, memory retention and self-esteem.
Wondering how to get started? Keep reading!
Discovering and Releasing Emotions
Emotions are chemicals that are released from your brain and neurotransmitters to parts of your body. I look at it as emotions are energy in motion.
Journaling
Journaling, whether following prompts or freewriting, is an incredible way to discover your inner self. I’ve found that starting my morning with writing allows me to express my worries and ruminating thoughts out of my overactive mind, so I can be clear headed.
Tools you can use to start journaling consist of:
- Pen & paper: nothing fancy here! Use a plain notebook, or spruce it up with a journal that calls to you and makes you feel good.
- Morning Pages/750words.com: Julia Cameron’s book, “The Artist’s Way,” introduced a concept of morning pages, which is writing about 3 pages, longhand, every single morning (or around 750 words).
- Video: when you’re on the go, you might find it hard to take time to write. Either use a voice memo or your camera to record yourself talking freely, like a virtual journal.
If you’re struggling to find something to journal about, consider these questions:
- What does anger teach you?
- What does sadness teach you?
- What does guilt teach you?
- What does fear teach you?
Using what you wrote down and continuing to journal, you’ll find that it gets easier to express your emotions and determine the root cause.
Breathwork
Breathwork helps to physically move emotions within your body, often leading to feeling a release of deep emotions by the end of the session. It’s a practice of intentionally changing your breathing pattern to improve your mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing.
During my 90-minute sessions with clients, they learn about the three-part breath, and then we do a session that includes meditation and chakra healing.
If you’d like to experience a breathwork session, you can schedule one here.
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
Emotional Freedom Techniques, otherwise known as EFT or tapping, is a treatment technique for releasing physical pain and emotional distress.
Like acupuncture, EFT sessions use the meridian points to restore balance to your body’s energy.
When emotions are emitted, it’s telling you that your body is signaling something to you, either based on external factors or things that have happened in the past.
So whether you have positive or dense emotions, embrace them! Learn from them! All emotions bring value in life and expressing them using journaling, EFT, or any other mindfulness or somatic technique can support you in your process.
Remember, our growth and healing is not a linear path and oftentimes a habit that has been ingrained and reinforced by society can take time to change. Be kind to yourself and show yourself grace.
I also wanted to share a powerful tool that I use to shift energy within me when I start to feel negative energy arising within me.
Tell me below, what is one way you love to express emotions?
If you’re struggling to find one, book a breathwork session so you can have a lasting experience of releasing emotions.
