Feel Your Feelings: How Can You Heal Your Chronic Health Issues by Resolving Your Emotions
In this week’s episode of the podcast, we’re exploring the whole spectrum of emotion, including the emotions we’ve come to label as ‘good’ and ‘bad’. We’ll also examine the biochemistry of emotions and they have a physical influence on the body. The physical aspect of emotion is often linked to survival instincts, and we’re breaking down how trauma can play a role in chronic health issues.
EMOTIONS ARE THE GUIDEPOST TO HEALING
Fear, anger, sadness - often we label these as ‘negative’ emotions. It’s common to push away or avoid feeling these types of emotions, and it can be rooted in society’s view of that particular emotion (it’s where we get stereotypes like ‘boys shouldn’t cry’, and more). Whilst it’s true that these emotions may leave us feeling uncomfortable, there is often an evolutionary reason that they do so. Much like a fever or shivering, emotions are information for our body to respond to and evaluate. When we experience any situation, the way we react can be a helpful indicator for our body to learn for future experiences. Our emotions try to help guide us towards a positive outcome the next time around, whether that’s wanting to chase the feeling of being happy, or avoiding feeling scared and uncomfortable again. This means that emotions can be likened to guideposts, that show us the way towards more ‘successful’ survival outcomes. Rather than avoiding our feelings, we are encouraged to take a moment to pause and simply observe the emotion. Rather than reacting negatively to an emotion and holding onto it, we can simply feel it, absorb the necessary information and then let it go.
SURVIVAL OF THE FEELINGS: HOW WE ARE DESIGNED TO SURVIVE
We have evolved as humans to have a built-in instinct that is designed to keep us alive. The body is programmed to act in our best interests when presented with dangerous or potentially harmful situations. We become processors of information: we absorb the smells, the tastes, the sights, the sounds - and our emotional reactions. We take in everything we need to fully understand the situation so we know how to best respond to it. Once the event is over, and the body has recognised that it has survived, the brain takes stock of what happened and all of our physiological reactions and decisions that aided in our survival. Whilst the physical response is critical, how we react emotionally is also significantly important for a successful outcome. The stress from the situation can actively change our brain and hormonal pathways to learn and adapt. The body is incredibly intelligent and understands that if all these factors contributed to our survival one time, it should be repeated for our ensured survival should the situation arise again. This memory pathway can be reactivated whenever triggered, and the body will recreate everything from our muscle action to our emotional reaction. Triggers can be something as simple as a smell that reminds us of the situation we survived and is designed to recall those same reactions from that time too. However, whilst it can be highly useful if we are certain we’re in that same situation, the body can’t always discern whether the threat is actually occurring. This can mean that in normal everyday situations, the body is acting in a heightened state even though we aren’t in real danger. Whether it is real or not, the body is always ready to act within a second's notice to protect us and ensure our survival.
THE LINK BETWEEN EMOTIONS AND CHRONIC PAIN
As previously explained, our bodies store emotions as memories as part of our survival instinct. As the initial reaction of our emotions occurs, we feel a surge of adrenaline and strong responses as a form of energy going through the body. This emotional energy helps power whatever action we need to survive at the time. Once this energy has been used by the body, it has outlasted its usefulness - the usual thing for the body is to process it and then release it out of the system once used. However, in situations where the initial event was trauma-related, the emotions from the event are sometimes not properly processed. If they are not processed, this means that the emotion can’t be effectively released from the body. This pent-up energy has to go somewhere, so it travels through the body and can then become stuck in other areas, such as the organs or muscles. The energy frequency of the trapped emotions is in imbalance with that specific system and therefore can disrupt the function of that area. Another alternate result is that the negative energy causes pain symptoms to occur. Patients who present in chiropractic clinics have often suffered from chronic pain issues such as back or knee pain. They’ve tried multiple treatment attempts, including massage and medication, with the focus often being on treating the symptoms rather than addressing the root cause of the issue. This is instead of looking at the end result, by taking a step back we are able to see other possibilities for the cause, such as a build-up of traumatic emotions. Techniques such as the neuro-emotional technique can identify certain areas of stored energy by testing muscle responses to triggers. This can pinpoint the location of the emotion, and only then can the emotion be addressed and then released. This often means that the traumatic event needs to be addressed with a form of therapy and resolved in the mind of the patient. Once the energy is removed from that area, the balance can be restored and the pain is often resolved quickly for patients. This brings attention back to the need for a holistic approach to healthcare that looks at both causes and symptoms, alongside physical and emotional health as a whole.
MORE FROM LUMINOUS BODY
To listen to the entire Luminous Body podcast episode ‘Feel Your Feelings: How Can Heal Your Chronic Health Issues by Resolving Your Emotions’, you can play on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For more inspiring stories and messages, head to the Luminous Body website or book a consultation with the team.