How Emotions Block Our Health Goals
It is well known that toxic emotions can not only block us from getting well, it can also create illness and even cause existing illness to progress. Many times holding on to emotions that are not healthy for us can bring pain and sickness to the bodies. Other times it is not acknowledging important feelings that allow disease to manifest other ways suck as high blood pressure, migraine headaches, and even cancers of some types. The key is to allow yourself to feel whatever emotion your are feeling, and to have a healthy way to express or release that emotion.
There are different theories on how emotions can affect the physical well-being. For example, in Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory there are seven main emotions that affect the “Qi” or life force of the body and specific organs. Anger, for instance, causes the ‘qi’ to flow upwards (in the wrong directions) which can manifest as dizziness, headaches, and even syncope (passing out). The organs typically affected are the liver and spleen. While worry and anxiety can cause disturbances of the Spleen and can also affect digestion, causing constipation, low appetite, and sometimes chronic diarrhea. Fear can result in insomnia, palpitations and shortness of breath due to its weakening effect on the Heart “qi”. Conversely, Joy relaxes the “qi” causing less mental strain and therefore increased vitality of the body. In a some energetic practices such as Emotional Freedom Technique or Attractor Field Techniques are based on the theory that specific diseases are affected by very specific subconscious emotions and their variant.
In one study done by published in the American Academy of Neurology (December 14th 2004 issue), people who had experienced a stroke were interviewed about events that had occurred within 4 hours of the event and approximately 30% of the patients had been exposed to some negative emotion such as anger, irritability, fear/anxiety just 2 hour prior. The study showed that being exposed to these negative triggers increased their risk of stroke by 14 fold.
With emotions being recognized as a major contributor to illness by both traditional and non-traditional sides of medicine, what are the things you can do on a daily basis to make sure your feelings do not weigh you down? Here are some things to keep in mind that will help you to maintain or move towards emotional balance:
1. Allow yourself to experience a full range of emotions and find constructive ways to express them: It’s okay to feel our feelings. We don’t always have to fulfill others expectations of who they think we are or should be.
2. Take time during the day to stop and ask yourself “What am I feeling?” Acknowledge yourself, and let yourself be okay with whatever feeling you are having at that moment.
3. Be open to experiencing and expressing joy: as stated earlier, joy relaxes “qi” allowing the life force to move freely. Making a gratitude list is a great way to get yourself into a joyful place during neutral or difficult times.
4. Recognize, acknowledge and accept your fears: Courage is not the absence of fear, but action in spite of fear.
5. Express your anger appropriately in ways that solves problems, instead of allowing it to create problems for yourself or others: Positive ways to express negative emotions include journaling, exercise, sports or some type of movement, or even just allowing yourself to scream into a pillow.
6. Remember, it’s okay to cry; allow yourself to do so when appropriate. Crying doesn’t make you weak. Sometimes crying can be cathartic and even cleansing!
7. Graciously accept positive acknowledgement from others, and as well give positive acknowledgement regularly to others: See how doing one random act of kindness a day affects your own sense of joy.
8. Respect other peoples’ differing sensitivity to and styles of expressing their feelings.
Remembering that your emotions play a major role in your well-being is very important. You need not hold on to nor hold in the emotion, for that can be harmful and even deadly in the long run. Instead, find positive and healthy ways to experience and express your feelings, and you will find that you will begin to have a renewed sense of balance in your life.
For more information or coaching on ways to change your life or to know more about the Dr. Clairborne and her services, visit http://www.mindbodyspiritwellness.org
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