Have you been repressing your feelings? Expression is a part of mental health.
We have the basic need to express ourselves and express what we feel. It’s a part of creating mental health. When it’s not safe, or not welcomed, it creates even greater emotional suffering. Maybe you recall a time when it was physically painful when you could not say what you think and feel.
Do you have such an outlet available regularly, in therapeutic settings, or on your own? How about any repressed, unacknowledged feelings from the past? Have you processed them, understood them, and released them? ( Remember, it’s not about unleashing your anger on other people. I’ll clarify in my next post what to do with emotions)
“Emotions that were repressed, ignored, denied, that never find expression or were never fully acknowledged are those that go the deepest and need your greatest attention. ” – Deb Shapiro
Hidden emotions call for our attention in the weakest moments when we want to change our lives. They create a filter through which we experience daily situations and other people.
In my practice, one of the most healing* experiences for people is our work with suppressed emotions.
It’s hard to call it “work.” It’s a conversation when we slow down and reconnect with ourselves by turning within. We find emotions from last week, years, or decades ago. We process them, communicate with them, understand them, and release them. Many people do it for the first time in their coaching and hypnosis sessions. They discover it’s safe and provides emotional and physical relief.
Many worry that letting certain negative emotions surface will strengthen them. In reality, this is an outlet that creates room for healing.
No matter the topic of the inner work and transformation, we will encounter emotions… and it’s a good thing.