Feeling and Releasing Stuck Emotions
We’ve all heard it before, feel your feelings. As cliche and slightly cringe-worthy as the phrase sounds, it’s incredibly important for us to do. When we feel our feelings as they arise, even the most negative ones, we save ourselves a lot of future pain. We not only heal our minds in this process, but also our bodies and souls. Because they’re all so connected, duh.
When we keep emotions and feelings trapped inside our big and smart brains, sooner or later they’ll start to show up in other places throughout our bodies. Everybody and every body is different, but stuck emotions will always manifest physically in some form or another eventually.
This is why feeling those feelings before they have a chance to make themselves at home in the body is necessary. Even if they’re the most uncomfortable and negative of all emotions, they should never be left bottled up. Just think about it this way, your brain could be using that space for much more important things. As the wise Buddha once said: LET THAT SHIT GO.
So, here are five simple and free steps to help you do just that.
How to feel and release your feelings:
Step 1: Name the feeling or emotion. Say to yourself, “I am EXPERIENCING xxx”, instead of labeling yourself as that emotion. No more telling yourself that you’re anxious, no. You’re just EXPERIENCING anxiety.
Step 2: Describe the feeling or emotion. Notice how it manifests mentally, physically and energetically. Become aware of where in your body you feel the tension or stress.
Step 3: Acknowledge the feeling or emotion. Give it the attention that it’s asking for, but with no judgement attached. Simply say, “Hi, XXX feeling. I see you.”
Step 4: Feel it. Lean into this emotion, even if it’s negative. Allow yourself to experience it because it most likely won’t go away.
Step 5: Release it. After you’ve acknowledged it and allowed yourself to feel it, take control over it. Tell that feeling who’s boss, tell that feeling that you can take it from here. Then, take a word from Buddha.
