Emotional Detox – Do you need one?
Year of the Tiger but not feeling like one?
Bold, engaged, passionate, lively, strong?
More like – distraught, anxious, depressed, cranky, listless, hopeless, sad, fearful?
Toxic emotions can keep you mentally stuck and worse can create a downward spiral, become a habit and end up in your tissues
creating a range of physical symptoms.
And these can impact the effectiveness of your immune system by shifting the focus to fight/flight response versus
all the healthy activities needed by our immune cells.
Obviously not a desirable effect – anytime!
These past 2 years have been tough on the best of tigers!
Symptoms of headaches, sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, gut issues ( the whole gambit), worsening addictions, explosive anger,
crying spells, risky behavior, weight loss/gain, arthritic pain, other pain, hormone disruptions, loss of sex drive, and really a worsening of any symptom which tends to show up under stress.
Maybe it’s a rash, return of shingles, bladder issues, loss of voice, obsessive compulsiveness or ADD symptoms.
There is a long list of possibilities.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic often describe disease as the final manifestation
of not just physical toxic accumulations but
also unexpressed, suppressed, ignored or denied emotions.
This is catastrophic in a culture that reveres people pleasing and avoidance of conflict.
Unfortunately we are not taught nonviolent communication skills, let alone self care, learning to identify feelings and emotions or using them constructively.
An excess of anger damages the liver, fear and worry impacts the kidneys, excess or depletion of joy weakens the heart, blood and pancreas, unresolved grief or sadness damages the lungs, excessive sympathy towards others as a distraction to ones own pain or over-hesitancy weakens the spleen.
The stuckness of the emotion creates a stuckness in the TCM energy channels creating imbalance and lack of communication amongst the organs – it does not necessarily damage the specified organ.
In Conventional medicine, the mind-heart-body connection is validated as the so called “cancer personality” or the triple A personality associated to overwork, addiction, exhaustion and heart attacks.
Frequently I have seen pneumonia and bronchitis develop in the surviving spouse or during failure of partnerships and marriages.
It is important to note that the feeling of an emotion is not the cause of an illness but the lack of acknowledgement and expression of the emotion.
What turns an emotion toxic?
When emotions are rejected, judged, suppressed or lied about.
Alzheimer’s and dementia have been postulated as a process of: acknowledgement of emotion, it’s denial, then suppression, to complete numbing and then finally “checking out” though still physically here, they have checked out of their mind thereby avoiding the discomfort or pain of the original emotion!
E – Motion – it moves along – it is a feeling that has motion.
A feeling comes and goes, and we can identify and choose this experience at will.
Firstly we must become aware of it, know it belongs to us, created by us and then we can examine it.
Dr. Deepak Chopra has the following process:
1. Identify the emotion.
2. Observe the emotion.
3. Take responsibility without feeling guilt.
4. Express your emotion to yourself.
5. Release it through a practice – meditation, dance, exercise, massage, breath and the gratefulness of just breathing!
6. Share the emotion. It’s your emotion – no one gave it to you.
7. Celebrate the detox process. I always feel better outside, admiring nature – even a photograph or recorded sounds. I celebrate feeling – different!
The important thing is to take action no matter how small – you are taking responsibility for your toxicity – the emotion creating the feeling of stuckness, frustration, anger, sadness – you are half way there to cleansing by taking a first step!
Still struggling? – I prefer the word challenged.
Gratefulness is always a winning place to start…recently Suze Casey a wonderful belief repatterning coach extraordinaire….offered this.
“Shifting to see the bigger picture – focusing on the puzzle pieces you have to fit versus the annoying one you need to find to put into the picture – removes the struggle, changes the direction and releases the tension.”
Here is her affirmation and process.
“I forgive myself for believing I have to keep searching for the missing pieces in my life.
I give myself permission to step back and take a look at the big picture.
I can be frustrated trying to find the missing pieces, or I can appreciate the big picture
– I choose to focus on the bigger picture of my life.
I am free to focus on what I can do from where I am with what I’ve got today when I….
I know I have a home, food, friends. I am safe and I am moving forward.
I focus on the big picture knowing the missing pieces will either appear, or won’t matter
in the bigger scheme of things.
I am GRATEFUL for my ability to let go of the missing pieces and focus on what I can do from
where I am with what I have to do.”
Homeopathy, herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage and energetic modalities support and unwind – shift the frequency and allow the e-motion to move through – it is an experience.
Emotional detoxing starts with acknowledging the state or experience you are having and choosing to respond to the experience without damaging your self confidence and self esteem.
There is no unhealthy or negative emotion – every emotion has its place and message.
And yes – take it personally – it’s your e-motion – what is it saying?
How might you be benefiting from continuing to keep this emotion?
Are we taking life too seriously?
Laughter is good medicine.
Meditation declutters the heart and mind – find 5 minutes a day.
Set your intentions every morning for the day you plan to have.
Journalling
Getting Away if you can even for an afternoon.
Playing loud fun music.
Feel it, know it, and move with your emotions – it is a very human thing to experience!
Bring the tiger back into your life!
Need support? Natural and helpful medicines? Or a plan if you are on prescription drugs or addicting?
Call me – I have been there!
LKND