Sometimes we can get a little nostalgic when we look through our photographs. Perhaps you have some pictures of someone who is no longer in your life and you fondly remember the times you shared together. Perhaps they are gone because you chose not to have them in your life any longer, or you lost them to more tragic circumstances. The feelings and emotions that you can get from simply recalling a memory is very powerful.
I used many forms of escapism in my youth. I hated any feelings of negativity as I was always seen as the positive, bouncey type of person. So when I was down I would put on a brave face by pushing my negative feelings away. I had a fantastic knack of taking on other people’s baggage, especially those to whom I had close relationships with. Being a personal prop on most occasions I realise now was purely down to my own limited knowledge about the boundaries of compassion. But as I wanted to appear helpful and in control, I would numb my emotions with food or alcohol, but of course this never lasted long term, and I would always feel more worse off than I did before!
When your body produces an emotion sometimes you will find it easy to feel the emotion, or other times you may try to cover it up in the hope that it goes away. In particular we have become accustomed to embracing only positive feelings and pushing down the negative ones. Our survival mechanism kicks in and we are determined to fight it!
But it’s good to be reminded that your emotions will always be trying to tell you something that you may not even be consciously aware of. Most significantly, your mind and your body are connected so if there is something “on your mind” your emotions will communicate with your body and it could manifest in illness or a pain somewhere. Stress is the perfect trigger for this. In addition your own internal self talk has an impact on your mood. If you speak to yourself in a negative way, you will bring more negative feelings in which can manifest through your body’s aches and pains.
If you want to improve how you feel, a good place to start is to tune in to your emotions more often, allow your body to “feel” instead of attempting to push feelings away with food, alcohol or drugs etc. Take time to be on your own; meditate, write a journal or just be still so you can acknowledge yourself. With the pressure of all that is expected of you whether it’s at work, looking after the kids, or putting energy into a relationship, it’s important that you can take time to relax or do something you really enjoy. If you are frequently unwell or catch germs easily, it could mean that you are run down, stressed, unhappy, frustrated, carrying around guilt etc, as well as having a weak immune system. If not released, these emotions can cause you to feel unwell and have an impact on your sleep too.
To end here is an extract out of one of my favourite books Living with Joy by Sanaya Roman ~
“Practice loving yourself today with your thoughts and your words. Make yourself right rather than wrong. Forgive yourself knowing that you are always doing the best you know how. Make yourself the authority of what is good for you. Feel the joy that comes from honouring who you are. At night, reflect on how the day felt and what changed as you opened to a new level of self love.”
