Harness the Power of Emotions

Do you ever struggle with emotions that you’re not sure where they came from? Or emotions that seem too strong for the situation?

Emotions are so powerful that they can override thought, create immediate, physical responses in the body, make us feel fantastic or terrible, and contribute to chronic illness or well-being. 

Because of their strength, whether your own or someone else’s, emotions can also become trapped in the body. You may have trapped some yourself as a protective mechanism, but when the threat is gone trapped emotions can negatively affect body function, and mentally or emotionally hold you back.

Healthy emotions are free, not trapped, and you are able to experience them in a way that allows you to use your emotions for motivation, relief, and joy.

The color of joy by Michael Durst

I work with so many people who are struggling with “a few” extra pounds. Often their body works, but emotions can send them back to the kitchen for excess foods they didn’t need. 

I alway do the things I ask clients to do. I’m pretty disciplined, but I have to work at it just like everybody else. While pondering trapped emotions and weight loss, I realized that whenever I went up a few pounds and thought of weight loss, I had a subtle feeling of fear. So I decided out of curiosity to test and see if I had any trapped emotions surrounding weight loss.

My body tested yes, I did have some trapped emotions contributing to fear surrounding weight loss! I was surprised, but it also explained why it can be so hard to be disciplined.

What was initially even more surprising, was to find several of those emotions were inherited. Studies repeatedly show that environment and experiences can be passed as many as three generations. 

My grandparents were both immigrants and had lived through the Great Depression. The more I thought about it, the emotions I had made sense when I thought about what it must have been like not having much food, and perhaps wondering when you would eat next in terms of the Great Depression, but feelings from this really were not serving me now. It was a relief to acknowledge and release them.

While I can still choose to head to the kitchen for an unnecessary night time snack, I am happy to say now it’s much easier not to!

There are so many other aspects of our lives that can be affected by trapped emotions. There’s a reason for the term “broken hearted”. Often releasing trapped emotions can provide relief for chronic issues and clear the path to healing.