Emotions are conscious mental reactions (such as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as strong feelings usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body.”
Adapted from Merriam-Webster 2024
Why is it so important to acknowledge our emotions as visitors & let them go?
By working through these emotions and feelings, we are able to recognize, and process them ( let them pass through our system) then let them go. If we ignore or deny our emotions that doesn’t mean that they will simply “go away”.For some of us this can possibly work for a short period of time, especially if we push them so far back into our minds ( the closet of our bodies).
Pushing our emotions away can only work for so long, because once that feeling is awakened and activated, it can come back out in full force. Over time, negative emotions that are stuck with us can cause internal illnesses or depression. In order to move those negative emotions it’s important to recognize & feel them, then let them go.
Can our negative emotions do us good in any way?
Sometimes they can, take for example “Despair” - Which is the complete loss of or absence of hope. Source: Oxford Dictionary 2024 <
Despair can be a gift because that may bring us to the point where we decide to ask for help. Many times feelings come loaded with messages for us and if we pay attention we can possibly learn something from them. Those emotions are telling us about what we need, what we're missing and what's happening inside of us. To recognize those feelings just like we would with a visitor and acknowledge them, they can then move onward through the body. If we take the effort and time to process our emotions, they will move forward and out.
How to feel and address emotions & let them go?
a) First- is to “acknowledge your emotions” in the best way you possibly can, just as we would recognize a visiting family member, or someone we love.
To be able to “Feel the feeling” by spotting where it has taken up space in your body is key. Then to realize and accept that this is just how you are feeling for right now.
A client I recently spoke to said that “She just felt shitty” and asked me how she could make that feeling go way. I had to answer honestly and say “Sometimes we just have to “feel shitty” and gives ourselves that time ( specific time amount) to sit with those feelings…it’s like sitting in “dirty diapers”, it sucks!
b) Second- is to “process those emotions” by doing activities / exercises that can help release and let go of feelings like anger, guilt, or resentment.
A physical release with exercise like pounding a pillow, dancing around to loud music, or engaging in strenuous activity can help.
Creative release can happen with expressive writing or drawing. Large angry words in an unsent letter or a journal can provide relief & release. This I practiced myself the year right after my father’s suicide in a special “Survivors of Suicide” Grief Group.
The release I felt after expressing how confused, hurt, and angry I was truly helped me to process my trauma. Lastly, studies have shown that sharing our feelings in a “safe space”, can really bring perspective, and minimize them greatly.
The next time our emotions descend upon us, trying to take up residence in our bodies and minds, we can remember to treat them like visitors. Acknowledge them by spending some time and energy with those recent arrivals, then release them in the best way possible to you and let them go.
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