6 parts of your body where you may carry emotional baggage

Have you heard of the term “emotional baggage”? If you have no idea about what that means, we’re stating it in simple words for you. The phenomenon of dragging past trauma or alleged unfavorable events into one’s life, relationships, or job is occasionally described with this term. You may be surprised to know that someone’s posture may reflect this, giving the impression that they are carrying an intolerable burden. It might even keep them from advancing in life.
To a certain extent, everyone harbors unprocessed feelings from past events. Unresolved emotions, however, don’t simply disappear. Think of it as a bag with stones you’re carrying with you at all times. What do you expect out of it? A muscle pull, cramp, joint pain? Similar to physical discomfort, emotional trauma can also exhibit signs in some body parts that are carrying it for a long time.According to a 1992 study by the National Institutes of Health, a person’s physical health is influenced by their

mental and emotional well-being

through the mind-body link. Here’s a list of body parts, the signs they exhibit, and what it means:

Chest

Anger showed increased activity in the chest and upper body. There is also some activation in the legs. These emotions can also kickstart the sympathetic nervous system to create a quick response in the body. That’s why you may feel your heart pulsing or your muscles tightening when you become nervous or stressed.

Feet

Tightness in the chest but not in the arms and some sensation in the feet can denote the feeling of fear. If you find your feet temperature switching multiple times despite sitting in the same environment, count it as a sign of fear trapped in the body.

Head

Increased activity in the head and chest sometimes denotes sadness. Another sign to notice it is that the activity in the lower body, including the pelvis, legs, and feet, is highly decreased.

Pelvis

Decreased activation of the pelvis is one of the signs of depression. This is why many people cry while doing pelvis opening yoga asanas. This reveals how the trapped emotions find an outlet through expression.

Torso

Increased activity in the torso and head but not in the hands can denote the emotion of shame. This establishes a baseline for the typical locations of emotional experiences. However, additional research is still required to draw firm conclusions on this topic.

How to release emotional baggage from the body?

We are frequently instructed to ignore our suffering and keep on. This can eventually result in unconscious avoidance, another name for repressed emotions. A 2019 study published in the International Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research discovered a link between immune system dysfunction and emotional repression.

Here are some strategies for letting go of suppressed feelings:

Recognizing your emotions: Don’t suppress them and write down what you are feeling. Cry it out or share your feelings with a friend or family member.
Overcoming trauma: Try trauma-reducing techniques like accepting what you may not get despite deserving it all. Once acceptance comes, your trauma diminishes.
Shadow work: This refers to exercises of self-evaluation based on emotions you have suppressed in past years. For eg. one exercise that can benefit is Take a piece of blank paper and draw two columns on it. “Depletes Me” is in Column A. “Elevates Me” is in Column B. Consider interactions that hinder your progress. Put them in column A. Consider interactions that make you feel fulfilled. Put them in column B. This will help you find out what grows you and what cuts you down.

Making intentional movement: Moving your body is the best way to release emotional baggage. Try doing intentional movements like stretching, yoga, dancing, martial arts, shaking and tai chi. Intentional movement can help us feel safer in our body than we may have previously, especially for people who have stored trauma.
Practicing stillness: Being still enables us to be in the present moment with our thoughts and emotions. Being completely aware of the current moment and avoiding internal chatter is what it means to be present. Over time, being present can help you let go of emotional baggage, which can help you focus better and feel less stressed and anxious.