Emotional Release 101
Can emotions cause disease? An overview of releasing emotions and healing trauma.
Emotions: They are fundamental to our health. Seems like an overstatement, doesn’t it? For the vast majority of people, the idea that your emotions can impact your physical health seems like an exaggeration. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Our emotions are the deepest parts of us, so when it comes to a conversation about what is the most fundamental part of your health… Emotions are at the forefront because of the mechanisms attached to processing those emotions. Those processes are not just in your head, they are literally in the body. This article provides an overview of those processes and why issues arise when emotions are no longer just “energy in motion.” The question is: what happens when we suppress something as fundamental as emotions?
To contextualize this topic, I’ll introduce something called Emotional Release. It’s the link between psychological issues and physical dysfunctions that merges psychosomatics, bodywork, and integral trauma facilitation (more on this to come). It allows you to release what has been suppressed and stuck in the body’s network of nerves, organs, and more. In other words, Emotional Release is a modality that taps into the language of the body.
What is the language of the body?
One key element in the language of the body is fascia. Fascia is the connective tissue in our body and it stores trauma. We can store trauma in the body without having any conscious recollection of the event. This means that the body is capable of “remembering” pain, and this stored trauma can manifest in various forms—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
When we are unable to process our feelings and emotions, they get stored in the body. This can result in physical manifestations such as chronic pain, insomnia, digestive issues, and much, much more. It can also cause emotional issues such as anxiety, depression, and even addiction! When we are unable to effectively release the emotions, the body keeps the score (hence the famous book and accompanying phrase).
So yes, your body is actually speaking to you. It speaks to you in symptoms, in physical illness, in the voice of anxiety, and in the whisper that longs for change. This is why intuition becomes an important component of healing because it is how we communicate with our body and of course, our soul.
What happens to suppressed or “stuck” emotions?
When emotions are unexpressed or suppressed, they become stagnant energy. Those “stuck” emotions are stored in the fascia, which we actually know very little about. What we know is that fascia goes from head to toe and has a deep connection with our nervous system. The nerves from the fascia travel up to the emotional parts of our brain. So what does that mean?
- The mind is connected to the body (they are parts of one system)
- Emotions can impact every part of the body because fascia is found all over (bones, blood, tissues, muscles, organs)
An easy way to understand this connection is the many examples of when people experience a trauma and develop a disease after. This is because certain emotions have an affinity for a specific part of the body (think back to the connection of nerves in the fascia to a part of the brain). In essence, we’re seeing that if you push an emotion away, ignore it, and do not let the emotion run its course, it does not truly “go away.” Yet again, the body keeps the score. The body remembers long after the mind forgets.
The results of this accumulated score are enormously varied, from auto-immune diseases to mental health issues to gut problems (highly common), and even as specific as eczema or psoriasis. It becomes abundantly clear that if we do not facilitate the emotions that we experience, they find their way into the body and into our organs, blood, skin, and so on.
How are emotions released?
The Emotional Release method is a way to process our emotions and release them from the body. It uses breathwork, visualization, and touch to help us access those emotions and release them from the fascia, the body, and beyond. This allows us to reconnect with our bodies and emotions and make sense of what might otherwise be chaotic and overwhelming. In addition, the Emotional Release process leverages a truly holistic approach — meaning that you aren’t just going in circles reliving old stories and patterns as you might in talk therapy, but you’re getting to the root cause of physical and mental illness caused by emotional suppression and transmuting it.
This leads us to wonder: Are “negative emotions” unhealthy? This is a difficult question to answer because it really depends on how we process and express those emotions. It’s important to remember that all emotions are valid and, in some cases, necessary. Emotional experiences can become unhealthy when we try to suppress or ignore those emotions, initiating the aforementioned process of emotions becoming stuck in the body and manifesting as physical and emotional issues down the line.
The key to emotional release is to understand how our emotions affect our body and mind and then work on finding ways to effectively process and release them. By understanding the language of the body and how trauma is stored in our fascia, we can begin to understand the underlying causes of physical and mental ailments. Emotional Release is a powerful tool to help us reconnect with our bodies and emotions and process what might otherwise seem overwhelming, unsolvable, and hopeless.
The human body is incredibly intelligent and holds onto every experience that we have had in our lives. Our muscles, fascia, skin, and organs all play a role in how we process our emotions. The Emotional Release method accesses both the physical and mental aspects of the body, enabling us to communicate with each organ on a deeper level. By better understanding the language of our organs, we can access and reactivate the body’s natural healing abilities that may have been blocked or impaired due to dysfunction and emotional suppression. Doing this allows us to restore order and return to a healthy state of being. In essence, it frees you from the shackles of deep pain and empowers you to work with your body instead of against it.
There is a path to healing and it doesn’t require anything fancy. It simply requires you and your willingness to go deep.
Join a community of self-healers by connecting with Dr. G on Instagram here and listening to the Heal Thy Self podcast. Looking to experience an Emotional Release session? Book one here.
