Everything that we experience in life registers in the body, often as trapped emotions. If it is something distressing, anxiety-producing, fear-inducing, hurtful, or otherwise unpleasant, we often push it out of our conscious mind. We might think that it’s gone, but it isn’t. The memory and accompanying emotions stays trapped in the body and affects us.

Many of these events happen when we’re children, or even when in the womb. We might even inherit traumas from earlier generations in our family, called intergenerational trauma.

How does it affect us? If it’s something very mild, it may not have a significant effect. But if it’s intense and/or repeated often, it can affect us in different ways. It might create one or more health issues or recurring/chronic pain. It may cause us to keep failing in our goals, for no apparent reason. It may trigger very strong emotional reactions, far beyond what the situation would usually elicit. It may cause us to keep sabotaging ourselves as we move towards success. It may cause an addiction problem or compulsive behavior. It may cause us to have an anger management issue or be chronically depressed. Or, we can feel like we’re not worthy and don’t deserve the best in life. It may become hard to establish healthy relationships.

The response we have may become apparent right away. For example, a woman starts drinking because she is in a marriage with an abusive husband. She realizes why she is drinking, but has not figured out a healthier response pattern to cope with the situation.

Or someone may never make the connection between a distressing event and the mind-body response to it. For example, a child is constantly upset because his parents are always fighting. He becomes very introverted and timid, unlike how he used to be. He used to have a large circle of friends, but now prefers to be left alone.

Perhaps it manifests on the physical level years later. An example would be a refugee family that got displaced from their home in wartime. A little girl in the family misses her friends and loved ones back home. It is a heart-breaking situation for her. Then in her forties or fifties she develops a heart condition. No one relates it to her earlier trauma, but it has been slowly taking its toll on her heart.

According to Karol Truman (Feelings Buried Alive Never Die, Olympus Distributing, 2010), “I firmly believe that the hole in the soul is due to a person’s lack of success in returning to that place of Comfort and Peace…And also, an inability to resolve their negative feelings that were generated (called into existence) at birth or in their youth. These old feeling have subsequently remained unattended, hurting and crying. They still need to be resolved in order to heal the hole in the soul.

This child in the aging body has a difficult time producing the necessary mental or emotional shifts that would facilitate elimination of old behavioral patterns. Consequently, emotional healing becomes more of a challenge.”

According to Dawson Church (The EFT Manual, Energy Psychology Press, 2013), “When a traumatic event occurs, a child is not able to process it as an adult would…Instead, when confronted with a traumatic event, the best option a young mind can come up with might be to encapsulate the trauma. Putting a barrier around the event and dissociating from it is often the most useful and adaptive response the child can come up with.”

How can we release trapped emotions?

It is possible to release these trapped emotions, allowing the person to heal from physical ailments, let go of addictive patterns, develop self-esteem and self-worth, manage emotions skillfully, enjoy healthy relationships and success at work, in raising a family, financially, and in whatever other pursuits the person chooses to be good at. Then that person feels safer, supported by others, and generally freer to enjoy life.

There are many methods to identify and release these trapped emotions, and to bring up memories that have been suppressed for a long time, maybe even decades. The most important point is to choose someone skilled, who can lead you through the process in a gentle and supported way. That way, there is no retraumatization and you can proceed at a rate that is comfortable, only looking at or feeling an old event when you are ready.

Some of these methods include: EFT tapping, hypnosis, Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), Emotional Stress Release, The Emotion Code, flower essences, yoga and meditation, Healing The Inner Child work, Somatic Experiencing Therapy, Hanna Somatics, biofeedback, and many more. All of these methods work with emotional release and unlocking repressed feelings and memories.

It’s best to work with a practitioner who is certified in the field, someone who is qualified to lead you through the process in the gentlest and most supportive way possible.

Learn more about these methods https://www.toolsforjoyfulliving.com/our-tools/ and see which will work best for you. You can also schedule a free consultation.