5 steps to ensure this does not happen
I often use the metaphor of the ‘emotional pot’ or ‘stress pot ‘with my clients. If over a period of time you have not expressed your emotions and worked through them, then these will be bottled up inside your body. This bottle may become bigger over time and turn into a pot full of negative emotions. Imagine the impact on your mental wellbeing, when you are always carrying this big load with you around?
So, how do you empty this pot? It is important to do a few of the following every day to ensure your pot remains empty. It is the same as going to the toilet every day. It is pertinent to ‘flush’ out the emotional toxins daily same as you do with the physical toxins that build up in the body. Symptoms such as anxiety and depression are common when this emotional build up occurs. I find that the techniques I share in this blog are the ones I repeat to clients regularly, therefore are worth sharing with you all again.
Here are 5 ways you can keep your ‘stress pot’ empty to avoid a negative impact on your mental wellbeing:
Talking to someone you trust, who is good at listening and understands your feelings, can be a great help. The act of verbalising emotions is one way of emptying them out of your ‘stress pot’. If you do not have anybody you trust in this way, then speak to a counsellor or professional who is trained to do so.
Imagine the person you have issues with is sitting in a chair near you. Now voice it and tell them how you feel. This is about verbalising the emotions out of your body, in the absence of a real person to talk to.
Writing connects to the right side brain which is associated with emotions. Just write out how you are feeling or write unsent letters to people who have upset you. This way, you are literally spilling your built-up emotions onto the page you are writing on from your ‘stress pot’.
Sit quietly, take a few slow deep breaths and focus on the emotion you are feeling. For example, you may be feeling sad because of a loss. Notice where the sadness is sitting in your body, then conjure up an image that encapsulates this sadness. For instance, your sadness may bring up the image of a stone which is grey, cold and heavy. Next visualise the ‘stone’ leaving your body, moving out through the window and sinking deep below all the layers of the earth. Then, imagine the ‘stone’ transforming into beautiful vibrant white light in the earth centre. Now let the light flow back into your body to replace the space of the ‘stone’. Keep using this exercise over a period of time until all the sadness has gone.
You can also visualise an imaginary shower of gold and white light onto the ‘stone’ (or whichever image has come up for you) to dissolve it.
The imagery and visualisation techniques are especially helpful when it is difficult to articulate painful emotions with words.
Make a commitment to do a few of the above every day to keep you free of the build-up of negative emotions. In addition, engage in practices that generate positive emotions.
