On the surface, you might assume the concept of facing your emotions is high-brow and not meant for the average Joe’s and Jane’s. Yet, what you may not realize is that unprocessed emotions can have an impact on your overall health and wellness, impacting your physical and mental health. Therefore, it is important that you not only face but deal with your emotions effectively.
Now, saying that is easy. Actually facing your emotions, especially unwanted emotions, can be a major challenge, which is the reason why people try avoiding them in the first place. One thing you need to realize is there is no way you can get over emotions. As long as you are alive, you will continue to feel emotions. So, suppressing your emotions does not work. It is better to acknowledge them sooner rather than later.
A buildup of emotions can lead to a number of problems. For one, you will be constantly in a state of anxiety and stress. As you might know, stress is the foremost cause of a majority of health problems people commonly face, which can range from migraine headaches to Type-2 diabetes. Not only this, the psychological impact could be significant, with the common outcomes being depression, panic and eating disorders, feelings of worthlessness, and more.
In some cases, people experience guilt for the way they are feeling. They believe they have done something wrong and rather than deal with the emotion, they suppress it. For instance, you might be jealous of your best friend’s progress in life. You will try your best to ignore the feeling but the only result is you feel hopeless and terrible. The pent-up emotions can affect your life. Have you ever made a decision when you were highly emotional? Chances are, the decision didn’t turn out to be the best thing for you or anyone else. Perhaps the most important reason why you need to face and deal with your emotions is the effect it will have on the people around you. When you are not feeling great, it is likely that your loved ones will have to bear the brunt of it. The frustration can cause anger and resentment and you may decide to just avoid the world entirely. However, social isolation is rarely, if ever, helpful, and it doesn’t fix anything.
It is understandable that you might be hesitant, even afraid, to access your emotions. As we all heard on Seinfeld, when you experience one emotion, you experience them all, and it could be a tricky situation. To make it a safe and effective process, seek professional guidance to ensure there is an expert by your side throughout the way. This way, you don’t have to go through it alone!
If you need support in making this your day to day reality, you can learn more about counseling services in Dublin, CA here.