wellness trend report : the science-backed dive into how chronic pain comes from emotion
that consistent pain you’re feeling in your back - your knee - your headaches - they’re stemmed from emotion that hasn’t been processed. let’s chat on how we can get this energy moving
WELLNESS REPORT : the new findings on how chronic pain stems from suppressed emotion
circulating in the wellness world today is the science-backed relationship linking our mind and our body through emotion. the findings in this report explore how the physical reaction stemming from negative emotions is staying within our bodies, and instigating a pain response which is being signalled to our brains.
this signal of pain has been proven to consistently ping pain as long as the un-comfortability of the emotion stays there - and as long as it is staying suppressed and unprocessed - creating chronic pain that sticks with you daily.
and luckily, it is being proven that there is a method to relieving this dis-ease.
the mind-body connection and illness
there is a widely accepted connection between emotional well-being and physical health in society. the fact that we feel anxious and it shows up as stomach pain or have a nervous twitch is something we can all relate to (whether public speaking, giving presentation, speeches etc). or when you have a good cry (physical tears) which is being instigated by a sadness or loss in your life. these are both physical reactions to emotions that you and I emotionally feel.
chronic diseases, especially those related to pain, are being found to likely be linked to emotional stress, past trauma, and unaddressed feelings that have manifested as constant discomfort in the body. in this study, they proved that both pain and emotion are found to be processed in the same area of the brain. and how this mind-body link is a crucial aspect of healing. what is being widely accepted is: heal the emotion, heal the pain.
the role of repressed emotions in chronic pain and illness
our unprocessed emotions can come from a range of events that have happened in your life. they could very well be acute, stemming from a recent trauma that was sudden such as a loss or grief or stress from a large event, or they can be from events that happened when we were children, or adolescents. these older events and subsequent emotions have been kept within the body for years, (and likely not noticed) since we were very small.
our bodies are so incredibly smart that the signal of pain is actually the signal that it’s time to do something about these feelings. essentially, the emotional dis-ease has built up so much that your body is knocking at your door asking to be looked at and heard.
i want to quote roughly from the findings of this study:
having greater pain is related to emotional stress and limited emotional a expression, and processing.
think of this - have you ever had chronic pain subside after physical therapy, and then another chronic pain show up in another area of form of illness? this is your body telling you that the emotion behind the discomfort is still unprocessed, and although you were working on healing this one physical part of your body - these emotions are still very present and need to be dealt with. knock knock.
the awareness and processing of these old emotions is where you will discover healing.
ways to process and heal the emotions causing our chronic pain
in order to move forward and to feel and release this old tension, you must take time in practice to process it all. this study shows that people have healed through emotional awareness coping (activities to help process their emotions).
one of those practices that is deeply excavating for old emotions is journalling. an amazing researcher and author, Nicole Sachs offers up a process in her book in which you can begin to alleviate the symptoms of chronic pain and illness through journalling.
if you are not ready to dive into her work, ill give you a process I like to use is called unconscious stream journalling - where you write, without thinking, and allow yourself to let out every single thing that’s on your mind. when you do this long enough, you will have emotion and concrete beliefs come into the paper that are needing to be released and or heard/seen and disposed of (and you’ll likely be surprised what comes up!). you may even experience yawning, sniffling and coughing - which is these emotions moving out of your muscles and tissues.
it’s important to allow yourself to write with no judgement. free yourself from any comparison, and simply write all that you are experiencing. do it daily. little by little, your body over time will expose the deeper emotions that have been stagnant and have been sitting in your hips, stomach, head, muscles - and you will begin to feel better. this process of letting go releases the tension in your body and frees us the space by healing the body to be able to work in unison with the mind as it should, free from restraint.
every time you journal, make sure you burn the pages or throw them out. this is so you know you are extremely safe to write absolutely anything that comes up and out of your energetic being.
your journal exercise should look like this:
set a timer for 10-15mins
set an intention for having absolutely no judgement for yourself and anything that you end up writing in this practice
begin writing without thinking, focusing on how you’re feeling or what’s been happening lately that has made you upset
every time you look back at things you’ve written, ask yourself if there is a way you can go deeper into that emotion or that feeling you had/have, and expand your writing on it
burn the paper immediately and say goodbye to those emotions
repeat tomorrow
transforming the energy for emotional and physical recovery
if you have chronic pain, that means you’ve been living in a state of fight or flight mode. your cells in our body having been standing on guard for way too long, watching for any sign of danger at any moment. when these a cells are working this hard for you, they are in a state of stress and not of ease.
the body can only heal and be fully energetic when it is in a state of ease, so when you are engulfed by tension, your body is unable to operate to its full capacity. hence the compiling pain.
when we continue to live within stress, it creates even more tension in the body - adding to the already unprocessed emotions are still being held in your body. any new unprocessed emotions are simply laying on top of these old ones. it’s a cycle of never ending tension in the body, and it is what leads to the heavier bouts of pain and discomfort that people feel physically over time.
when we begin to allow these old emotions and new emotions to be released through speaking, journalling, or movement - we begin to alleviate the physical symptoms that have manifested and we promote healing.
incorporate processing activities into daily life
the best thing you can do for yourself is to find a consistent journalling and/or movement schedule. work this into your days or weeks by doing the following 😀
reduce stress
find space to write
allow mindful bodily movement
promote self care and compassion
this work is so necessary for your long term wellbeing. if you plan to stay connected to your body, and desire to thrive in your life, you will want to process old emotions that may be lowering your energy and your ability to perform in the world.