The healing power of emotions
The healing power of emotions
The dictionary definition of ‘emotion’ is:
noun
plural noun: emotions
a strong feeling deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.
similar: feeling, sentiment, sensation, reaction, response, passion, excitement, spirit, soul
Feelings are a natural and human accompaniment to being alive, teaching us in every moment and forming our response to everyday life. Our emotions are with us every single day, often occurring on ‘autopilot’ without us realising. They are very important tools which can identify inner beliefs, triggers and values. We all know what feels good to us, and what doesn’t, don't we? But have you ever felt like a slave to your emotions, unable to control how you feel even though you know it’s affecting you on a deeper level?
For a number of years now I have witnessed first-hand the healing power of emotions – changes within myself, my loved ones and my clients. Seeing the huge transformation emotional healing can bring has driven me to share it within every aspect of my work.
This topic is so huge and complex that it’s simply not possible to go into great detail here – for the purpose of this blog, I’m going to keep things simple and give you just a taste of what emotional healing is about to inspire you and hopefully intrigue you to discover more.
‘Negative’ vs ‘positive’ emotions
Emotions are powerful because they are closely linked to our energy, our vibration and our thoughts. These things determine the reality around us, not just how we feel about it.
Bryan McGill says ‘Every good thing begins with a positive thought.’
It may sound strange focusing on positive thinking to bring about meaningful change to your health – and that’s why emotional healing is so powerful. It goes beyond ‘thinking good thoughts’ and changes how we feel inside.
I hesitate to label emotions like anger, fear, hurt, sadness and guilt as ‘negative’, because there is always something valuable lying behind them. A very important lesson or truth to be learned about ourselves and why we feel what we feel. So whatever end of the scale or spectrum you’re on, you’re in a positive place if you’re ready to look within and discover the roots of your conscious thinking, beliefs and behaviour. For illustrative purposes here I have defined these emotions within two camps to help demonstrate the connection between how we feel, and what we experience.
Positive and negative emotions work symbiotically with one another. So the more positive emotions you feel and express, the more you will find. Equally the more negative emotions you feel and express, the more negative emotions will come. This is known as the ‘thoughts spiral’ – because often these emotions can snowball affecting not only our emotional wellbeing but also our physical health too.
‘Negative’ emotions on the spiral begin with boredom, pessimism and frustration, escalating to fear, depression, powerlessness, insecurity and unworthiness.
Positive emotions begin with contentment, hopefulness and optimism, rising to love, freedom, empowerment and joy.
Notice how the seeds of each spiral are so small….this is good news, because it means you can start to introduce positive emotions into your life easily every day.
Reacting vs responding
Most people go through their lives reacting to triggers. They’re blind to what is happening within the process between exposure and emotion – the thoughts and beliefs that inform the outcome. When we react, we don’t learn about ourselves or welcome any opportunity to change our thinking and emotional wellbeing.
And when we respond to the things and people around us, we are in a much better position to shape our reality and strengthen our wellbeing and health. Responding requires a brief introspection, considering what the most positive and healthy way to proceed could be and then embodying that emotion. It’s a habit you will cultivate over time as you become more sensitive to your emotions and how they are influencing your daily life.
Next time something happens and you’re tempted to react a certain way, try to respond instead. How could you make this situation work for you and positively influence your wellbeing? Practicing this over and over again is the best way to see and feel change.
Healing through mastering the mind-body connection
Often as humans we look for a quick fix to address our problems – so often we look outside of ourselves rather than within ourselves. This is especially true within healthcare.
Truly connecting with the power of your mind-body connection can be life changing when working with emotions for wellness.
Using the magic of NLP is one of the ways I work with emotions, working with your thoughts and beliefs on an unconscious level, naturally bringing about new responses to daily triggers. There’s no need to delve deep into your past traumas to identify where change needs to happen and to bring about real and lasting transformation on an emotional and physical level. It’s a gentle and powerful method of gaining mastery of your emotions to support improved emotional and physical wellbeing – especially if you’ve been stuck in the ‘negative’ for a long time.
If you are curious about the ways I work with emotions and healing, especially within cancer care then you can find out more here
