Emotions are the Spice of Life
We are all familiar with feeling sad, happy, grief, anger and a myriad of emotional states. Emotions sometimes seem to arise in ways that surprise us. Sometimes our emotions can overwhelm us and we can certainly feel a victim to our emotions. As a society we have put enormous amounts of energy into developing our intellects or mental body. So called rational thought, supposedly devoid of any emotion. Emotional intelligence is often overlooked and considered bothersome and best supressed. However, it is our emotions that make a difference between whether we are enjoy our lives or experience life as a bland colourless experience. Given that we all have emotions, it behoves us to understand them and master them rather than suppress them. In this article I am going to discuss why emotional healing is so important.
Where Do Our Emotions Come From?
Where do emotions come from is a very expansive question. A lot like the question what is Mind? It is not the purpose of this blog to explore this question in too much philosophical depth.
Candice Pert Ph.D first coined the phrase “Molecules of Emotion”. Pert came up with this phrase after 25 years researching cell receptors and neuropeptides. Pert’s scientific group discovered high concentrations of neuropeptides exist in most location within our bodies where information from the five senses enters our nervous system. Receptors for these neuropeptides are found on immune cells. Our immune system can send and receive information from our brains. Essentially our immune system is always “listening” to our emotional states.
Since Pert’s original research was published two other individuals have also researched and published information on the Intelligence of our cells. – Sondra Barrett, Ph.D – Secrets of your Cells (2013) and Bruce Lipton has also written books on the subject
How our bodies React to Prolonged Negative Emotions
Louise Hay was perhaps the first author to release a self-help book in 1984 outlining how different emotional patterns effect our physical health. The scientific world has also developed the field of enquiry called Psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology – study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems of the human body. At this point there can be little doubt that our emotional states do affect our physical health.
Negative emotions can indeed weaken our immune system thereby making you more likely to get colds and other infections. Prolonged poor emotional health can also lead to an increased likelihood of tobacco, alcohol and other drug abuse. Other signs that could indicate that you have poor emotional health and that emotional healing may help:
- Back pain
- Chest pain
- Headaches
- High blood pressure
- Extreme tiredness
- Sweating
- Sexual problems
- Weight gain or loss
The Importance of Emotional Healing
I am hoping that by now you are thinking “I really need to get a handle on my emotions”. The problem that most people face once they have asked this question is the next question “How do I do that? Where do I start?” Many people face this problem, we are taught how to think but rarely how to manage our emotions. The methods most employed are suppression, denial and distractions. These coping methods often lead to drug and alcohol abuse, explosive rage, anxiety, and generally feeling unhappy and unhealthy. There is another way – emotional healing!
How to let go of Your Negative Emotions! Continue reading here