Most people don't realize how much stress affects us. This stress can be related to something we are experiencing right now or from something in the past.
Today, I thought I'd blog about past stuff. Even if you don't think about something that happened in the past, it could still be affecting you in some way. You may have mentally moved on, but it could still be lingering in the body somewhere in the tissues. Take for instance, a car accident that you may have had. Emotions of shock, fear, anger, confusion, etc. as well as the memories of the impact and the repercussions can still be stored in the body.
Say that you saw the accident as it was about to happen, you may have taken a deep breath and tensed up to brace yourself for the impact. Your ribcage could have retained the memory and held the pattern of being inhaled and has remained that way to an extent even years later. You may find yourself always bracing for things that might happen in life or "holding your breath". If you didn't see the accident about to happen, getting rear-ended at a stop sign, you may have "gotten the wind knocked out of you". One minute everything was fine, then "wham" something hits you from out of the blue. Your ribcage can actually get stuck exhaled and then doesn't expand as much as it should. You can find yourself feeling jumpy, tensing up at the slightest sound. After such a surprise, people say they feel like they are "waiting for the other shoe to drop". They find it hard to relax.
Another thing to happen in either case is feeling shocked or stunned by the accident. This can "freeze" a person in the moment. They can find themselves in a place years later where they feel frozen, unable to move forward in life.
These emotions and memories and many more can get trapped in the body. Releasing them from the tissues allows your body to heal and lighten it's load. You then feel lighter. It's not that you have to do anything with it, you just have to release it. How do you do that?
Action
Think back to the accident or any other situation that you feel might be held. Go through it step by step, thinking how it went. Where were you going at the time? Were you happy or stressed? What condition were you in? Think about the details. What were you wearing? Who were you with? Everything you can think of. Now "feel" what you were feeling. That's the key. Allow yourself to feel the shock, fear, aggravation, confusion, etc. Where do you feel it in your body? Feel it! Just feeling it can release it. Go through it all, even the aggravation of dealing with it after and how it may have affected your life. No need to get stuck in it now. Feel the anger toward the driver, but feel it out of you. Don't waste another minute carrying the anger forward. Do the aftereffects affect you today? Do you have to be careful of what you do because of the fear of aggravating your neck, back, etc.? Does it keep you from doing what you want to do?
If you find it overwhelming, Seek counseling to help you sort it out. Doing this may bring up issues that the mind may need help understanding. Or you can have a friend sit with you and ask you questions. But ask them not to give advice. That's not what you need in releasing. What you feel is what you feel, whether pretty or not. Don't deny the feelings, that's often why they are stuck. If you need to cry, then cry. If you need to scream, then scream. Let it out. Finish with a nice deep breath with the intention of releasing the emotions and memories. In the next couple days, you may feel more emotional or tired, just let it be. It will pass. You'll probably always remember the events, but the emotional charge should release. If not, do it again another day. You may have other pieces to release.
This can be done with many issues. I'll address other situations with questions in other posts. But for today, release and move on. Life is too short to be burdened by the past. Enjoy!
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