If you’d like to stay strong and care for your immune health, beyond nutrition and supplements, it’s wise to practice emotional release.
Link between your immune and emotional systems
Do you know what your immune system and your emotional system have in common? They both work in the same way: allowing in what is nourishing and keeping out what is not. Research is now showing that they are part of one intricately connected system. Sometimes called psychoneuroimmunology or affective immunology, one of the core principles behind these fields of study is that our emotions directly impact our nervous system and immune function and vice-versa.
In the realm of holistic mind/body connection, cultivating positive emotions such as compassion, mindfulness, gratitude, is often the place we’re told to start. However, I’ve noticed with my clients, time and again, that they often can’t easily access these until they start addressing the backlog of repressed emotions which haven’t yet made their way out of their system.
If you don’t say “no”, your body will do it for you
Gabor Mate, world renowned physician and trauma expert, points to similar behavioural tendencies amongst people who develop chronic illnesses or autoimmune disease: they tend to repress healthy anger, they over identify with duty and responsibility, they tend to be peacemakers and people pleasers, overly invested in how other people feel or what they think. In his words:
“when people don’t know how to say no, the body will say no for them through illness.”
In our society, which gender do you think is more acculturated to take on these traits? Women indeed. Which could explain why women display higher rates of depression, higher levels of inflammation and higher rates of autoimmune diseases than men. I also think we tend to overemphasise keeping stress under check and staying calm at all costs, even though it means repressing healthy emotional response as a result.
“Suppressing emotions takes a great amount of energy and limits access to joy as well.” Tami Lynn Kent
Tears help us process grief and sadness. Healthy anger used as a boundary defence helps us protect what is precious in our life.
How to practice emotional release
So, what can you do to support your immune system, your nervous system, your mind and your heart to thrive? Practice healthy emotional release. Here are some ways you can do it, and by the same token, support your overall health and wellbeing.
- Put words on what you’re feeling: speak it out loud or write it down. Try not to get stuck in replaying the event in your mind. Instead, focus on identifying the emotions behind the event that triggered you. If you can, follow the sensations in your body as you describe what you’re feeling.
- Try therapy or coaching: it can be extremely beneficial if you’re not comfortable accessing your emotions or body sensations on your own or it there’s a history of trauma.
- Consider body work: suppressed emotions get trapped in the body. Holistic therapies such as osteopathy, chiropractic, yoga, acupuncture, can help release emotional blockages and support a healthy immune system.
- Use this journaling prompt: where in your life are you not saying no? A great way to gain insights into the areas where you may need to set stronger boundaries in order to address stuck emotions.
And remember the 90-second cycle! According to neuroscience, it takes 90 seconds for the chemicals released by an emotion to flush out of the body. Train your attention so that you don’t get hooked by the thoughts that keep you stuck in the emotion, but instead notice it, breathe through it and watch it move out. This short video by Dr Joan Rosenberg explains this process and I also highly recommend her book here as a resource to support you.
Here’s to welcoming all emotions and nurturing your physical health while you’re at it!
If you’re keen to stay in shape mentally and emotionally, if you’re going through challenging times and need support to regain clarity, build your confidence and sense of empowerment, please reach out. I offer introductory sessions to get to know each other before diving deeper. You can find out more about my work here.