Some doctors and scientists believe that repressed (and suppressed) emotions are the number one cause of chronic pain, mental health disorders and addiction. Even though we may seem very happy and joyful, on the inside we may be harboring very destructive and painful emotions that we aren't even aware of.
To deal with repressed emotions, we must first recognize the telltale signs, explore their origins, and allow ourselves to feel and heal. In today's podcast, I share how we can discover our repressed emotions and how to express them in a healthy and positive way.
Please enjoy other episodes where Todd shares meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.
If you have enjoyed listening to the podcast, please share a review. It will help many others find their Path to Peace as well.
*****
If you ever feel like my words brought a change in your life, and want to show your SUPPORT for what I am doing, click here.
Find all of my BOOKS for wherever you are on your spiritual journey: https://www.eastwesticism.org/spiritual-meditation-books/
Want to gift a book to a prisoner? Go here.
Some doctors and scientists believe that repressed (and suppressed) emotions are the number one cause of chronic pain, mental health disorders and addiction. Even though we may seem very happy and joyful, on the inside we may be harboring very destructive and painful emotions that we aren't even aware of.
To deal with repressed emotions, we must first recognize the telltale signs, explore their origins, and allow ourselves to feel and heal. In today's podcast, I share how we can discover our repressed emotions and how to express them in a healthy and positive way.
Please enjoy other episodes where Todd shares meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.
If you have enjoyed listening to the podcast, please share a review. It will help many others find their Path to Peace as well.
*****
If you ever feel like my words brought a change in your life, and want to show your SUPPORT for what I am doing, click here.
Find all of my BOOKS for wherever you are on your spiritual journey: https://www.eastwesticism.org/spiritual-meditation-books/
Want to gift a book to a prisoner? Go here.
0:02
Welcome to path to peace with Todd Perelmuter. I'm your host, Todd Perelmuter our world is a projection of our collective consciousness. The more peace we bring into our lives, the more peace we bring into this world. So let the transformation begin.
0:23
Hello, and welcome to path to peace with Todd Perelmuter. I'm your host Todd Perelmuter.
0:33
Dealing with repressed emotions, is one of the most important things we can do. Because when we let emotions, very heavy emotions that we don't want to deal with simmer beneath the surface of our consciousness.
0:57
We are creating conditions for chronic pain, chronic illness, depression, suicidal tendencies, and addiction. repressed emotions are emotions that we subconsciously feel are unbearable.
1:29
And we would just prefer, again, on an unconscious level not to feel those feelings.
1:42
We aren't even aware that we are repressing these emotions. That is how good our mind is at hiding these uncomfortable feelings from ourselves.
1:57
This is why so many people who seem incredibly happy, incredibly joyful, seem to be living the perfect lives suddenly commit suicide.
2:12
And in the West, especially, we are encouraged really to repress emotions instead of feel them. And we have a culture that really wants to brush under the rug, any unpleasantness. And we see that in our interactions with each other, with our you know, Hi, how's it going? Doing great. And if you say, I'm not doing good, most people will become very uncomfortable.
2:45
We're not taught how to hold space for others, we're not shown how to encourage people to speak about what's troubling them. And we get very uncomfortable, and our reaction is to kind of change the subject or try to spin someone's negative feelings into a positive and then move on.
3:17
And we see that facade reflected in our own society, everything looks brand new and polished and pretty. And underneath, we have a culture that is over medicated, nearly universal. addict addiction to whether it's screens work, or drugs and alcohol or gambling or sex. And if they're not on one of those things, maybe they are on a prescription medication for anxiety or depression, or seeing a psychotherapist or therapist.
4:01
And all of this really stems from the fact that we don't want to publicly acknowledge that there is pain that we're hurting, and we don't feel there's the support group, this supportive community. We feel isolated, and we feel like we're suffering alone, and that we need to hide and repress our feelings. In young boys, this is so predominant where we teach our children you know, boys don't cry. And we teach them that men don't show their feelings.
4:46
And even now, today, we're teaching young girls the same as they have entered the workforce in large numbers and even suggesting they be tough like men and So now we just have an entire society, that is being subconsciously and sometimes consciously taught to repress and suppress their emotions, their feelings, and repression.
5:13
And Suppression is a survival mechanism. And it has its purpose. And it's not completely unjustifiable. So for example, if we have lost a dear loved one, or if we're going through a separation or divorce, or we find out a loved one is diagnosed with some illness, and we yet still have to go to work.
5:48
Or we still have to be there for our kids, or we have to show up for some duty or responsibility that needs our full attention, then it's normal. For the next few hours to repress and suppress those emotions, we can't just be a crying mess, all day at our job. So we need to have some level of suppression and repression of our emotions.
6:15
But when we don't ever acknowledge those emotions, when we never give ourselves time to process and heal from those emotions, and to allow a good cry or whatever, you know, punching a pillow or whatever kind of emotions we're feeling if we don't allow ourselves a healthy way to deal with those.
6:44
That is when illness comes up. That is when chronic pain syndromes come up. digestive tract problems come up all of the things that happen hypertension, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even cancer can become ways that mental states can affect our physical state. And it is actually these repressed emotions that have a greater effect an impact on our mental health, and physical health, then actually expressed negative emotions.
7:27
Because what happens is our subconscious mind that is afraid to deal with these difficult emotions, actually creates physical illness and pain in order to focus our mind on that physical sensation. Instead of having to address those mental ones, it's it's a form of self preservation, it's trying to protect us. But what it's really doing is causing us immense pain, immense suffering, that we don't need to experience.
8:05
The brain is incredibly skilled at knowing how to deflect attention away from itself. And it really doesn't want to be the focus of our attention when it comes to troubling emotions and thoughts. And so it can manifest pain literally anywhere in the body.
8:33
And it often targets areas that are effective at deflecting that attention. So areas can be if we know someone who has back pain, or back pain, as it has recently become in the last couple decades, very trendy, then the mind will use that area to put all of its attention and all of its pain, because it knows that it will be more likely to be believed as something truly physically wrong, if it is widespread and common.
9:15
So things like carpal tunnel syndrome exploded in popularity soon after the keyboard, and the electric keyboard and computers and personal computers came about. But this was merely a epidemic of a psychosomatic which is to say, mind generated disorder.
9:40
And we can see evidence for this because it's not contagious, but it exploded like an epidemic soon after the computers because it became this perfect source of our believability and despite typist typing on typewriters for decades before that, and carpal tunnel syndrome, hardly even existing. Which proves that it's actually not the computers. And it's not some modern phenomenon, it's actually just became a trendy source for pain that was convenient for the mind.
10:22
And in the last two or three decades, this has moved to back pain. And before carpal tunnel syndrome in the 50s and 60s, the mind turned to ulcers and ulcers became the perfect stress response, this this place where a stressful repressed mind can put all of its manifestation into stomach ulcers. And then after stomach ulcers became evident that they were stress related, disappeared.
11:00
These days, the mind is shifting its focus once again, as people are beginning to realize that back pain, neck pain, knee pain, joint pain in so many other types of chronic pain or stress related, it's now shifting to things like fibromyalgia, or digestive tract issues, such as IBS.
11:28
Now, this isn't to say that these conditions are in your head, or that the pain or symptoms are imaginary, that is the opposite. The fact of the matter is, these repressed emotions cause very real physical symptoms, and the pain is very real. And the suffering is very real. But the cause is not genetic.
11:54
It's not because we don't have enough lumbar support or any other physical reason. It's not because of too little cartilage between our joints, or discs slipping in our spine. Because all of these have been shown to not cause pain. In fact, most people have slightly slipped discs, and low cartilage between bones and joints. And yet, they many people have no pain whatsoever.
12:31
But when we have repressed emotions, and we have tension in our body from this stress, what happens is our blood vessels constrict, and they can constrict anywhere in the body.
12:48
And as they constrict from this tension, as our bodies close up and get rigid and tight, and compress, we are not getting enough oxygen rich blood to our muscles. And this can lead to pain anywhere in the body, and it can shift and it can move locations, and it can come and go and these are all signs that we have repressed emotions.
13:18
Oftentimes, even the conditions that we find ourselves in, and the disorders or diseases we find ourselves in will constantly change from one to the other. And this is because we may get treatment for one thing, and maybe those symptoms go away at least for a little while. And then new symptoms emerged somewhere else.
13:38
And this is because we have not gotten to the root cause of the problem and we have to look at our body holistically which is to say a mind body system and the mind can completely transform the body.
13:58
And the body can affect the mind. It is one system and they are not separate. And since we are unconscious of repressed emotions, because by nature, they are repressed from our conscious awareness.
14:16
We have to look at our lives holistically as well. And we have to examine, are we drinking too much, eating too much not sleeping enough? withdrawn from friends, family, and things we enjoy? Are we constantly in pain or suffering from one illness or another with no clear physical cause?
14:47
And often a physical cause that happened more than six weeks prior that pain typically heal And if there is continued chronic pain from an accident or injury, this becomes a prime target for our mind to put physical pain, because it knows that this will be a believable source of pain.
15:19
And so oftentimes, chronic pain may start as a real injury or accident. But when it is prolonged for months and months and months, despite healing, oftentimes, that's simply repressed emotions manifesting physically. And so, if we are experiencing any of these things, then we know, on some level, there are repressed emotions, and that we need to deal with these repressed emotions, because they are causing physical symptoms or lifestyle problems or mental suffering.
16:08
And in order to deal with these repressed emotions, first we need to look at when they started and look at our lives at that time. Because often, there is a trigger that kicks off this manifestation of have physical symptoms or lifestyle change, or even mental suffering, something triggers it, and it can be the loss of a loved one, it can be the loss of a pet, the loss of a job.
16:52
It can even be having a child and worrying about supporting it, or just the stress and pressure pressure we put on ourselves. During these big life changes, it can be a wonderful thing.
17:09
And we are putting that perfectionism pressure on ourselves. So if you've been struggling with something, anything physically, mentally or behaviorally, look at what was going on in your life when those things started. And you may have some insights into what is causing these manifestations, and what kind of emotions you're repressing. Because of that.
17:46
A lot of people think that it's a depressed person or a violent, temperamental, angry person, who are struggling with the most. But in reality, people who have repressed emotions are often people who seem very happy, maybe the happiest people, you know, maybe the calmest, soft speaking people that you know, and these may be the people who don't even know that they're struggling, that they have these repressed emotions. And that is because they are creating a coping mechanism. And this coping mechanism, while on the surface level, is keeping them happy and joyful and functioning. underneath the surface, is creating illness, disease, addiction, and a great deal of pain.
18:52
While the mind thinks that this is preferable, in the long run, and with our higher intelligence and wisdom, we know that it is much better to feel our feelings than to repress and suppress them.
19:11
This is the only way we can truly heal holistically and completely. The good news is, we don't actually even need to find the source of our repressed emotions, in order to deal with repressed emotions, and in order to completely heal from those repressed emotions.
19:36
All we have to do is recognize that we are repressing our emotions, that we have these telltale signs of repressed emotions, the content, that story of what is repressed, is actually not important for healing ourselves of any physical condition that we You're suffering from, or even addiction, or mental suffering.
20:05
Simply recognizing those symptoms, sleeplessness, physical pain, whatever it may be. And instead of thinking, oh, boy, there's that pain again, man, there's something wrong with me, I wonder what it is, I hope I don't have cancer, you know, going on to WebMD. And looking at all the horrible possibilities, instead of doing that, recognizing, okay, maybe I'm repressing emotions, maybe I'm holding on to stress and tension in the body.
20:43
Simply that shift in thought, alleviates over 95% of the suffering out there, because that is how high the level of psychologically induced symptoms are out there.
21:04
So if you have repressed emotions, if you have physical pain, simply notice how it comes and goes, if it comes and goes, it can't have a physical origin. If it moves locations from one area to another, it can't have a physical origin.
21:29
And there are so many diseases and disorders today that doctors have no idea what the causes. And there is a growing amount of research that shows such as Fibromyalgia carpal tunnel syndrome.
21:48
Even sciatica is there is no evidence that there is a physical source of this pain. And that a growing amount of evidence that it is psychologically induced. And many doctors may be subconsciously know that if they show a patient, an x ray of their back, let's say, and they show how little cartilage is between their discs, and that that's the source of their pain.
22:25
They could also show a patient who has even less cartilage between their discs who have no pain, it's actually not the source of pain. It's simply a change in anatomy, which is why we can see people hunched over with horrible posture, who have no pain, and also no stress. We see this in old people who seem like they are incredibly happy. And they have no physical pain. And we can see people who always have a look like something is wrong, and they are suffering immensely.
23:12
It's not bad genes or bad luck. It's simply when we don't process our emotions. And we stuffed down our troubling thoughts and emotions instead of dealing with them, feeling them, healing them.
23:32
Our bodies constrict, contract, tense up and tighten and become rigid, and more vulnerable to pain and disease. And when we feel, deal and heal our feelings, we open ourselves up, we become flexible, loose and limber. And it doesn't matter how much lumbar support we have. Or if we slept on our neck wrong. We won't pull those muscles, which only got tight, because we were holding on to tension in the body.
24:13
And so what we have to do in order to allow those emotions to be felt to deal with repressed emotions, is to learn to express ourselves in healthy ways and at the right times, but never stuffing down our emotions to become more aware of what we're feeling and how to express it in a way that is healthy for yourself and others. So that doesn't mean unleashing your rage onto someone else. Maybe it means sharing your feelings with a friend or a loved one. or a therapist or in a journal is also a very powerful way.
25:08
It can be through artistic expression. It can be through jujitsu, there are so many ways that we can let out our feelings. And it is essential to living a long and happy life. Meditation is incredibly powerful for allowing the space for those thoughts and feelings to come to the surface.
25:38
And also, that relaxed state allows us to enter a more subconscious state of awareness. So we can communicate between our conscious and our subconscious, when we are in this alert, yet deeply relaxed state, which is a really where the power of meditation comes from, is that we are simultaneously deeply relaxed, yet simultaneously, highly alert, and conscious.
26:13
Obviously, when we're sleeping, we're deeply relaxed, but we're not conscious. And when we're in athletics or working, we're highly alert, yet not relaxed. And meditation is this very active, yet relaxed state of being, and is very powerful for allowing the space for those repressed thoughts and emotions that we've been distracted from baring our selves in our work to avoid or anything else we've been doing.
26:49
And just allowing those emotions and thoughts to come to the surface, as we also dive deep into our consciousness. And lastly, I'll just say that yoga and exercise are both very powerful ways to release that tension in the body, to connect the mind and body in yoga is a very powerful practice as well, that has physical benefits and mental benefits. But if you do nothing else, the most important thing you can do is when you feel any kind of physical pain, back joints, knees, neck, shoulders, all these places we hold our stress.
27:36
Instead of thinking about the physical pain or what's physically wrong, ask yourself what is going on in my mind.
27:49
Simply by shifting focus to the mind, makes the minds game which is to divert attention away from it useless and cannot do it any longer. And it gives up and it can immediately cure you of so many chronic conditions. And it is an incredibly powerful practice and simply just recognizing that there may be tension, there may be stress, there may be anger or rage.
28:19
And just acknowledging that possibility, instead of a physical cause can eliminate so much pain, physically and mentally. Share when you need to share, cry when you need to cry, scream into a pillow or punch that pillow. When you feel the anger and feeling what you're feeling is the best way to deal with repressed emotions.
28:52
Thank you so much for listening. This has been path to peace with Todd Perelmuter. Peace and love.
29:00
You've been listening to path to peace with Todd Perelmuter. Being here and putting in this important and noble work is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and others. If you found this podcast even a little helpful. Please make sure to leave a review so it can reach others who may be in need. And remember, the path to peace starts with a single step.