The Body Remembers: Why Emotions Matter

Your emotional experiences are deeply connected to your physical body. That’s because every aspect of you — physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual — informs the other. We tend to think of these things as separate components, but in fact they are all interconnected, all the time.

In terms of emotions, when an emotion occurs and cannot be fully experienced in the moment, or soon after for whatever reason, it can become trapped in the physical body. This is what is referred to as emotional suppression. It is a concept that has been studied, written about, and explored for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

If you think about your own lifetime, consider all the situations — conscious and unconscious — in which you had to suppress an emotion. That could amount to a great deal of emotional suppression held within the body for many different reasons. Because if the emotion doesn’t simply vanish, it goes somewhere. And by default, it finds its way into the physical body.

This can be understood as a point of tension, tightness, constriction, or contracture. Any of these words could describe the phenomenon. That tension may begin as a tight shoulder or a headache, but for some, over time, it can manifest into more serious conditions such as cancer or heart disease.

Hopefully, you are beginning to see why emotions matter.

The ideal situation is what many animals naturally do. Think about a dog that has a stressful encounter with another dog. What does the dog do afterward? It shakes itself. That is the ideal response. The dog intuitively shakes off the energy of the emotion.

Emotion = energy in motion.

As humans, we are often not as good at shaking things off as they arise. Instead, we suppress and hold onto things.

How you feel and how you think shape your physical health every day — even when you are not aware of it. And just as powerfully, your physical health affects your thoughts and emotions. Each informs the other, always.

That is why I believe, from both my own experience and my training, that a cancer journey is not only about addressing the physical, but also the emotional. The commitment to explore past and present emotional experiences can be difficult, especially when it comes to experiences from childhood.

In my opinion, this kind of inner work is one of the highest acts of self-love, because it is about holding a loving, nurturing, and inquisitive lens toward who you are in this lifetime. It is also about allowing yourself the opportunity to deeply understand that many of the things you learned as a child have informed who you are as an adult. And sometimes, these learned behaviors and desires are not for your highest good.

As you commit to this work of self-exploration, there is an opportunity to assess, reflect, and choose differently.

If you’re curious about this work or any part of what I’ve shared, send me a message. I’d love to connect.