Why We Fear Our Emotions

Human beings almost instinctively resist and block uncomfortable emotions. Whilst in the immediate term it can seem like doing this can help get through a difficult feel situation, when blocking and resisting become the norm, problems can ensue.

Emotions need to be felt and processed, otherwise they get stuck in the body and lead to a rewiring in the brain.

But why do we block and resist?

The main reason is fear…we fear our emotions.

But why do we fear them? There are 3 main reasons:

 

  1. We think they will harm us or damage us. Whilst it is true that prolonged uncomfortable emotions over a period of time is not ideal for body and brain. In the immediate short term, our feeling experience will not harm us when we allow it without labelling and judgement. Too frequently, we prevent the natural flow of feeling and get caught in our head, ruminating and churning. So the lesson is, your emotion won’t harm you in the moment, feel it and allow it.
  2. We think we’ll drown in it and never escape. There is a natural arc and flow to our emotional experience. It begins, intensifies, then subsides, if we allow it. If we get caught up in destructive thinking patterns we inhibit and prevent the natural flow. Emotions will move through us if we allow them, so we won’t drown in them. We have an inbuilt Emotional System Reset that is always working to bring us back into our natural state of harmony and balance.
  3. We think having certain feelings and emotions means something about who we are. You’ll probably be familiar with the idea of, “I don’t want to be the kind of person who feels this”, or, “I don’t like what this means about me, having these feelings, I shouldn’t feel like this”. This is not only profoundly unhelpful, it simply isn’t true. It’s a narrative, a story that you tell yourself. When we remove all judgment, meaning and connection to our limited identity, we can fully feel, fully process and stay healthy.

I’d invite you to observe yourself over the next few days and feel into these ideas. You might be surprised at how much you are blocking your feelings because of these 3 reasons.

Keep feeling and flowing