Emotional Baggage and the
Unemotional Wreck
Physical Baggage
I bet you’ve heard the term Emotional Baggage before. I’m wondering, though, if you know what that term means.
Having just moved back to the mainland US from the other side of the planet, I’m pretty familiar with baggage!
Holy scales, Batman! I am familiar!
Earlier this year, in February, I relocated all three of our cats off the island of Guam (I shared all about this on Instagram).
Happy and Punkin were in cargo as baggage, and Thor was my carry-on baggage. Besides the three kennels to wrangle through multiple airports and rental car lines, I also had a giant suitcase and computer bag.
Happy (left), Thor (center), Punkin (right)
Then it was time to pack our bags and move!
When March rolled around, my hubs and I vacated the island with multiple overweight suitcases, knowing that what we brought would be all we had until our household goods arrive sometime in May or June.
We flew from Guam to Hawaii, where all passengers must collect their checked baggage, go through customs, recheck the baggage, and go back through TSA to connect with their next flight.
Then we flew to the mainland with one other connection before we reached our final destination.
Once we arrived, I waited at the baggage carousel, looking for my oversized, purple (of course), overweight, and cumbersome baggage. I know now that I ended up with quite a bit in my suitcase that I could have done without for a few months.
I saw my 80+ pound bag come through the little black doorway onto the carousel.
Like Thor Bjornssson mentally preparing for a 310kg deadlift, I prepared to retrieve that massive bag. My friend and I buddy-lifted it into the trunk!
All that to say that I’m pretty doggone familiar with baggage right now!
What about Emotional Baggage?
What is Emotional Baggage?
Simply put, Emotional Baggage is a collection of negative emotions trapped in your body that is personal to you and your life experiences.
When you face a stressful situation, and your emotions are activated, sometimes you cannot process them at the moment.
You may, subconsciously, decide to put those emotions aside to ‘deal’ with them at a later time.
The problem is that most people fail to go back and address those heightened emotions, leading to them becoming trapped in the body.
Most of us fail to go back and address those heightened emotions leading to them becoming trapped in the body.
The symptoms of Emotional Baggage
Unless addressed and released, this emotional baggage will eventually wreak havoc on a person’s life.
Symptoms of Emotional Baggage:
- Failed relationships
- Exhaustion
- Apathy
- Lack of joy
- lack of purpose
- Slow healing wounds
- Chronic conditions
- Lack of intuition
- Emotional Numbness
- Mind & Body Disconnect
You’ll notice that the symptoms of Emotional Baggage are much the same as those of being an Unemotional Wreck.
Dr. Gabor Mate, in his book “When the Body Says No,” states that “a major contributor to the genesis of many diseases—all the examples we have looked at—is an overload of stress induced by unconscious beliefs.”
The unconscious beliefs he is referring to are the emotional baggage that has been collected throughout your life.
Your emotional baggage wasn’t consciously packed into your emotional suitcase. Just like the last-minute packing I did to depart from Guam, there were things in my luggage I didn’t remember putting in there. Something that returned to haunt me as a $400 overweight fee when I checked into my flight.
There were items in my baggage that I didn’t immediately need upon arrival, but I failed to address them before zipping it closed and checking it into the airline.
Your emotional baggage is similar.
When you experience a difficult situation, you may not be able to face the emotions that arise; you’ll overlook them, stuff them down, ignore them, and often hope they’ll go away.
Unpack Your Emotional Baggage.
Unfortunately, unless you address those trapped emotions, that emotional baggage, they won’t just disappear.
What if I told you it is possible to unpack your emotional baggage and not pick it back up again?
What if I told you that you don’t have to revisit every painful emotion to do it?
What if you could invite peace, joy, love, and gratitude back into your life and begin to heal?
Reconnecting your mind and body is the first step to opening up the suitcase of your emotional baggage so you can unpack it for good.
Five Ways You Can Reconnect Your Mind & Body
- Incorporate Breathing Techniques into your daily routine
- Meditate regularly
- Work with a qualified Aromatherapist to determine what essential oils are right for you
- Work with an Energy Worker to experience Energy Healing
- Ensure you’re getting Quality Sleep
Your Emotional Baggae is not a sentence. You do not have to carry it around forever. You can release it and begin to live the life you were created to live.
References
Dr. Mate, G. (2003). When the body says no. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.