How To Relieve Yourself Of Emotional Baggage

By Stephen M

Many people struggle with “emotional baggage” due to their inability to let go of negative past experiences. They have harbored so much pain, distrust, and hatred, that you can virtually see that something is weighing them down.

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Emotional issues from career, relationship, etc., turn to affect almost every aspect of our life and curtail our development. People with emotional baggage easily get angry and are sometimes full of vengeance. The phenomenon can affect your physical and mental health, self-esteem, decision-making, interpersonal relationship, perception about a certain group of people, and reaction to issues.

The good news is that no matter how huge your emotional baggage is, you can release yourself from it and its consequences.

How to do away with negative emotions

People suffering from emotional issues are mostly advice to forget about everything and move on; as if it is easy. Doing this causes repressed emotions, which according to research, can affect functions of the immune system. To avoid this, you need to

Accept the situation and the feelings that come with it

When finding solutions to emotional issues, you first need to admit that the situation exists and admit the pain or trauma. According to research, acknowledging your emotions limits its intensity. However, people with repressed emotions find it difficult to do this; hence, visiting a psychologist may help.

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 Start dealing with the trauma

You may have had a difficult childhood, and all these traumas coupled with current ones are weighing you down. The mental, physical, emotional abuse, bullying, and neglect you suffered keep ringing and scaring you. It is ok to grieve over all that happened and feel sorry for yourself to overcome all these. Afterward, acknowledge the strategies you adopted and coped with throughout that period. Identify the negatives in the strategy and deal with them. For example, if bullying or neglect made you isolate yourself from others, try to socialize.