Can Repressed emotion affect the body?

As a coach, I use a deep health approach when working with my clients. When one area of deep health is lacking it can affect every other area. Deep health focuses on thriving in all domains, which are physical, mental, emotional, existential, environmental, and relational health. Seemingly unrelated factors can affect a person’s ability to gain muscle or improve their over all health.

I have been preparing to do my first pro competition for months now. I made sure to hit all my work outs, stick to my diet and have no slip ups. Yet when I weighed in, I was not making the progress I needed. I decided to look at my health from a deep health perspective. I recognized that in the emotional domain, I was truly struggling. I was having immense anxiety, sadness and anger. I found that when I would try to go to sleep my mind would replay the situation that my heart was hurting over.

As incredibly uncomfortable as it was, I decided to make time to sit with my emotions, to make time to feel and express them. I pulled out a cozy blanket, grabbed my journal and sat on my patio watching the rain. I sat in silence for what seemed like hours, when a wave of grief washed over me. Tears streamed down my face and the hurt bubbled out as I noticed and named the emotions I was feeling.

I realized as I replayed the situation over and over, I was only hurting myself. I had to make a choice, I could choose to have anger, hate, hurt, resentment or bitterness. Or I could choose to forgive and realize my life is bigger than the pain I was feeling. Not only did I need to forgive the person who hurt me, but I needed to forgive myself. When we don’t forgive ourselves, we start to believe we don’t deserve a life of happiness. Unforgiveness keeps our pain alive and keeps us shacked to the past.

Unaddressed emotions can cause a variety of mental health conditions as well as several physical symptoms. Sleeping problems, digestive issues, muscle tension, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease are just a few. Chronic anger, frustration or sadness can put your body into a fight or flight mode, which can cause your body to produce high cortisol levels. Although, cortisol has its role in the body, elevated levels can cause weight gain, slowed healing, fatigue, irritability and muscle weakness.

What unaddressed emotions do you have? The answer to reaching your fitness goals could lie within.