MASKED EMOTIONS

Where do they go? What can we do?

The topic of masked emotions is currently very timely. Not only are many of us masking our faces for viral protection, but may also be hiding our emotions. Sometimes we are concerned with upsetting others by truly expressing our feelings. Perhaps we are frightened or angry regarding many world issues involving the pandemic. It could be concerns over the illness itself. Maybe it could be over the potential of sickness or death of loved ones. Perhaps it could be the management or mismanagement of viral spread. We may be upset over economic worries or inequality of human rights. Maybe it could be political upheaval or even severe global weather patterns.

Sometimes one feeling can mask another. As grieving a child is one of the toughest bereavements to bear, it can feel as if that grief masks other grief. First we lost our son, then we lost my dad and my brother. We lost these three in a nearly twenty-six month period. Somehow I feel as if I’ve not yet fully grieved the latter two. I know I must deal with this.

Masked Emotions in grief

For some of us folks, the loss of a child may mask our abilities to function in the world by wallowing in our grief. In this case, the family is dealing with not only the loss of the child, but also of a floundering parent. This extreme emotion creates a reduction of that parent’s life by creating a barrier between self and world. This constant and grievous wall of tears may seem as if it is shielding one from further grief. It is actually preventing the ability to live a vibrant and fulfilling life.

It is possible to find coping mechanisms.

Due to the journey I’ve traversed in the past decade or so, there have been many avenues opened to me regarding health and emotions. I chose this topic for October as this month holds the birthday of our dearly departed son. Many times there are trigger dates such as day of birth, day of death or holidays in which we need to practice extra care in kindness to ourselves.

If we do not feel and release our emotions, it is akin to eating them. However, these feelings do not go the way of food and become excreted through our digestive systems. Swallowed emotions take their toll by parasitically taking up residence in various parts of our bodies.

Where are masked emotions?

Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth in uglier ways. Sigmund Freud

Louise Hay, author of You Can Heal Your Life, has a list of ten affirmations to help those whose lives have been masked by grief.

https://www.healyourlife.com/10-affirmations-to-heal-your-broken-heart

Through working with her clients Louise Hay discovered that people with certain ailments repress similar emotions as others with the same malady. Here is a website containing her list of possible dis-eases (as she called them) along with recommended affirmations for the healing process to begin.

http://lovehonourandrespect.org/emotional-health/louise-hay-affirmations-for-illnesses

Another fascinating figure in the arena of emotions and health is Master Chunyi Lin. He is the author of Born a Healer. In Traditional Chinese Medicine practice, each of five major organs is the seat of certain negative as well as positive emotions. There is a fine balance and interaction between these organs and emotions with subsequent results from either ignoring or enhancing the flow of energy. Here is his site illustrating these emotions on a five elements chart. (Please scroll down to the two five pointed star charts on this site.)

https://www.springforestqigong.com/five-elements-qigong-for-self-healing

At times when I’ve had an intuitive practitioner working on me, they will notice lodged emotions in certain parts of my body. These professionals are capable of assisting the release of our pent up feelings. This enables healing to occur.

Meant to be!

Over three weeks ago, I planned my blog topics in advance. This one was to include information from Louise Hay as well as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Not quite two weeks ago, I found Hay House offering their incomparable Writer’s Workshop for the first time in a virtual format. Hay House is the company Louise Hay founded. As I jumped at the opportunity, I gratefully spent twenty concentrated hours this past Saturday and Sunday learning more about the crafts of writing and publication. Intriguingly, another workshop attendee, who hails from Melbourne, Australia, contacted me out of the blue. She is a doctor in TCM. Little did I know that the Universe would conspire to tell me my timing was right to delve into the philosophies of Louise Hay as well as TCM!

Think what you can do to release your emotions. How can you prevent inappropriately masking your emotions? Glorious is the day when we no longer have the need to mask ourselves from anything!