I really like your concept of "emotional metabolism."
"Emotions, like food, are a form of energy. And just like food, they can either accumulate in the body or be metabolized by the body.
When emotions accumulate, they lead to buildup similar to how calories accumulated and not spent lead to buildup of fat deposits in the body. And that emotional buildup, over time, begins to compromise our psychological fitness, makes us lethargic, unhealthy, and in extreme cases causes physiological impacts."
By sheer chance in my own therapy I was introduced to 'Bioenergetics Analysis' that emerged from the observations of Wilhelm Reich, a rather eccentric cohort of Freud. Reich observed how unprocessed emotions, usually triggered by trauma, generally become frozen or held in one's body. He called it "body armoring" and devised a method for recognizing emotional buildup and exercises to energize and release these repressed emotions and thereby freeing up the life energy being syphoned off to contain this unmetabolized emotions leaving one feeling lighter (enlightened) and freer.
You mentioned that children have the capacity of high emotional metabolism. The problem is they also have only rudimentary ego protection capabilities and susceptible to emotional traumatizing. Often the trauma is installed before verbal skills are developed and 'talk therapy' cannot reach the deep, primal emotional holding resulting from an abusive childhood. Somatic therapy working at an energetic level can access dormant preverbal trauma and facilitate its release.
Yes, this requires a highly trained and skilled facilitator who will commit to a reintegration process to embody the amplified energy expression. A lot of attention is on grounding or centering oneself to be able to contain high emotional energy charges without needed to shut down or check out. Children do this naturally being close to the ground and freely express emotions. Adults, as you point out, generally are socialized and have the ego functional skills to manage their emotions often to our detriment. Like children, we have to learn again to get down in the dirt and play again. We can't "go lightly" until we release the unconscious burden of unmetabolized emotional energy we carry and contain... "completely unencumbered."
Yeah, any emotional energy charge is accompanied by a physical reaction - freeze, flight, or fight. It is the freeze response that is troublesome in the body that has to physically suppress the energy. Psychologist and writer Sam Keene points out: “It is better to be outraged than enraged.” It is shocking how much fear and rage the average person warehouses and how much life energy it takes to contain this emotional energy yearning for expression and assimilation (metabolization).
This constriction of emotional energy is subconsciously painful and I would venture to say at the core of addiction is self-medication. “The opposite of depression is expression.”
I went down a Reich rabbit hole in the late 1990s. I think you'd quite enjoy LISTEN, LITTLE MAN! And THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM is the basic book. For elaborations on how orgonics and character armor can be used/recognized, then secondary sources are probably more accessible. Rolfing works in part by unlocking the emotions stored in the fascia (character armor). Great stuff, even if I don't agree with all the principles.
There's a hidden hope on the spiritual path, that as we awaken life won't hurt so much. The more open we are, the more we feel. The death of a beloved, a sunrise, the precious delicacy of a bud opening to the light ... oh my ... what a gift we are to ourselves and our world.
I really like your concept of "emotional metabolism."
"Emotions, like food, are a form of energy. And just like food, they can either accumulate in the body or be metabolized by the body.
When emotions accumulate, they lead to buildup similar to how calories accumulated and not spent lead to buildup of fat deposits in the body. And that emotional buildup, over time, begins to compromise our psychological fitness, makes us lethargic, unhealthy, and in extreme cases causes physiological impacts."
By sheer chance in my own therapy I was introduced to 'Bioenergetics Analysis' that emerged from the observations of Wilhelm Reich, a rather eccentric cohort of Freud. Reich observed how unprocessed emotions, usually triggered by trauma, generally become frozen or held in one's body. He called it "body armoring" and devised a method for recognizing emotional buildup and exercises to energize and release these repressed emotions and thereby freeing up the life energy being syphoned off to contain this unmetabolized emotions leaving one feeling lighter (enlightened) and freer.
You mentioned that children have the capacity of high emotional metabolism. The problem is they also have only rudimentary ego protection capabilities and susceptible to emotional traumatizing. Often the trauma is installed before verbal skills are developed and 'talk therapy' cannot reach the deep, primal emotional holding resulting from an abusive childhood. Somatic therapy working at an energetic level can access dormant preverbal trauma and facilitate its release.
Yes, this requires a highly trained and skilled facilitator who will commit to a reintegration process to embody the amplified energy expression. A lot of attention is on grounding or centering oneself to be able to contain high emotional energy charges without needed to shut down or check out. Children do this naturally being close to the ground and freely express emotions. Adults, as you point out, generally are socialized and have the ego functional skills to manage their emotions often to our detriment. Like children, we have to learn again to get down in the dirt and play again. We can't "go lightly" until we release the unconscious burden of unmetabolized emotional energy we carry and contain... "completely unencumbered."
Thanks for making me aware of Wilhelm Reich and his theories
Yeah, any emotional energy charge is accompanied by a physical reaction - freeze, flight, or fight. It is the freeze response that is troublesome in the body that has to physically suppress the energy. Psychologist and writer Sam Keene points out: “It is better to be outraged than enraged.” It is shocking how much fear and rage the average person warehouses and how much life energy it takes to contain this emotional energy yearning for expression and assimilation (metabolization).
This constriction of emotional energy is subconsciously painful and I would venture to say at the core of addiction is self-medication. “The opposite of depression is expression.”
I went down a Reich rabbit hole in the late 1990s. I think you'd quite enjoy LISTEN, LITTLE MAN! And THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM is the basic book. For elaborations on how orgonics and character armor can be used/recognized, then secondary sources are probably more accessible. Rolfing works in part by unlocking the emotions stored in the fascia (character armor). Great stuff, even if I don't agree with all the principles.
That quote at the end is just marvelous.
Beautiful post Shiv
Thank you Shiv for put some honey in my wound🙏 when you see the equilibrist icon you will remember me.
Amazing post - so bang on. I was hoping you were going to finish with that Aldous Huxley quote - one of my favourites
Exactement 🌬️🩷♥️
There's a hidden hope on the spiritual path, that as we awaken life won't hurt so much. The more open we are, the more we feel. The death of a beloved, a sunrise, the precious delicacy of a bud opening to the light ... oh my ... what a gift we are to ourselves and our world.
Great advice. Thanks. In a nutshell, don’t take things so f****g seriously