Emotional detox
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There is so much talk of spring cleaning your diet as the temperatures rise and we come out of a long winter (at least in Toronto, Canada) of hibernation. But what about our emotions? Do you ever do an emotional detox and spring clean your mind? If you haven’t, then I encourage you to do so, especially if you want to achieve your best health ever.
It’s not only the holistic practitioners that recognize the importance of a healthy mind. Conventional western medicine affirms that health and disease are not only related to the chemical condition of the cells, but also a person’s state of mind. Research has shown that the cells that carry emotions to the brain are also present in the immune system and impact the nervous and endocrine system. Therefore, what we think and feel has a profound impact on our health. This is why a positive mental attitude is especially important. However, suppressing emotions and choosing positive thoughts instead of dealing with the negative thoughts and emotions is as bad as eating a whole bag of chips with a tub of ice cream.
Admittedly, I have been very guilty of this myself – suppressing emotions and putting on a happy face most of the time. I grew up in a positive, supportive, loving environment. Quite honestly, I didn’t really have much “crap” to deal with – my parents were and still are happily married, my mom was a big believer in healthy eating and until my early 20′s I didn’t have any major stressors in my life. I’m not saying it all went downhill but life brings you interesting challenges along the way and it wasn’t until the past little while that I’ve started to embrace other emotions and it has brought me much clarity, an emotional detox of sorts.
This emotional detox started for me when I was in Mexico on a wellness retreat. Every evening, we had a yin yoga practice. It was always the hip openers that got to me (side note: the hips store a lot of emotional baggage). I found myself on more than one occasion with constant tears streaming down my cheeks. I was unsure where it was all coming from. I mean really… my friends didn’t name me joyous because I cry all the time! This is when I realized that I really needed to do an emotional detox (and I was in the midst of it and it was totally okay). I was honouring those negative emotions. I was releasing the need to control my thoughts. When you do this, it will help you let go and heal from many things: unhappy childhood experiences, difficult relationships, pain, regret, guilt etc.
Now I’m not saying a good cry once in a while is going to solve all your problems, but what I am saying is that stop trying to put on a brave face and tell everyone you are always happy when maybe you are not. Tears actually release stress hormones and manganese (both of which are found in high amounts in the brains of depressed people, therefore, you NEED to cry once in a while).
So how to you spring clean your mind? You do an emotional detox. Here are my top strategies for doing just this:
- 7 nights in a row: write an entire page worth of a constant stream of consciousness. Do not lift your pen, keep writing whatever thoughts come to mind for an entire page. This is different than a diary. Just let go and let the emotions flow through your heart and mind, right onto your paper.
- DO YOGA. It is the soul food for the mind and the spirit. I started my first yoga practice about 13 years ago, but it’s really only been the last 1.5 years the I’ve been committed to my practice. It has not only changed my body, but there has been a profound effect in how I deal with my emotions.
- Write a letter to release feelings of anger and frustration. You don’t have to worry about sugar-coating anything, because you are not actually going to send it to anybody. This is incredibly freeing.
- When you feel down in the dumps, instead of drinking alcohol, stuffing it down with comfort food, watching a movie to get your mind off it, look at it in the face. How? Take a bath, meditate, go for a quiet walk. Allow the feelings to manifest and fully embrace them. Cry, yell, scream… just allow whatever needs to happen, happen.
- Lastly write down this affirmation when going through an emotional detox and read it before bed or first thing in the morning: “I have the courage to release toxic emotions in a positive and constructive manner. I possess the clarity of vision to renew and plan my future aspirations, so enabling me to move forward on life’s journey”.
