They may start crying, laughing, screaming. The emotional release may bring back flashbacks, memories, or visions they forgot they had or have never experienced before.
What is Emotional Release? Emotional release is sometimes also referred to as a catharsis or emotional cleaning. It refers to gaining mastery over negative feelings and moods. Sometimes this happens naturally, as when you feel stress building and building and then break down and cry.
Maybe you feel the need to cry, scream into a pillow, go for a swim, walk or run, dance it out, hit a punching bag, do some gardening, tapping, yoga or TRE, paint your feelings out, or simply breathe deeply while facing the sun—whatever feels cathartic in that moment, do it.
Using ERT to trigger specific acupuncture/acupressure points along with spinal manipulation while thinking of the memory resets the chemical release in the brain. The result is the disappearance of the negative emotion linked to that situation or memory.
Emotional trauma can last from a few days to a few months.
Some people will recover from emotional trauma after days or weeks, while others may experience more long-term effects.
Deep tissue massage can often bring about major emotional releases of negative emotions that have been stored in the body for years. Craniosacral massage techniques are also helpful in getting negative emotions to release.
Although an emotional release can occur at any time, it's actually a very common occurrence during a massage! As your massage therapist works on your muscles and joints, they might release tension that your body has been holding onto for years.
Somatic massages help you release trauma in your body by working with the nervous system. When you receive a somatic massage, the therapist will work to release any patterns of tension that may be stored in your body. This can help to break down any barriers that have been preventing you from processing trauma.
Grief can be stored in various parts of the body, such as the heart, lungs, throat, and stomach. People may also experience physical sensations like heaviness in the chest or tightness in the throat when experiencing grief.
Trauma is not physically held in the muscles or bones — instead, the need to protect oneself from perceived threats is stored in the memory and emotional centers of the brain, such as the hippocampus and amygdala.
When we fail to express our emotions, our brain can often go into the fight-or-flight state. This is a physical reaction to stress that sets off a chain of events throughout our bodies. It increases our heart rate, slows digestive functions and makes us feel anxious or depressed.
Fear and anxiety are also frequently stored in this area, particularly as a physical response to danger (as the neck is a vulnerable area) or strange environments. Neck muscle tension is also related to trust issues.
Releasing physical and emotional tension
Stretching the hip muscles causes a release; pent-up emotions may resurface, suppressed memories may arise, unconscious tension still held onto from a traumatic event may bubble up. All of which may unleash a seemingly inexplicable barrage of tears.
Tight hips, psoas, and hip flexors can mean that we're hesitant about facing the future. More specifically, we fear living up to our own expectations and those laid out by others.
Little to no interest in things you used to enjoy. Feeling overwhelmed by having to make decisions. Unexplainable irritability that can lead to road rage or lashing out at loved ones. Reacting to small things in an unmeasured way such as crying if someone teases you.
Intrusive memories
Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event. Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks) Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event. Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event.