It is often said that 95% of everything you think, feel, create and achieve in life is the result of a habit. You are what you do and repeated habits form the basis of automatic behaviors, which are the result of either positive or negative emotions.
One of the major causes of negative emotional blockages causing reactive stress is DENIAL. This toxic fear based emotion, perpetuates negative behaviours and is often used as a subconscious emotional defence that works as a coping mechanism helping us to avoid perceived pain. This form of distorted stress management that so many people undertake on a daily basis, fails to address the real cause for the stress. Why? Because being in a constant state of emotional denial has become an automatic habit.
Denial can be holding you back from greatness, both personally and professionally and is a major reason why so many people say in jobs, relationships and life situations they loath and don’t like – ultimately sacrificing their own happiness. Let’s be totally honest here, emotional denial never has a happy ending.
Emotions are energy and when it comes to clearing negative emotional blockages, it is crucial to understand that our emotions can literally be trapped within our physical realm. Long-term unresolved emotional blockages will eventually manifest into our physical body if not cleared effectively and regularly.
But how do I clear blockages?
There are many techniques to clear emotional blockages, but over the past 20 years I have found these 5 simple steps help to empower people to take personal responsibility. It is a process that can be applied instantly, in a variety of settings and can produce immediate results. When combined with metaphysical healing modalities such as reiki energy healing, crystal healing and meditation, the results are amplified. These 5 steps are also very easy for children to learn and adopt as they mature in adulthood and are the basis of any Corporate Mindfulness seminars and workshops that I present.
These 5 steps help to address deep seeded denial by clearing emotional blockages and assists in releasing negative stress related emotions:
1. AWARENESS
Awareness can be simply defined as ‘the state or condition of being aware; having knowledge; consciousness’ and is the first step in the healing process enabling you to gain back control of your emotional denial. In this instance, the art of awareness is creating a state of consciousness that will enable you to address distortional thought patterns. It requires you to be raw and honest with yourself. A type of self-diagnosis where you should ask yourself this question … What am I fearful of? Awareness is the key to gaining back control.
2. ACKNOWLEDGE
To acknowledge is to empower yourself. It is OK to feel fearful, anxious, angry and frustrated. Only once you become aware of your negative thought patterns can you then acknowledge that they even exist and then admit to yourself and accept that these emotions, especially denial, are distorting your perceptions and creating reactive stress.
3. PROCESS
This is your WHY? Why am I feeling these emotions? What am I in denial about? Is it just one factor or many? Was there a specific experience or event that I can pin-point that perhaps triggered me? Why must I address this?
During this step it is time to FEEL and EXPLORE the causes of the fear based emotions and start to identify your personal stress triggers. This step can take minutes, hours or days and is highly individualized and I recommend that during these moments of ‘introspection’ that you find a quiet and peaceful space to think.
4. VERBALIZATION
I firmly believe that once you have processed (or even during the processing), it is very beneficial to verbalize – in other words TALK. Emotions can be resolved and released through the power of conversation. To converse with another can help to gain clarity, provide reassurance and never be afraid to show emotion during this step. To release negative thought patterns like denial, you have to be real, raw and open. Crying is often experienced during this step and emotional tears help to cleanse on a metaphysical level and help facilitate positive steps forward.
5. ACTION
Action equals habits. Daily habits form the basis of your personal responsibility and you have the power to create your reality! There is no point just talking about making changes, you have to actually do it and take action. This is also an excellent opportunity to visualize how you will feel as a result of mastering these new positive habits. You are now committed to avoiding states of emotional denial and if you do relapse, then just follow these 5 simple steps again. Good luck!
