I think it’s rare to find a day where we might not come across something triggering.

You can be innocently scrolling through your news feed, and next thing you know you are reading about animals dying in polluted oceans, or a sick child in need of help, or videos of dogs and cats crying because their owners passed away (I’m warning you, don’t google this last one!).

In an ideal world, we are able to feel compassion for them, feel the emotion that is triggered, and let it go. But sometimes this is easier said than done, especially if the situation has a deeper trigger for you, and awakens something in your subconscious.

When you feel triggered by deep emotions, you might find yourself going through your entire day in an altered mood. And if not released but cultivated instead, this new mood can find itself engraved in you, and eventually be part of your personality. Yikes!

What I mean is that emotions can leave deep marks in us. Some good, some not so good, and it’s up to us to get us to feel in a way that is empowering, rather than destructive.

I wholeheartedly believe that we should all feel whatever it is that we are called to feel, since it’s actually better to dive deep into your emotions than pretend they are not calling for you.

But once you dive deep and engage with your emotions, release them, so they can leave you open to experience what’s next for you.

This doesn’t mean that the emotion will not come back the next day, especially if you are going through something such as grief, but it’s important to release the emotion everyday, since each day you might feel a different level of emotion for the same feeling.

For instance, when my 15-year-old cat passed away, I was overcome by feelings of sadness, grief and longing for the first few days. Out of nowhere I would think of him and start crying. Or I would be picking up things around the house and find one of his toys, and I was right back to that place.

Eventually, I would still feel sad when thinking about him, but I might cry for just a bit, or not at all. It still hurt to realize he was gone, but the emotion was different each time.

Allowing me to feel everything I needed to feel, helped me release the grief, so I could move on.

If you are a person who feels concern for our planet, animals and human beings in need,, I speak from experience that having some sort of practice in place to release these emotions is so important.

What Not to Do

Everyone is different when it comes to releasing emotions, but I do have a cautionary tale for you. Make sure you are not busying yourself with distractions that might disguise themselves as self-care.

For instance, watching a movie, scrolling through social media or any other activity that allows you to forget the emotion rather than deal with it, will only keep it buried, and it might come up in different ways when you least expect it. This could be yelling at your child for something minor, over eating, or denying yourself self-care (all subconsciously).

What Can You Do Instead?

There are many things you might already do to release emotions that you might not realize that’s actually what you are doing. It is good, however to bring these activities to light so you can make use of them consciously when the situation arises.

I think slow, deep breathing is a great way for anyone to release emotions, and a great starting point if you don’t know what to do when feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

Many people enjoy meditating as well, but if you are new to it, you might benefit from a walking meditation instead. You can achieve this by doing any activity that allows you to you be present in your body.

As the name suggests, walking is a way to do this, but I’ve also found that activities such as gardening, washing dishes or playing fetch with my dog can achieve the same results.

My Personal Favorite

For me, the best way to release emotions is to take a shower. Not a bath, but a shower. It’s a ritual for me, where I imagine all the emotions going down the drain and leaving my body and mind.

After the shower, I truly feel free from the emotion and ready to tackle anything.

How do you release emotions? Let me know in the comments!

Much love,

Angélica Renée

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