In our culture, lack of sleep is worn like a badge of honor. We glorify busyness. Very few things cause us to change up our usual routine or do anything other than what we expect of ourselves. We tend to run on overdrive, barreling through the day’s to-do lists regardless of what we are feeling, to the point that we often don’t even realize what we are feeling—and not just emotionally.
We often suppress or ignore physical and emotional feelings that get in the way or slow us down—feelings like exhaustion, pain, stress, sadness, or anxiety. Obviously, there are times when we need to push through despite our feelings of discomfort, whether due to competitive sports or an impending deadline. But, often we aren’t even aware of the signals our body is giving us to slow down, stop, or choose another activity or path for the day, much less when it’s appropriate or even necessary to do so.
The physical is a window into the emotional
In children, physical symptoms are often signs of emotional distress. For instance, in my work as a marriage and family therapist, I worked with a young boy who was having unexplained gastrointestinal issues. No cause could be discerned by his physician, so they recommended therapy. After working with him and his father, we discovered that his stomach symptoms were his way of expressing distress about his parents’ recent divorce. This is a very common pediatric response to emotional distress. Children don’t usually have the ability to be fully aware of the emotions they are feeling, so the emotions manifest physically.
This doesn't only occur with kids; it also happens to adults if we continually ignore our emotions, are under chronic stress or anxiety, or have experienced trauma. Marriage and family therapist Dr. Susanne Babbel explains, “Many people are already familiar with the fact that emotional stress can lead to stomach aches, irritable bowel syndrome, and headaches, but might not know that it can also cause other physical complaints and even chronic pain. One logical reason for this: studies have found that the more anxious and stressed people are, the more tense and constricted their muscles are, over time causing the muscles to become fatigued and inefficient.” Clearly, the physical and emotional parts of the human person are intricately connected. If the emotional aspect is not being tended to, then it makes sense that these emotions can present physically, as if our body is shouting, “Hey, pay attention to me!”
[To read the rest of this article by Kelsey T. Chun, MFT, click here.]
[Image from here.]
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