Constipated Much?

No, I’m not getting personal! But, let’s do talk about constipation—Emotional Constipation—that is!

But first let’s take a look at physical constipation. When you eat, you extract the nutrients you need. What’s left turns to waste; your body, then, knows to get rid of it. That’s how it’s supposed to be. That way you can always keep taking in new food and its nutrients. When you’re constipated, however, you eat, your food turns to waste, and it stays, causing a great deal of pain and discomfort.

And so it is with Emotional Constipation. Things happen that cause you to feel emotions—stress, anxiety, helplessness, etc. You take them in, and if you’re mentally healthy, you process and release them. This leaves you open to deal with anything else that comes your way. If you choose to keep the emotions bottled up, you start to feel pain and discomfort, and it becomes overwhelming to deal with anything new.

It is important for your emotional well being to take things as they come, but not to cling to them. Clinging just causes you to feel full of—angst, indecision, apprehension, self-doubt, and a host of other negative feelings. They can clog you up, causing you to feel sluggish, depressed, and lethargic. Think about a time when something’s been weighing heavy on your mind. Your energy feels depleted; everything seems like a huge effort. And you think of nothing but your current situation—the thing that is keeping you from feeling light and free.

The solution, then, is to learn how to process the events that cause you to become clogged with anxiety, and then to release them so that you are always ready to deal with new events. Here are some ideas:

• Identify what’s causing you to feel anxious.
• Don’t project with What Ifs; stay in the Now.
• Surround yourself with people who are positive and have vision.
• Get some exercise. Go for a walk, if necessary; just get away from your environment; you’ll see things in a new light.

The important thing is to release what’s not meant to be in you, and keep what feeds your soul. You don’t have to suffer, just stop clinging. Once you let go, you’ll feel lighter and able to go about your Life as you’re meant to, free and joyful. Now get off the pot and breathe a sigh of relief!