Stored Emotions
Have you ever put a Tupperware container in the back of a cupboard somewhere and completely forgotten about it? It’s old and blue and it has no lid, but you might need it one day. So, you find a spot in the most overcrowded cupboard you have in the kitchen, and toss it back there so you don’t have to think about it. Then, it’s forgotten about. It’s taking up space and the newer containers you use every day keep falling out every time you open the cupboard door, but you’re okay with putting out those little fires most days. Then one day, it’s time to move house and all of a sudden, there it is. This stupid, old, blue Tupperware container with no lid, that for whatever reason, you just never got rid of.
One of the things I love to do when I’m doing housework is listen to professional body language analysts talk about how the body “leaks” information (shout out to the Behavior Panel). There’s so much we do, as living and breathing organisms, that’s a subconscious survival mechanism. For a minute, think about a time when you felt really uncomfortable within yourself in a situation. Maybe you were going for a job interview where you were really nervous, or you were having a really tough conversation with somebody. Notice how your body changes when we’re not feeling confident in ourselves. Chances are, you started to hunch forward and lower your chin. Whether we actively think about it or not, we’re protecting some of our most vital areas (neck and abdomen). Now in contrast to that, think about a time when you felt like you needed to challenge somebody on something. Maybe you felt a bit annoyed at your partner for forgetting something important, or you were at work and really wanted to drive a point across to your boss that they were wrong on weekend staffing numbers. How does your body change in response? We tend to show our top teeth more when we speak, and our chin moves up. Again, these are instinctual behaviours within us to show that we’re confident in our challenge to the other person.
What happens if we, as living breathing organisms, feel that we need to constantly be in this state of challenge or retreat? What do we do with the emotions that accompany chronic pain? What happens when we experience trauma? What happens when we are chronically depressed? What happens to the emotion that, for whatever reason, we just put into the back of the cupboard to forget about so we can survive day-to-day?
Our bodies are incredible. They give and get constant feedback from our emotions and environment. Fascia wraps around and connects every muscle, nerve, organ and blood vessel in the body. It’s everywhere. And we’re only just beginning to scratch the surface of it’s role within our bodies. It’s thought that fascia acts as system-wide communication for not only movement and support, but for emotions as well. When we experience emotions that we just aren’t able to work through, our fascia holds onto that. It stays within us, not just mentally but physically. Our body keeps that old, blue Tupperware container somewhere while other things fall out of place because it’s trying desperately to hold onto equilibrium. We put our bodies into that challenge or retreat mode unknowingly, and we just do our best to get through the day. Our muscles become short, overused, underused, dehydrated, and ultimately create dysfunction. That’s why, for many people, an emotional release is felt after a massage treatment. The impulses created by that stored emotion that’s being stored within the fascia is released and it has to go somewhere. If this has happened for you, you’re not alone. It happens a lot - so much so, that it’s one of the first things we learn about as part of the diploma and there are countless books and journal articles written about it.
I won’t pretend that bodywork holds the ultimate key to helping us overcome trauma or understanding our emotions. On the contrary, I absolutely believe that people need access to a multidisciplinary team who work together to support their client. However, the latest research on fascia and its role in both physical and mental health show that remedial massage has a part to play in this area. I’m really excited about that.
