Psychology
Emotional Baggage: Letting Go of Your Past
According to Phantom Regret by Jim by The Weeknd:
“If pain’s living on when your body’s long gone
And your phantom regret hasn’t let it go yet
You may not have died in the way that you must
All specters are haunted by their own lack of trust”
Whenever we say emotional baggage, it is usually trauma-related or some unresolved problem from the past, and people carry it with them — it’s a problem not many can solve.
It’s not like it’s a bag that people can unbuckle themselves and just dump it all on the floor. Emotional baggage is like a part of you growing inside you, and it takes a long process to finally get rid of. Sometimes it can be an obstacle in a setting or area you’re in, such as your home, school, or workplace.
What Causes Emotional Baggage?
Whenever you find yourself troubled, having difficulties trusting someone else, or you’re easily agitated about a certain topic; that might be a symptom of unresolved trauma. Emotional baggage is unresolved or unprocessed trauma a person carries from the day it occurred. They are usually failures, pain, embarrassment, abuse, stress, insecurity, and an abrupt change of lifestyle.
Any negative experience causes emotional baggage. There are multi-faceted factors that would cause a person to accumulate or contribute to emotional suffering such as the environment they grew up in, the experiences that were laid upon them, and the people they interacted with and ended things on a bad note.
But you might wonder why your friend is suffering so much from a breakup, yet you’re already fine. Remember the saying, “The same water that hardens the egg, softens the potato.” People have different thresholds; what may seem light to you will be heavy for others. That’s why some people can continue with their lives despite the emotional baggage they carry.
Steps to Letting Go of Emotional Baggage
Don’t rush when it comes to letting go of your emotional baggage. Otherwise, whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. Take your time to prep yourself and do it slowly and consistently. The process might take time, so here are some tips on how to release emotional baggage:
- First and foremost, acknowledge that you are in a situation that causes you to be emotionally distressed.
- Be open and aware of what’s dragging you down.
- Avoid stressors or anything that triggers your emotional distress.
- Think about what you’d like to let go of.
- You don’t need to drop everything all at once, some things are more difficult to be free of.
- Recognize how heavy or how light the burden you’d like to let go of.
- Seek help. Counsel from friends or a professional isn’t shameful.
Finally Free and Light as Ever
Sometimes, we cling to something so much that we never realize that it would weigh us down. Guilt, pain, and suffering are usually what we cling to whenever we feel powerless.
Being able to let go of something that has burdened you for a long time feels satisfying and makes you feel lighter. Imagine yourself as an angel with chains locked onto your wings; freeing yourself from the chains of your own burden and emotional distress gives you comfort, allowing you to stretch your wings. Remember to take care and show some love to yourself; let yourself feel free.
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