Emotional blockage is an altered physical and mental state, a consequence of an experience that causes very unpleasant emotions. In order not to feel these emotions, the person unconsciously paralyzes their physical, emotional and mental functioning.
In this Psychology-Online article we are going to discuss this topic, delving into its definition, causes and symptoms and proposing tools to get out of this situation or help the affected person to overcome it. If you want to know how to unblock yourself emotionally or how to help a person with emotional blockagecontinue reading.
What is an emotional block
Emotional blockage is a Defense mechanism What people use unconsciously to defend ourselves from a situation that, emotionally, we cannot face. At a certain moment, a person is immersed in the middle of a situation that generates a high level of discomfort and anxiety and becomes totally paralyzed, barely able to react.
The Causes The most common that can lead a person to suffer this emotional block are:
- Continuous experience of stresswhich leads him to finally become dull without being able to react as a consequence of not having been able to manage his needs properly.
- Loss of a loved one, especially in cases where the person dies unexpectedly. This causes emotional blockage in the affected person because they cannot accept what happened.
- Dismiss: This situation can generate in people a feeling of frustration, helplessness and insecurity which, when experienced with a high degree of anguish, can cause an emotional blockage.
- Separation or breakup of a couple: Non-acceptance of this fact often leads people to become emotionally blocked. In this article we explain.
- Experience of a traumatic situation (accident, attack, illness, etc.): it emotionally overwhelms the person who cannot manage the situation and becomes paralyzed.
- Some psychological disordersespecially those related to the repression of emotions, and people with deficiencies in their emotional management: they usually have repeated experiences of emotional blockage.
In reality, emotional blocking is an adaptive response that denies the situation experienced due to the inability of the moment to face the pain What it means for the person to open up to live the experience.
Symptoms of an emotional block
Out of fear, frustration, anger, insecurity, loss of bond, etc. In any of the situations mentioned in the previous section, the person feels overwhelmed and becomes totally paralyzed. Emotional blockage manifests itself through the following symptoms:
- Difficulty expressing the feelings or thoughts when finding yourself in a situation of great disorientation and disconnection internal emotional
- Coordination problem and motor precision, appearing clumsy due to the inability to control their body.
- Anxiety or alexithymia (absence of any emotional manifestation) which allows you to stay away from the painful experience. In this article we explain more about .
- Continuous rumination around the situation that occurred or, on the contrary, absolute denial this.
- Lack of motivationby not seeing beyond the unpleasant experience they have experienced.
- personal neglect: poor diet, hygiene and basic care.
- Addictions: Sometimes people start to as a way to cope.
- General exhaustionas a consequence of this lack of personal care.
How to overcome an emotional block
A person suffers from an emotional block due to difficulties in emotional regulation. Specifically, due to one of these two deficits:
- Deficit regulation in activationthat is, the person is unable to activate the appropriate emotional self-regulation mechanisms when experiencing certain emotions.
- Regulation deficit due to the use of dysfunctional strategies such as, for example, the use of any , which only hides or transforms emotions (denial, sublimation, projection, dissociation, idealization, etc.).
At the same time, emotional blocks are supported by a series of negative and, at times, irrational beliefs (around the event that occurred or as a generalized mechanism, in cases with great emotional deficiencies) that feed the experience of , which keep active the emotional blockage.
Therefore, to overcome an emotional block it is essential to address these two aspects: emotional self-regulation and mental processing. It is about the person:
- Become aware how you are and what emotions you are feeling.
- Accept and allow yourself experience the emotions.
- Investigate, recognize and express verbally the thoughts that live inside.
- Rebut and contrast the objectivity of these thoughts.
- Search your virtues and potentialities.
- propose alternative solutions positive ones based on their personal capabilities.
- It is considered goals in the short and medium term and start taking steps.
- Verify how, with the steps you are taking, the possibility of a new reality totally far from the one in which she had been stuck.
- Ask for help to remain firm on his way out into the world.
How to help a person with emotional blockage
How to help someone unblock themselves emotionally? To eliminate emotional blockages we can follow these guidelines:
- When someone around us suffers an emotional block, the most important thing is keep us close and available.
- It is important not insist excessively in favoring the improvement of our loved one, respecting their time, but staying attentive and not neglecting ourselves. Emotional blockage can lead people to extreme self-neglect that has a negative impact on their physical, psychological and emotional state.
- However, it is not an easy task since in many cases the blockage is so strong that the person becomes trapped, even dragging the closest people with them. In these cases, it is essential ask for professional help to intervene to prevent the situation from escalating into something worse.
Finally, in this article you will find .
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Hervás, G. (2011). Psychopathology of emotion regulation: The role of emotional deficits in clinical disorders. Behavioral Psychology Magazine. Vol. 19, nº2, pp. 347-372.