By Dr. Carli Clark, Msc.D.
We’ve all felt it—tight shoulders after a stressful day, an upset stomach when we’re anxious, or a heavy chest when we're grieving. These are not coincidences. Our emotions don’t just exist in our minds—they live in our bodies too.
Everything in our outer world is a reflection of what’s happening inside us. Whether we realize it or not, our bodies are constantly communicating mirroring not just our physical habits, but also our thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and the energy we carry. When we’re stuck in cycles of stress, self-doubt, unresolved pain, or negative thinking, that emotional weight doesn’t just disappear—it settles into our cells, our tissues, our nervous system. Over time, it can show up as fatigue, poor digestion, stubborn weight gain, sleep issues, or even chronic illness.
You might be able to hide emotional pain for a while—behind a smile, busyness, or even perfectionism—but the body always keeps score. It speaks in symptoms when we don’t listen to our soul. When you’re living out of alignment with your truth or in constant inner conflict, it often reveals itself through discomfort in your physical body or repeated patterns in your life that leave you feeling stuck or unwell.
The mind-body connection is very real, and when our emotions go unresolved or suppressed, they can show up physically, often in ways we don’t immediately recognize.
As a Holistic Naturopathic Practitioner and Doctor of Metaphysical Sciences, I’ve witnessed how deeply our unprocessed emotions impact our health. Understanding this connection allows us to approach healing from a place of compassion, self-awareness, and empowerment.
How Emotions Affect the Body
Each emotion we feel—whether it’s joy, sadness, fear, anger, or love—has a physical home in the body. Emotions aren’t just fleeting thoughts or moods; they are deeply energetic experiences that ripple through our entire system. Every feeling we have carries a frequency, and that frequency resonates with specific organs and systems.
When we allow emotions to move through us, they do just that—they move. They pass. But when we suppress, ignore, or dismiss them, they don’t simply go away. Instead, they get stored deep in the body like emotional residue, creating subtle tension at first—tight shoulders, a heavy chest, a persistent headache. Over time, this energetic buildup can lead to real physical consequences: digestive issues, hormonal imbalances, chronic fatigue, autoimmune conditions, and more.
The body is wise and sensitive. It will try to carry what the heart cannot express—but only for so long. Eventually, those unresolved feelings will begin to speak through symptoms, aches, or dis-ease, asking for our attention in louder and louder ways.
Let’s explore how these emotional patterns often show up in the body:
Worry Lives in the Stomach
Excessive worry or overthinking can wreak havoc on digestion, leading to bloating, heartburn, IBS, ulcers, and nutrient malabsorption. Chronic worry overstimulates the nervous system, increasing stomach acid and creating a constant state of unease in the gut.
Fear Overloads the Adrenal Glands
Long-term fear keeps the body in fight-or-flight mode, placing immense strain on the adrenals. This can lead to adrenal fatigue, hormonal imbalances, low immunity, and poor sleep—leaving you exhausted and depleted, both emotionally and physically.
Anger Is Stored in the Liver
Unexpressed anger and resentment often accumulate in the liver, affecting its ability to detoxify and regulate hormones. This can manifest as skin issues, migraines, mood swings, and chronic inflammation.
Grief Affects the Lungs
Deep, unprocessed grief weakens the lungs, showing up as chronic coughs, asthma, bronchitis, or breathlessness. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), grief is linked to the lungs. Breathing practices and gentle emotional release can help restore balance here.
Anxiety Strains the Heart
Anxiety doesn’t just weigh on the mind—it also impacts the heart. Palpitations, chest tightness, high blood pressure, and increased risk of heart disease are common signs of chronic emotional stress pressing on this vital organ.
Guilt Impacts the Kidneys
Lingering guilt and shame may disrupt kidney function, resulting in lower back pain, fluid retention, and electrolyte imbalances. Emotional strain can diminish their detoxifying capacity, leaving you feeling sluggish and out of balance.
Frustration Tightens the Neck and Shoulders
Many people hold frustration in their upper body, leading to stiffness, chronic neck pain, headaches, and restricted mobility. This tension can become so ingrained that it feels normal—until it starts interfering with daily life.
Depression Slows Digestion
Emotional stagnation often mirrors physical stagnation. Depression can slow gut motility, leading to constipation, food intolerances, nutrient deficiencies, and a lack of appetite. Your gut and brain are intimately connected—when one suffers, so does the other.
Repressed Emotions Can Lead to Chronic Pain
When emotions are deeply buried, they don’t disappear—they resurface as chronic pain. Conditions like fibromyalgia, autoimmune issues, or chronic fatigue may be connected to unhealed trauma that the body is still holding onto.
Suppressed Expression Affects the Throat
When we silence ourselves—whether out of fear, shame, or people-pleasing—it often shows up as sore throats, thyroid issues, or vocal strain. The throat chakra is all about truth and self-expression. When blocked, the body speaks up in its own way.
Emotions Are Not the Enemy
We’ve been taught to fear our emotions—to see them as something to manage, suppress, or hide. But emotions are not the enemy. In fact, they are one of the most powerful guides we have in this life.
Emotions are messages
- Fear signals caution and keeps us safe.
- Anger rises to protect us from violation or injustice.
- Tears cleanse, release, and heal the parts of us we’ve tried to silence.
None of these are bad. None are wrong. They simply are—natural, intelligent, human responses to the world around us and within us.
And yet, from a young age, we’re taught to shut them down. “Don’t cry.” “Calm down.” “Stop overreacting.” The world tells us to be logical, productive, and pleasant—but not emotional. We are conditioned to label emotions as inconvenient or weak, and in doing so, we begin to fear the very thing that makes us whole.
Modern society is quick to offer a pill for every emotion. Feeling sad? Take this. Anxious? That. Numb? Here’s a distraction. We drug, scroll, snack, drink, shop, and binge—all to escape what we don’t want to feel. But suppressing emotions doesn’t make them disappear. The truth is, when emotions aren’t expressed, they don’t just disappear into thin air—they get trapped. They sink into the body, settle into your muscles, your gut, your chest, quietly building pressure like a shaken soda can. And eventually? That pressure will come out—whether you like it or not. It’ll come bursting out at the least convenient, most dramatic time possible. Like ugly crying in the middle of your staff meeting because someone asked how your weekend was. Or losing it on your partner because they chewed too loudly. Maybe it sneaks out as a passive-aggressive comment to the cashier, a dramatic slam of the cupboard door, or an entire bag of chips inhaled in silence while you pretend you’re totally fine. Suppressed emotions have zero respect for timing, location, or social appropriateness. They’re like toddlers with a full diaper and no nap—they will be heard.
That’s why learning to release emotions in a healthy, intentional way is so important. Emotions need motion. They need air, space, expression. Otherwise, they get stuck in your body, simmering under the surface like emotional Tupperware you forgot in the back of the fridge—pressurized, fermented, and one twist away from a disaster.
Releasing emotions in a healthy way doesn’t have to mean sobbing into a pillow every night (unless you need to—zero judgment). It can look like journaling without filters, taking a walk and talking out loud to the sky, hitting a punching bag, dancing like no one’s watching (and hoping no one is), or just having an honest heart-to-heart with someone you trust. The point isn’t to “fix” the emotion—it’s to feel it and free it. It’s not always pretty. It’s not always convenient. But it’s so much better than pretending you’re fine while internally plotting to scream into the void because someone didn’t rinse their dish properly.
We’re not meant to be disconnected from ourselves. Our ability to feel isn’t a flaw—it’s a survival tool. A gift. Our emotional responses are not dysfunctional. It’s the shame and fear around those emotions that cause dysfunction. Your emotions are not a problem to solve—they're messengers trying to guide you back to yourself. Give them the space to speak before they show up uninvited at your next family dinner or work presentation. Trust me, future-you will thank you.
Healing Through Emotional Awareness
True healing begins when we pause and gently explore what’s really going on beneath the surface. When you take the time to understand yourself—not just physically, but emotionally, mentally, and spiritually—you start to reconnect with your inner wisdom, that quiet knowing you were born with. And from that space, healing isn’t just possible—it becomes inevitable.
So instead of numbing, distracting, or suppressing, try this:
Create space for your emotions to exist.
Find a quiet moment just for you—even if it’s only 10 minutes. Choose a time when you won’t be interrupted, and a place where you feel safe and comfortable. It could be your bedroom, your car parked in a peaceful spot, the bath, or even a cozy corner with soft lighting and a blanket.
Sit still.
Put your phone on silent. Turn down the noise of the world. Take a few deep breaths and gently drop into your body. Notice where you feel tension, tightness, or heaviness. Don’t try to analyze it. Just be curious.
Feel what comes up.
You don’t need to name every feeling or understand where it’s coming from right away. You might feel sadness in your chest, pressure behind your eyes, or a lump in your throat. It’s okay. Let it be there. Imagine your emotions like waves—they rise, crest, and pass when you stop fighting them.
Ask your body what it’s trying to tell you.
Try asking:
-
“What do I need right now?”
-
“Is there something I haven’t allowed myself to feel?”
- “Where am I holding on too tightly?”
Sometimes an answer will come right away. Sometimes it won’t. That’s okay too.
The point is to listen, not fix.
And most importantly, give yourself permission to feel—without judgment.
There’s no “right way” to feel, no emotion that makes you weak, dramatic, or broken. Cry if you need to. Scream into a pillow. Write in your journal like no one’s going to read it (because they won’t). Your emotions aren’t here to harm you—they’re trying to help you. They’re guiding you back to the parts of yourself you’ve been taught to ignore.
You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need a spiritual playlist, a journal with gold foil, or a therapist on speed dial (though all those things are lovely). What you need is your presence. Your honesty. Your willingness to stay with yourself through the discomfort.
And when you do stay with yourself—when you choose presence over perfection, honesty over hiding—something begins to shift. At first, it might feel awkward or even uncomfortable. You might sit in silence and not know what to do. You might feel a wave of emotion rise without a clear reason. That’s okay. That’s the release beginning. That’s your nervous system finally getting a chance to exhale.
What follows isn’t always dramatic or earth-shattering. Sometimes, it’s subtle. A softness in your chest. A moment of clarity. The ability to fall asleep a little easier that night. A sense that maybe—just maybe—you’re safe to feel what you feel.
And the more you show up for yourself in this way, the more your body and mind begin to trust that you can handle what arises. That you don’t need to numb or run. That there is wisdom in the discomfort, and healing in the allowing.
This is the beginning of emotional freedom. Of learning how to meet your feelings with compassion instead of fear. Of slowly, gently, rewriting the way you relate to yourself.
Not perfectly. Not all at once. But one honest breath at a time.
Here are a few other supportive ways to begin:
- Emotional Release – Journaling, therapy, or energy healing sessions allow the body to release what it’s been holding.
- Breathwork – Deep breathing calms the nervous system and helps release sadness and anxiety.
- Mindfulness & Meditation – Cultivates emotional resilience and reduces chronic stress.
- Bodywork – Massage, chiropractic care, and acupuncture can release stored tension and promote circulation.
- Nutrition & Herbal Support – Eating clean, nutrient-rich foods and using adaptogens like ashwagandha and rhodiola can help regulate your stress response.
- Movement & Exercise – Yoga, walking, or dance are powerful tools to move stuck energy and uplift the spirit.
- Another beautiful, gentle way to release emotions is by spending time in nature. There’s something deeply healing about being outside—where there’s no pressure to perform, no judgment, no noise (other than the wind, birdsong, or the rustle of leaves). Nature doesn’t ask you to be anything other than exactly who you are in that moment. When emotions feel tangled, overwhelming, or hard to name, stepping outside can help you breathe again—literally and emotionally. Go for a walk, sit by a tree, lie in the grass, dip your toes in a stream, or just stand in the sun with your face turned toward the light. Let the stillness of the earth hold you while you untangle what’s inside. You might cry without knowing why. You might find yourself talking out loud to the sky or writing your thoughts in the dirt with a stick. You might simply feel space—the kind of space that allows you to feel things you’ve been avoiding, and to let them go without resistance.
Conclusion: Your Body Is Basically Your Emotional Translator
Here’s the truth—your body and mind are in a lifelong, committed relationship. They text each other constantly, they finish each other’s sentences, and when one’s upset, the other definitely feels it. They’re not roommates casually sharing space. They’re a team. So, when you ignore your emotions, your body doesn’t just shrug and move on. Oh no. It gets creative.
Can’t express that heartbreak? No problem—cue the random chest tightness and tension headaches. Bottling up that anger from three weeks ago? Great, let’s add in some jaw clenching and a mysterious shoulder pain that shows up only when you're trying to relax. Your body is basically your emotional translator—and it’s fluent in drama. The point is emotions don’t vanish when ignored. They go underground, build a little fort in your nervous system, and start sending SOS signals until you finally pay attention. That’s why learning to sit with your emotions, express them, and process them (in ways that don’t involve yelling at your toaster) is so incredibly important.
When you start honoring your emotions instead of shoving them aside like expired leftovers, something amazing happens: your body begins to relax. Your digestion improves. Your sleep deepens. Your shoulders drop from around your ears. You stop biting your tongue (or your nails), and you finally feel like you’re home in your own body.
True health isn’t about green juice, supplements, or the perfect morning routine (though those are nice). It’s about harmony—between your thoughts, your body, your emotions, and your spirit. It’s about feeling aligned, connected, and able to breathe deeply again.
So, the next time your body whispers through a symptom—or shouts with a full-blown meltdown—don’t ignore it. Pause. Listen. Ask, “What am I really feeling right now?”
Because healing doesn’t always start with a prescription.
Sometimes, it starts with a deep breath, a good cry, and finally letting yourself feel it all.
And hey, if all else fails… dance it out in the kitchen. It works wonders.