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5 Signs You’re Holding Trapped Emotions—And What You Can Do About It
- Kelsey Bartley
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
We’re taught to move on.
To be strong. To breathe through it.
To be grateful it wasn’t worse.
And yet—beneath the “I’m fine,” our bodies hold the parts of the story we never got to tell.
In my work as a holistic practitioner, I’ve seen again and again how symptoms, burnout, numbness, and even physical pain are often messengers of something deeper.
These are trapped emotions—unprocessed emotional energy that gets lodged in the body’s tissues, the nervous system, and even the subconscious mind. And unless it’s released, it keeps whispering through symptoms, stress patterns, and relationship cycles.
Here are five of the most common ways it might be showing up in your life, and what you can do to begin letting go.
1. You React Strongly to “Small” Things—And Then Feel Guilty or Confused About It
It wasn’t a big deal. A comment. A tone. A tiny conflict. But suddenly, you're spiraling—flooded with emotion, shame, or anger that doesn’t make logical sense.
You’re not overreacting. You’re overflowing.
Trapped emotions build up like pressure in a bottle. And even if you’ve moved on mentally, your body might still be holding onto the energy of that original moment.
That snappy tone could feel like your dad yelling at you as a kid. That slow text reply could ignite the grief of being ghosted years ago. That feeling of being left out? It might be echoing a childhood wound you forgot you had.
What to try:
Rather than judge the reaction, get curious. After you calm down, ask:
"What does this remind me of?"
This question gently opens a window to your emotional memory. From there, techniques like The Emotion Code, somatic release, or breathwork can help clear the charge from the body.
2. You’ve Got Chronic Pain or Tension That Doesn’t Respond to “Fixes”
The body never lies.
It just speaks in a language we’re not always taught to listen to.
Neck pain. Tight hips. That heavy pressure in your chest. The gut that clenches even when you haven’t eaten anything “wrong.”
All of these might be signs that something emotional is being held beneath the surface.
Real talk? You can stretch and supplement all you want—but if your grief is stuck in your lungs or your resentment is locked in your lower back, it’ll stay until it’s acknowledged.
What to try:
Ask your body what it’s holding. Literally.
Sit quietly and place your hand over the area. Ask, “Is there something you need me to know?”
Then wait. Trust what comes. Whether it’s an image, word, memory, or just a wave of feeling, it’s valid.
Work with a practitioner if that feels too overwhelming to do alone. Releasing this stuff can be gentle, supported, and safe.
3. You Feel Numb, Disconnected, or Emotionally Flat (But You Can’t Explain Why)
This one’s subtle.
You’re not melting down. You’re not in crisis. But nothing feels like you lately. The joy, the creativity, the aliveness—it’s like it all went on mute.
This is often your body in freeze mode.
After a certain point, if we’ve learned that it’s safer to suppress or detach from emotions, we start to numb everything, joy included. This isn't laziness or apathy. It's emotional survival mode.
What to try:
Start with baby steps.
Move your body in ways that feel gentle, not punishing.
Listen to music that evokes emotion.
Journal without editing yourself.
Name your emotions with zero pressure to fix them.
Reconnection starts slowly. That’s okay. Let it.
4. You’re Trapped in a Loop—Same Conflict, Different Person
It’s like déjà vu.
You keep ending up in relationships (romantic, platonic, family, work) that trigger the same wound. Maybe it’s abandonment.
Or not feeling heard.
Or being the one who gives too much while receiving too little.
Why? Because unhealed emotions create familiar patterns.
Your subconscious will keep attracting the same energy until the emotion tied to that wound is released—not to punish you, but to give you a chance to choose differently.
(And no, “choosing differently” doesn’t mean pretending you’re fine.)
What to try:
Bring compassion to your patterns.
Ask: "What was I hoping to receive that I didn’t? "Where did I learn this dynamic?"
Trapped emotions lose their power when we give them an honest witness.
5. You Feel Like You're Carrying Something That Doesn’t Belong to You
It’s heavy, but it’s not yours.
Anxiety with no clear origin.
Emotions that show up out of nowhere.
A sense that you're carrying a family member’s pain, or absorbing the mood in every room you walk into.
This could be inherited or absorbed emotion.
We now know trauma can be passed down epigenetically through generations.
You might be feeling grandma’s grief. Or the suppressed rage no one in your lineage was allowed to express.
What to try:
Practice energetic hygiene.
Ground daily (bare feet, breath, salt baths, whatever works for you).
Visualize a boundary—a filter between your energy and others’.
Use clearing tools like The Body Code or ancestral healing rituals to release what isn’t yours.
You were never meant to carry it all.
Closing: You’re Not “Too Emotional”—You’re Full of Unspoken Stories
Every symptom is a messenger.
Every trigger, a breadcrumb.
Every shut-down or flare-up, a chance to pause and say:
"What if there’s more going on here?"
This work isn’t about perfection or “fixing” yourself.
It’s about peeling back the layers—gently, honestly, and with support—so that you can return to who you really are beneath what life has handed you.
If any of this landed, I’m here to walk with you.
You don’t have to carry it all alone. And you don’t have to dig it all up yourself either.
Ready to Begin Releasing What You’ve Been Carrying?
If this resonated, I’d love to walk with you through it. You don’t have to carry it all alone, and you don’t have to do the deep work without support.
Schedule a remote Emotion + Body Code session and start your personalized healing process.
Stay connected for gentle guidance, stories from my practice, and tools to support your mind-body journey.
Explore how this method works, what to expect, and how it can help you release emotional patterns held in the body.
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