Energy Sapping Emotions

Do you remember the last time you woke up so lethargic, so listless that you could hardly lift yourself off the bed? It happens to everyone sometime. It's not a matter of being tired after a hard week's work, or being in a healthy state of relaxation. This kind of tiredness comes from being emotionally and energetically drained.

Our emotions have a powerful effect on our energy. You've experienced it yourself. You've had a big argument or worked all day with a particularly challenging colleague, or your self-esteem has taken a blow, and the next day, you feel emotionally weary. You feel listless. You feel physically weak. And you can't even find the energy to think.

It's OK to have low energy days. Everyone does. But they are telling you that something needs our attention. It could be a health issue, a reaction to certain foods, the effects of sugar or lack of adequate rest. But a great deal of the time, our energy is being sapped by negative emotions.

When it comes to energy, our emotions fall into one of two categories: high energy emotions and low energy emotions. High energy negative emotions such as anger, early stages of grief, panic and resentment rev up your nervous system and throw your body into a state of heightened alert, ready for action. Too much of this and your body's stress mechanisms become exhausted from trying to keep up, and your immune system plummets. You end up not only emotionally and energetically depleted, but also more vulnerable to infections, allergies and disease.

Low energy negative emotions such as boredom, persistent grief, helplessness and depression slow down your body's metabolism, suppress your immune system (by 50% within 5 minutes!), and send you into an energetic slump. Your emotions get bogged down, leaving you emotionally and energetically drained.
Either way, your emotional energy can block your body's energy pathways. No matter what other steps you take to nourish, protect, strengthen and energize your body, if your energy is blocked, you will never achieve the health, vitality and well-being you desire.

The key to regaining your energy is to bring your emotions back to a more balanced state that allows your body to recover. The same solutions don't work for everybody, so you have to find what works best for you: a change in diet, more exercise, tai chi or yoga, doing something you love, talking things out with a friend or getting help.

So when you're finding it hard to energize no matter what else you do, consider whether your emotions are draining your energy. Most of us need help uncovering or clearing the emotions that block our energy, so don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Once your emotional balance is restored, you'll feel lighter, everything will seem easier, and your energy will flow as generously and abundantly as it was meant to.