Emotional inflammation, start healing now
There is a term for that experience of being easily triggered or feeling like you go from 0 to 100 in no time.
It’s called Emotional Inflammation.
Angela D’Onofrio talked about this in her article in 2016. I reached out to her to talk about it and she shared how this term came to her as she began her research on how nutrition impacts the body and her psychotherapy training.
Nowadays we are becoming very familiar with the idea that certain foods we eat can irritate or even inflame various parts of our bodies. Similarly, we can have this physical experience of inflammation when we’ve injured our ligaments or strained a muscle. But can our emotions be the same?
QUICK NAVIGATION
Consult with That Darn Amygdala
What the brain says
Seeing the emotional inflammation
Delaying our healing
Reducing mental health stigma and creating accessibility
Brené Brown, American researcher, professor of Social Work, and my idol, stated in her docuseries, Atlas of the Heart, how research is showing that the same part of our brains lights up when we hurt ourselves from touching the hot burner and even experiencing emotional turmoil. ** mindblown! **
Our experience of pain is the same. So perhaps, this inflammation is the same, but how do we treat it?
CONSULT WITH THAT DARN AMYGDALA
In my quest to understand Emotional Inflammation better I needed to learn more about how the brain works. That is when I connected with Carissa Weber, a licensed professional counsellor (LPC) and a clinical substance abuse counsellor (CSAC) as well as the blog host of That Darn Amygdala.
I was fascinated with what Carissa had to say about the brain that we decided to collaborate on this blog.
When it comes to any kind of pain and our brain, it is important to know how it all works. When we first encounter a painful situation (for example, stubbing your little toe on a piece of furniture or wall corner), our brain almost immediately starts the process to react by jumping up and down while saying "OWWWWWWIEE!" and other explicit words.
The part of our brain responsible for first noticing our pain is called the lateral spinothalamic tract.
WHAT THE BRAIN SAYS
Carissa Weber:
The Lateral Spinothalamic Tract refers to the pathway involved when we experience a physical pain response. This tract includes the nerves that run throughout your body, your spinal cord, the midbrain (which includes the part of your brain responsible for involuntary body responses, sensory information, and emotions), and your thalamus (which is responsible for sensory information) (Yam et Al, 2018).
If we use the example of stubbing your little toe again, the nerves in your foot transmit the information of pain to your spinal cord, which runs the message up to the medulla (responsible for involuntary body actions, like breathing). Once the medulla has agreed that the pain response is accurate, it will tell the thalamus. The thalamus talks to your pregenual cingulate cortex (responsible for helping with emotional responses) and your insula (which processes sensory information). After it collaborates with these parts of your brain, your thalamus agrees that saying "ouch!" is the best way to respond.
Carissa was kind enough to go deeper into what is happening in the brain by writing a blog on it. Jump to it here to keep reading more about that fascinating brain:
It is important to note something about our brains: they experience pain differently than any other part of our body. Rather than having the searing and burning pain that comes with an injury, your brain experiences emotional bursts that provide information.
>>> READ MORE
SEEING THE EMOTIONAL INFLAMMATION
As a social worker, I have been trained to notice the various shifts and movements someone does when they are sharing their story. The discomfort they begin to display in their body, or when they describe the physical reaction they have when having an anxiety attack.
As we are starting to see more of this research on how the emotions we feel can physically show up then this concept of emotional inflammation makes even more sense. Especially when we rarely take the time we need to properly heal an emotional injury.
“I’m okay” or “It’s no big deal” and even “I’ll get over it” become ways of ignoring this injury and essentially refusing treatment.
The ironic thing is if we actually spent the time needed to heal the emotional injury we would save ourselves so much more time in the long run vs. having the inflammation swell at unwanted times.
But how??
Speaking with a client recently, she talked about still searching for a trauma counsellor to focus on some of her historical trauma. Our conversation led to the concept that she feels that she can not sit in her emotions unless she has scheduled it.
DELAYING OUR HEALING
This makes me wonder, have we started to become so robotic in our lives that even our emotional outlets need to be scheduled?
And in some ways yes.
*I will also note that creating space for emotional safety to work through traumatic experiences is important and I don’t want to minimize the importance of that.*
Work and family life take priority, but it also doesn’t have to be that way.
REDUCING MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA AND CREATING ACCESSIBILITY
Here are some ways I think we can collectively reduce mental health stigma and create more accessibility to connecting to our mental wellness on an ongoing basis. After reading this list I would love to hear more suggestions that have been missed or other barriers you have noticed?
Permission to self (and HR) to use work time to connect with a counsellor, coach, or some sort of external wellness professional. This concept of “self-care” days or “flex-day” continues to feed into the idea that you have to wait to release. So stressors get built up and resentment or conflict stews until you finally take your day off, possibly feeling guilty for taking a day off. If we break down some of these expectations that your personal life happens after hours then we begin strengthening the notion that you can address emotional needs at the beginning of the stressor rather than when it begins to take over physically and becomes inflamed.
Counsellors can create spaces beyond their office that is more accessible by having phone sessions (that way you can cook dinner, walk the dog, or simply curl up in your bed in your most comfortable clothes).
Nature walks with you and your counsellor, which promotes physical health and movement while also practising and normalizing talking about your emotions outside the closed doors of an office.
Online communities that have established boundaries to create emotional safety in sharing but also gift the individuals outlets that are available at all times while also monitored and guided by professionals.
A big ask would be reducing the cost of all of this. There is value in the person providing the service and also value in the time you spend
But wait, have I addressed HOW to actually reduce your Emotional Inflammation?
I think mental health programs have put a lot of pressure on individuals to sort through their pain. Going back to physical pains such as a hot stove or breaking a leg. We support the individual by having them access specialists in those areas and even train civilians on how to do first aid to help quickly reduce inflammation of an injury.
So I don’t believe the question is about “how do I reduce my emotional inflammation” but rather, “how can we recognize the signs of emotional inflammation and who can help with easing the flare-ups?”
Let’s address that question in the next blog! While you’re digesting what was said above please share your thoughts by commenting below or emailing me at tia@unscriptedco.ca
