By Katie Honeywell, LPCMH, NCC

Consultant In Training

Have you ever had one of those moments? One instance triggers an uncomfortable emotion that seeps into the whole day, the week, or longer. You aren’t alone. Many of my clients have experienced this, and so have I. It's an icky sensation of feeling emotionally stuck. These stuck emotions can significantly disrupt our lives if they linger, affecting our relationships, work, sleep, and other critical aspects of life. 

Let’s first look into our nervous system and answer why this emotional stuckness happens. Then I will give a few suggestions showing you how to release stuck emotions from within your own body. 

I lean into Polyvagal Theory to understand our nervous system. Simply put, this theory hypothesizes that the goal of our nervous system is to feel safe, connected, curious, present, and grounded. When our nervous system perceives a threat, it will remain in a fight, flight, or freeze response until it...