Emotional accumulation: symptoms, causes and how to manage it.

Emotional accumulation takes us to the limit physically and psychologically; let's see what to do about it.

Surely at some point you have felt overwhelmed, exhausted and with the feeling that you could not cope anymore, but you could not find a way to relax and feel better. This is the feeling that generates the emotional accumulation.

Given the pace of life we lead, with which we must always be doing things and achieving goals, it is very likely that you do not give yourself time to stop or to know how you are; we often choose to avoid and inhibit our emotions, which will end up accumulating in the end..

This emotional accumulation not only affects the level of emotions, but also harms the mental state, more cognitive of the subject, and his physical well-being. In such cases, the individual feels more tired, slower, has difficulty concentrating and is more likely to get sick.

In this article you will learn more about what is meant by emotional accumulationhow it affects us in different areas and how we can prevent it or confront it so that it does not derive in worse consequences.

What is emotional accumulation?

It is easy to intuit what is meant or what the concept of emotional accumulation refers to, since the term itself expresses quite well what it is, and given the frenetic pace of life we lead today, it is very likely that you have felt this feeling or find yourself in this state.

By emotional accumulation we mean a state in which the subject is at the limit of its possibilities and of its physical and mental health.. That is to say, the individual is overwhelmed by an accumulation, a set of emotions, that he/she has not known or been able to express.

We can understand this state as an alarm, a warning that we must stop and rest if we do not want the consequences to be worse.

The typical illustrative example used to better understand the concept is that of a glass full of water that ends up overflowing because of a single drop; that is, the well-known expression of "the straw that breaks the camel's back", a small event that makes us end up exploding because we have already accumulated too much.

Symptoms: How does emotional accumulation affect us?

This state of accumulation or emotional saturation of which we have spoken will obviously affect our emotional state; this will change and will be affected making us more irritable, more stressed and more anxious..

When we suffer from emotional accumulation, any situation that goes out of our plans or bothers us in the slightest, upsets us excessively and will cause in us a disproportionate reaction that is not related to the situation.

But it does not only affect our mood, but it also affects our mental state, our cognitive part, since we will feel mentally exhausted and our mental capacities and functions will be affected.. We will have more difficulties in concentration, memory, we will forget things more easily, our mental processes will slow down, we will feel slower with less rhythm; this phenomenon is described as bradypsychia.

It is worth mentioning the affectation of the most Biological component, our physical state of health, since the mental saturation also ends up having repercussions on our physical state. We will feel more tired, without desire to do things, we will feel more tense, with pain in the musculature and in the jointswith headaches and body aches in general. In this way, the state in which we find ourselves reduces our defenses, our physical strength, making it easier for us to get sick.

Likewise, the set of different affectations and states, both emotional, cognitive and physiological, makes us feel at our limit, that we can no longer cope and we need to stop, although the ability to learn and cope with our state is not easy and not everyone knows how to or can do it well.

In relation to the previous paragraph, a feeling that can also appear and may be a sign that we are in a state of emotional accumulation is having the need to stop, needing to disconnect, but not being able toWe feel that there is something that does not allow us, that does not allow us to relax.

Causes

A concept related to emotional accumulation is that of repressed emotions, phenomenon that arises from the denial of some of our emotions, which end up accumulating.. The thoughts, emotions, sensations that we try to repress or avoid do not disappear, and contrary to what we want, they end up increasing and having more impact on us than if we had faced them from the beginning.

Everything we feel and think happens and appears in us with some purpose or for some reason; therefore, it is important that we pay attention to it, as this is the only way to really know how we are; we will be able to know why we act in a certain way or when it is time to stop or make a change in our lives.

• You may be interested in, "What is trauma and how does it influence our lives?"

How to deal with emotional accumulation

Taking into account all that has been said so far, we can keep some general recommendations: to know how to stop, to listen to ourselves, to pay attention to the alarms that our body and mind give and not to deny what we feel or repress our emotions.

It is important that the subject understands that emotions are not negative, that even the unpleasant ones can be functional, because they are giving us information, they are giving us the information we need.They are giving us information, indicating how we feel, allowing us to act to remedy the situation.

We should not rationalize everything, that is to say, not everything has to have a rational explanation without the influence of emotions, because as we mentioned before, denying emotions does not make them disappear, with this we will only get them to accumulate.

We see then that in order to be able to face correctly and to be able to prevent negative consequences of accumulating emotions it is essential to dedicate time to ourselves in order to be able to detect the signals that our own organism and our mind give us.. Taking time to relax and face what causes us discomfort or problems helps us to avoid possible later reactions that can damage our life more seriously.

Knowing what worries us, how we feel, and what we think about the things that happen to us is the way to really know our identity and how we are. It is common that many times we choose to ignore and do as if nothing happened, as if we could accumulate emotions and sensations indefinitely, but we have a limit and it is very likely that we will not be able to do so. we have a limit and it is very likely that if we do not put a solution to this state we will end up exploding..

However, knowing ourselves and knowing what emotions and thoughts occupy us at the moment is a process that we must do in a functional and appropriate way; we must avoid getting stuck and ruminate constantly on these thoughts or feelings that worry us, because in this way we will only get into a loop which will not help us to unload our emotions.

It is for this reason that we must find a more adaptive, more functional and healthier method of acting, which does not harm us; we have to We have to find ways that little by little we can unload and diminish the emotional accumulation in order not to reach the peak.We have to find ways of escape or a way of acting that benefits us and works better for us. In this way, we will see how we improve and as a consequence improve the different areas of our lives such as work, family or social.

What techniques will be the most appropriate to relax and achieve discharge?

There are diverse techniques that can be used, and according to the characteristics and tastes of each individual they will work and it will be better to use some or others.

For example, there are people who will do better to practice sports such as swimming, running or team sports like playing basketball or soccer, there are others who will do better to perform relaxation techniques to better connect with themselves; others will prefer to meet and meet with friends or family as a way to disconnect or use art, such as painting or dancing. All are ways of dedicating time to oneself to enjoy doing what we really like.

Linked to social relationships and spending time with the people we love, it is important to train to maintain good communicationIt is also important to use social and assertive skills. If we manage to have a stable and constant communication it will be easier for us to express and regulate our emotions better, and to feel supported and understood by others, avoiding or reducing the probability of emotional accumulation.

Therefore, to decrease or prevent emotional buildup we must find the middle ground, a point where we do not deny our own state or emotions, but where we also do not remain anchored in them, in a loop and focusing on our own state or emotions.In this way, it will be more functional to distract ourselves and dedicate time to gradually unload tension.