Are you a cry baby?

We all have them, in fact it's something we are all born with but some people appear to have more than others or at least express them more. They come in many forms and of varying intensity at different stages of one’s life. What are they? Emotions!

Emotions can be beneficial to us in many ways and yet cause us immense grief too. Love, for example is an emotion that many consider to be the strongest of all emotions. The love you feel for another human being can make you fiercely protective of them, insanely jealous, incredibly sad or extremely hurt by the actions of the recipient of ones unequivocal love. Particularly in the western world it is traditionally accepted that men are expected to hide their emotions and accept whatever life throws at them whereas, it is more acceptable for the female to express her emotions openly. 

This expectancy to always be in control of one's emotions and hide them can ultimately lead to stress which in turn, through time, can lead to health problems such as hypertension (high blood pressure), heart attacks or strokes to name but a few of the issues that bottling up emotions can lead to. It is not seen as 'macho' for a man to discuss his problems with his friends and therefore they tend to stick to 'safe' topics such as sport, work or current affairs. The only exception to this would appear to be when they are supporting their favourite football team and allow themselves to express their emotions to the extreme as if it were a life or death situation!

Some of the world’s greatest love songs have been written by men who have found an acceptable avenue to release their emotions through music and as a result have a healthier mind and body. Female hormones can play a big part in how a woman feels and sometimes at certain times of the month or stage of life, it can become overwhelming for her. Being over emotional can become debilitating and very draining if she constantly feels she is about to cry at the drop of a hat and can lead to her feeling she is unable to function in public. If this is left unaddressed it can lead to illness as mentioned above and depression. 

There are those of course who relish in being ‘overdramatic’ with everything in their life being exaggerated from their love life to their health problems, from a reaction to or from someone else to going overboard and being overly dramatic watching a fictitious film on TV. However, as it is mainly an act the emotions they express are superficial and do not have any long term negative impact on their well-being. There may be a recognised or immediate reaction or reason for certain emotions such as grief at the death or illness of a loved one, sadness that someone or something has been lost for good to you, guilt at something you have done or wronged someone, anger at how another person’s actions have impacted on your life or even despair that life in general is not working out as you had hoped.

A young child may not be able to express the right emotion due to a lack of appropriate vocabulary and instead lashes out or has a tantrum. This lessens as they mature and their vocabulary and understanding matures. Similarly, a person on the autistic spectrum may be unable to express how they feel as they can often find it difficult to match it with the right emotion and also recognise the correct facial expressions and actions of others. This can lead to frustration for them and anxiety so it is important that this issue is recognised and addressed. There is no reason to go through life accepting the emotions that have such a negative impact on your life. Hypnotherapy can help you express your emotions in a positive, healthier way, allowing you to accept what you cannot change and change what you are able to, to improve your well-being. 

Many people view hypnosis as a therapy that can only 'fix' certain things such as phobias and weight loss. Issues that have a concrete basis and tangible results for all to see and test - however hypnosis is so much more. By bypassing the conscious mind, it can change your limiting beliefs and open your mind to viewing life's challenges in a different light. During a hypnosis session the therapist uses relaxation techniques which are naturally therapeutic for the mind and this in itself, before any specific challenge is addressed, is already working on whatever issues you may be experiencing. Regardless of the original reason for visiting a hypnotherapist, the majority of clients will feedback that they had a positive experience which was not only successful in dealing with the problem, but also beneficial in general to the mind and body. 

A better quality of sleep is almost always reported back after a session as the client has been put into a state of relaxation physically and mentally. There is no shame in expressing one's emotions openly and despite men assuming women are only interested in a macho man who can withstand any life challenge thrown at him, the majority of women are more attracted to a man who can express his emotions and share his feelings with her.

“Emotion is energy in motion” – Peter McWilliams

“It is both a blessing and a curse to feel everything so very deeply” – David Jones