Our Emotional Immune System (EIS) – By Sergio Ocampo LMFT, SEP
In all of us there exists a healing force, intrinsic, unconscious, transformative and always available. It is responsible for bringing to life feelings of wellbeing, peace and flow in our lives.
When we sit by a pleasant stream, observing the flow of water while enjoying the sounds of tranquility, we too feel at peace. Our internal awareness moves from preoccupation to resonance with what surrounds us – Away from our minds and more towards our senses: touch, sights, and sounds.
When we begin to touch into the essence of peace and safety, something happens internally. There is movement of our nervous system towards coherence: becoming one with the true sense of our surroundings.
If we are in a peaceful place, we sense the feelings of peace. If we are in a frantic environment, we sense the feelings of activation. Allowing ourselves openness, outside of our minds, gives permission to being coherent with the world around us.
The feelings and sensations associated with peace and calm is where healing lies. It is here where our nervous system is at its best place of balance. A range of perception and internal equilibrium – our baseline of calm.
When we feel tranquility is the time where we can touch into the powerful force that heals and repairs. It is like the immune system for emotional patterns which cause distress in our lives. Because safety is the opposite feeling to emotional activation: it cancels it out, withdraws it, and, when approached in a paused way, heals.
Our bodies not only possess an immune system that protects and defeats foreign infection and injury, but also, an inherent Emotional Immune System. It is the healing force which comes forth when emotional injury happens.
When we experience an emotionally charged event, our internal emotional nervous system reacts, making us feel the physical and mental experience of feelings. These can be uncomfortable and painful. When we experience upset, we could stay in this emotional place forever if it was not for a shift that happens spontaneously. There comes a junction when we are no longer upset. What happened? Something inside shifted, changed, went back to being more in equilibrium.
We all know that nothing in this world happens unless a force of some sort moves or changes something. Everything emerges from something.
So, for an emotional shift to happen, something else has to take place. A separate force must be active that changes, moves, or overwhelms what may be present. It naturally follows that if this force is the opposite of negative emotional feelings, then it must be a force full of positive feelings. Feelings of calm and peace. A force that brings back flow and tranquility. A healing force, which comes automatically. We do not will it. We receive it as it arrives.
When we feel safe, seen and held by others, both our mind and body relax. We are given permission to let our guard down and allow ourselves to slow down. As this happens, our system begins to allow this healing force to arrive and begin repairing any emotional pain present. This happens automatically, just like when we have a physical injury, restoring the body to health. It is an immune system that operates to heal our emotional wiring our emotional nervous system, the place where our sensations and feelings of safety and lack thereof live.
Sometimes, experiences may be overwhelming to a point where our system needs more long term support of a safe other to help heal. Such support can be found in somatic therapies such as Somatic Experiencing.
Our minds and bodies experience the effects of our world as felt by emotional experience. These can cause discomfort beyond the norm. What keeps us in equilibrium is our Emotional Immune System, constantly re-regulating and helping mend small and large emotional wounds. It is what help keeps us sane in an ever fast moving world.
Sergio Ocampo specializes in the use of Somatic Experiencing and EMDR to help his clients resolve past difficult and overwhelming experiences. His practice is located in Los Angeles, California.
Copyright Sergio Ocampo – 2019