Guilt and shame are two highly charged emotions that can lead to deep unrest and overwhelm within the nervous system.
In this article we’ll provide a deeper understanding of the subtle and not so subtle ways that guilt and shame show up in our daily lives and how tools such as somatic exercises can help release the body’s attachment to these challenging emotions.
Hidden Signs of Guilt and Shame Within The Nervous System
Guilt arises from the internal belief that “I should have or could have done something differently” about an event in the past. Shame is closely linked and can be described as the belief or feeling that there is something “wrong” with you.
Spotting the signs of guilt and shame can be challenging because their roots run deep within our mind and body, and they’re feelings we started experiencing at a very young age. Overtime, we may begin to repress these emotions and they become a normal response to stress in our daily lives.
Anxiety and fear around “being guilty” of something or “getting caught” or “found out” can become regular programming in our subconscious mind and as a form of protection, you might find your nervous system shifting into a shutdown state where it feels safer to turn off our emotions and hide from these fears. This can become a looping cycle with the nervous system sometimes experiencing both the Sympathetic and Dorsal Vagal energy at the same time. This is what we refer to as the Overwhelm State.
When in the overwhelm state, you may experience feelings of hopelessness, despair, loss of control, panic, racing thoughts and intense stress.
How Guilt and Shame Manifest in Daily Life
Guilt and shame have a profound impact on our mental and emotional state. Often linked to depression and anxiety, these emotions shape our sense of self-worth and self-esteem. No matter how far back the shame stems from and whether it was warranted or not, its effects will linger until appropriately processed.
Guilt and shame show up in our emotional responses and how we interact with others. Some key areas ways that these emotions manifest include:
Avoidance behaviors — Do you find yourself avoiding certain people or situations that could cause unwanted social interactions and emotions to come up?
Withdrawal and Isolation – Social withdrawal and isolation can be a defense mechanism to protect oneself from judgment or perceived scrutiny from others.
Overcompensation— Are you trying hard to make up for feelings of guilt or shame by people-pleasing, being overly apologetic, striving for perfection?
Mood Swings or Irritability — Frequent changes in mood can be due to underlying feelings of frustration or anger of guilt and shame.
Low Self-Worth – Chronic guilt and shame can lead to feeling incompetent, less than, or not ‘good’ enough in your relationships, career, or any life aspect for that matter.
Relationships – The internal struggle of guilt and shame can lead to an inability to fully connect and communicate with others. Often low self-esteem and self-worth can cause you to feel unworthy of love and affection from someone else.
The Impact of Unresolved Guilt and Shame in the Nervous System
All of these above responses lead to a great deal of stress on the nervous system. Chronic stress due to guilt and shame lead to an imbalanced nervous system, altering our physiological state.
Chronic stress has been linked to immune issues, gut-health and digestive problems, unhealthy sleep patterns, risk of cardiovascular disease, and more. It’s vital that you find ways to release the effects of guilt and shame from our body to uphold the highest quality of life.
Releasing the Effects of Guilt and Shame From the Body
To begin releasing the effects of guilt and shame, you must get your entire body on board with doing so. This means starting at the root of your emotions and stress which is, the state of our nervous system. If you can get your nervous system on board with change, you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the chains of past guilt and shame.
Somatic Exercises for releasing Guilt and Shame
Somatic exercises provide an excellent path to releasing the burden of guilt and shame. Through somatic exercises, we can begin to see more clearly how our emotions are guiding us and start taking back control. Remember you are not your feelings and emotions, you have feelings and emotions. Regulating your nervous system through somatic exercises helps you to fully understand this.
A full library of somatic exercises for releasing guilt and shame can be found inside the NEUROFIT App, but here are a few we would recommend:
1. Body Tapping — An exercise that improve mind-body connection by bringing your attention to physical sensations in the body.
How to do it: Ball your hands into fists and tap your body with both hands, from head to toe. Tap solidly - it should not be painful, but it should create noticeable sensations. Increase the intensity of the taps at your discretion.
3. Box Breathing — A breathwork exercise to quickly lower stress levels and promote relaxation in the body.
How to do it: Focus on creating a rhythmic 'box' pattern with your breath: inhale for four counts, hold for four counts, exhale for four counts, and hold again for four counts. As it feels right in the body, increase the timing to 4 or 5 seconds for an enhanced effect.
Daily Nervous System Check-ins with The NEUROFIT App
By checking in with your nervous system each day, you can begin to notice how feelings of guilt and shame are impacting your stress levels. In just one minute with the NEUROFIT App you can identify your current nervous system state and also assess your state per each life aspect (i.e. relationships, family, work and business). This is particularly helpful because you can begin to notice which area of your life needs the most balancing and take more productive steps toward doing so.
Clear feelings of guilt and shame with ai-based wellness coaching
If you want to be even more proactive in releasing the effects of guilt and shame in the body, we recommend using NEUROFIT’s AI-Wellness Coach, CLEAR to quickly identify the root cause of what’s triggering your emotions and gain real-time solutions and tools to overcome it.
Conclusion
Guilt and shame are common emotions that can begin at a very early age and when we do not properly address and release these emotions, they can greatly impact our daily life and well-being. Prioritizing nervous system regulation and using tools such as somatic exercises for guilt and shame will give way for deeper connections, greater self-expression, and peace within your mind and body. For more daily nervous system regulation tools, somatic exercises and education, download the NEUROFIT App today.
FAQS About Somatic Exercises
What are somatic exercises?
Somatic exercises are intentional, targeted movements aimed at enhancing the mind-body connection. Exercises include deep breathing, body shaking, and relaxation techniques.
Do somatic exercises really work?
Yes, a great deal of research suggests that somatic exercises are effective in reducing stress, improving body awareness, and promoting peace and balance within the nervous system.
How long do somatic exercises take?
The duration of somatic exercises can vary based on daily and cumulative stress levels. Even 3-5 minutes a day can prove beneficial in fact, 54% of NEUROFIT App users report less stress after just one week.
How many somatic exercises should I do each day?
When it comes to somatic exercises, we have found that depth over variety yields the most substantive results. Our data suggests choosing 1-2 exercises a day and repeating as necessary until you’ve reached a balanced state.
