How Tapped Emotional Create a Life of Loneliness & Depression
We’ve always known the heart is important — even when we didn’t have the science to explain it.
According to ancient Chinese medicine, the heart is the ruler of the body and the house of the “Shen,” which means spirit. The Upanishads of Hinduism describe the heart as the dwelling place of “atman,” or the true self. In Ancient Egypt, the heart was considered the center of emotion, memory, and moral integrity. In fact, the Egyptians believed the afterlife for each person began with the “weighing of the heart,” a ritual that determined the morality of one’s life.
Did you know that the heart actually holds on to memories? Or, that it projects a magnetic field 5,000 times stronger than the brain? Even Aristotle, an iconic Socratic philosopher, believed the heart was the center of thought and the true source of life itself.
Deep emotional pain has serious impacts on this vital source of life-giving energy. Naturally, the body wants to defend itself from such pain, so it uses these “trapped emotions” to form a subconscious barrier around the heart. I’ve named this barrier the “Heart-Wall®,” and it has been referred to as one of the most important discoveries of energy medicine. This wall becomes a recurring obstacle to an individual’s moment-to-moment happiness, as well as their ability to build meaningful relationships or give and receive love in general.
Unfortunately, large portions of modern medicine have turned a blind eye to the more intangible aspects of heart health. The results are tragic — but not surprising. One in five Americans experiences loneliness on a daily basis, which led the U.S. Surgeon General to declare loneliness an official epidemic in 2023. Just prior to this, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a 25% increase in global rates of anxiety and depression, and the director of the World Health Organization called this a “wake-up call to all countries.”
Simply put, the Heart-Wall is doing serious damage to humanity. Fortunately, there is a means of deconstructing one’s Heart-Wall to let love flow freely without any psychological baggage weighing it down. This process starts with education — understanding the Heart-Wall and how it is built. Then, it moves to transformation — identifying trapped emotions and releasing them permanently. What’s left is a happier and more self-possessed person.
How the Heart-Wall Gets Built
Rhinoceroses are born with tough skin — almost like natural armor made of collagen fibers in a cross-hatched pattern. Surprisingly, that skin still isn’t quite tough enough for all the dangers of their environment. Over time, an adult rhinoceros will develop calluses across entire sections of their feet and joints, somewhat akin to hardened leather. With every beating they take — from the elements or from other animals — their skin just gets tougher and tougher.
Such a system is good news for the rhino, but bad news for the human heart. Unfortunately, the physical impacts of social-emotional pain are very real. First off, social pain is directly linked to parts of the physical pain spectrum — and vice versa. Secondly, trauma and repeated stress can physically alter the body in significant ways. PTSD creates a hyperactive amygdala and thus an overactive fear response. Additionally, PTSD shrinks the hippocampus, which prevents an individual from fully escaping their traumatized state.
All of this is a physiological manifestation of the Heart-Wall. The heart is exhibiting typical rhino-skin behavior. It is hardening itself to the pain it has endured; it’s creating a casing of emotional calluses. The resulting desensitization provides momentary relief, but it cripples the individual’s ability to give and receive love. Trapped negative emotions, such as anger, resentment, and sadness, are running the show, and that path does not lead to loving relationships.
What’s the gist?
Trauma and repeated stress has real physical impacts on the body, such as a hyperactive amygdala and a shrunken hippocampus.
These physical symptoms are a representation of the Heart-Wall, which is the energetic barrier around the heart built by trapped negative emotions.
How the Heart-Wall Gets Taken Down
Almost everyone has played at least a few games of Minesweeper. At first, the systems almost seem like gibberish. However, once you learn the basic rules for identifying mines, you start to poke around and make some progress. You put up a few red flags. You keep clicking. Eventually, you’ve cleared the entire field of danger. To dismantle your Heart-Wall, you have to start “poking around” the body — you have to sweep it for mines. The mind-body connection is repeatedly supported by science, and repressed emotions have a way of appearing and reappearing as physical symptoms. Not surprisingly, nearly 15% of all U.S. adults are now engaging in some sort of mind-body exercise.
Applied kinesiology, often referred to as “muscle testing,” is a biofeedback technique that allows you to identify and specifically locate the trapped emotions inside your body. Once located, these trapped emotions are released utilizing a combination of magnet therapy and focused intention. If the minesweeper metaphor doesn’t connect for you, you could also think of this process as a “lie detector” test for the body. If certain tension or stressors are discovered, that’s a clear indication that something psychosomatic is happening underneath.
What’s the gist?
Dismantling the Heart-Wall requires a commitment to mind-body exercises and a belief in the mind-body connection supported by science.
Muscle testing is a biofeedback technique designed to identify and release trapped negative emotions by way of magnet therapy or focused intention.
How This Can Impact Your Relationships
Imagine the difference between walking across a regular field and
traversing one filled with anti-personnel landmines. One involves walking — or even running — at whatever pace and in whatever direction you like. The other involves tip-toeing around one small area and hoping you don’t explode.
I believe the Heart-Wall is the greatest obstacle to happiness and meaningful connection. Without it, the heart is capable of so much more.
What’s the payoff?
Greater emotional expression & empathy. Dismantling your Heart-Wall allows emotions to move freely, which enables individuals to express love and affection more openly.
Improved connections with others. Without the Heart-Wall restricting and desensitizing true connections, individuals are much more able to pursue meaningful and lasting relationships.
Increased sensitivity to all things good. The Heart-Wall keeps bad things in — but, it also keeps good things out. Taking it down means a heightened ability to feel and appreciate positive emotions.
Tear Down That Wall
No, this isn’t the 1980s, and I’m not talking about the divide between East Berlin and West Berlin. However, as far as the individual spirit is concerned, this moment is just as monumental.
The Heart-Wall is what prevents so many of us from finding our joy and “feeling like we belong.” It is a roadblock to the relationships we deserve, and it routinely keeps us from moving forward. Dismantling that wall takes intentional work on the mind-body connection, including muscle testing and targeted introspection. That said, the rewards are an unobstructed roadway to a life of love and fulfillment.
by Dr. Bradley Nelson
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