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How Running Can Help You Process Negative Emotion
Sherrie Shepherd
I think it goes without saying that there are mental and emotional benefits to running, and exercise in general. I want to dig a little deeper into how running can aid you in accessing the emotions living inside you and how healing that can be for you, whatever those emotions may be.
There are many different ways we can use running to assist our emotional healing, but I want to focus on two specific ways — using running to avoid or buffer our feelings and using running to identify and express our feelings. Both can be useful. I will share some of my personal experiences to illustrate how this can benefit anyone, whether you are experiencing just a little emotional stress or deep emotional trauma.
(Note: if you are experiencing chronic mental illness, thoughts of hurting yourself or others, or in an unsafe situation, running may help, but please also seek professional help.)
“Another very powerful technique I have used recently in my personal life is “giving it away.”“
Running to Buffer Emotion
What does it mean to buffer emotion? Basically, this is the act of avoiding feeling our feelings, or putting off the inevitable task of having to face our feelings. I do not subscribe to nor recommend avoiding your feelings permanently or shoving down or ignoring them. This can lead to bigger, more dysfunctional problems in the future. What I’m talking about is when things get so heavy that you need to just put it down for a little while. Running is really great for this. Temporarily, you can literally run away from your problems.
A few years ago, I was experiencing a particularly stressful period of my life. It was big enough that it weighed on me both emotionally and physically. I’m a very visual person, and I use imagery a lot in my own personal thought work. I imagined my stress as “demons” that I envisioned as creepy, little gremlins that climbed on my back and wanted to come along for the ride while I attempted to run. I noticed that if I allowed my demons to come along for the ride, my run would feel labored and heavy and slow. So I started imagining myself, putting the demons down, sitting them on the side of the curb and explaining to them that they weren’t invited on my run, that they had to sit there and wait and I’d pick them back up when I was done. This technique helped me to literally put the stress down during my run. Sometimes they would tag along behind but amazingly, I was able to run faster without them on my back.
Another very powerful technique I have used recently in my personal life is “giving it away.” I imagine myself packaging my emotional burdens into a beautiful container, carrying it with me up the trail and figuratively and literally giving it to the mountain. This is powerful for me because I have a deep personal connection with nature. I think of the mountain as a living breathing entity that knows me and cares about me (this may also be considered connecting to a higher power, which can be very beneficial for emotional wellness). When I run into the mountains, bringing my burdens with me, I imagine Mother Nature, the mountain or the powers that be, taking them from me, holding them for me, freeing me from the burden of my negative emotion. Sometimes it’s hard to let go, and I find myself picking it back up on my way down, but sometimes I’m able to give my negative emotions a proper burial in the mountains. The payback I get is feeling the joy of running in those beautiful mountains!
“After your run, notice how you feel. Do you feel lighter, like the burden has been released? Or do you feel heavier, exhausted and depleted?“
Running to Identify and Express Emotion
Learning to effectively identify and express, or in other words, feel our feelings is essential in the healing process. Observing your own thoughts and becoming aware of what is going on in that brain of yours will help you to allow the feelings to completely cycle through you, and eventually find their way out. Self awareness takes concentration and intentionality.
One very effective method to achieve this is meditation. For some, meditation involves sitting cross legged in a dark, quiet room surrounded by candles and crystals, burning incense and playing soft soothing music while you practice breathing.
For me, running is meditation. The art of meditation is simply the act of connecting your mind to the present moment, to your body, and to your breath. While you run, take out your headphones and focus on your surroundings. How does the air feel on your skin? How do the trees and the flowers smell? What does the scenery look like? Focus on the rhythmic pattern of your feet hitting the ground, the blissful burn in your muscles, your breath moving in and out. Focus on complete relaxation as you become totally focused on being aware of everything inside you and around you. Stay in this moment. Then channel your attention to your thoughts. What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Invite those emotions to flow freely. How do they feel in your body? Where do you feel them? Inhale, exhale. Feel. You may feel physical sensations arise. A lump in your throat, or a pit in your stomach. You might feel a proverbial punch in the gut or sobs welling up from your chest. Let the tears flow. Maybe you feel immense joy and gratitude, or the urge to laugh out loud. Go ahead, laugh! Maybe you feel anger or rage, maybe you need to drop a few expletives. Notice how your body reacts to these emotions. Do they weigh you down and slow your run? Or do you find yourself running faster? There is no right or wrong. Just simply observing, with curiosity and compassion for yourself.
After your run, notice how you feel. Do you feel lighter, like the burden has been released? Or do you feel heavier, exhausted and depleted? You may even want to write down how you feel after you run.
Both of these techniques can be effective in dealing with emotional stress. You might find that you prefer one over the other or go back and forth between both. Pay attention to your thoughts and listen to what your body is telling you. Keep practicing awareness, self acceptance and love. And just keep running!
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