Written by Karla Gregg
How Releasing Emotional Baggage Builds Real Self-Trust
We’ve all had moments where our emotions seem to take over, someone says something that hits a nerve, or we carry guilt over something we did or didn’t do. These moments don’t just pass; they stick with us. And when they stay unprocessed, they show up in how we lead, love, and live.
Maybe you’ve noticed yourself reacting more strongly than a situation calls for. Or you’ve been stuck in a loop, repeating the same patterns in your relationships, career, or decisions. These reactions aren’t random. They’re signals pointing to something deeper.
Most people don’t realize that these responses are tied to stories we’ve carried for years. Stories like “I’m not enough,” “Love always ends,” or “I’ll never get it right.” These beliefs live in the subconscious, and they quietly shape the way we show up.
The Season That Changed Everything
In 2019, I lost my job as a social media producer for shows like American Ninja Warrior, moved back in with my mom at 28, and felt the quiet ache of loneliness after a string of missed romantic connections. On the outside, it looked like a temporary setback. Internally, I was unraveling.
Spiritually disconnected and emotionally ashamed, I buried my feelings and kept busy. I filled my calendar, launched projects, dated, and stayed in motion, thinking productivity would fix the ache. The more I avoided my emotions, the more I abandoned myself.
In 2020, something shifted. I started meditating, examining my triggers, and reconnecting with myself, especially at the subconscious level. That’s when I came across a practice called Ho’oponopono, the Hawaiian prayer of forgiveness: “I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.” It cracked something open in me. It allowed me to release the shame and hurt. Not long after, I discovered Mental and Emotional Release® (MER®).
This work helped me see how deeply unprocessed emotions impact how we show up. It reminded me that self-trust isn’t built by doing more but by releasing what’s no longer true.
Step 1: Understand Your Story
Emotions are messengers. They’re not here to be ignored or judged. They’re here to guide you back to something unresolved.
That trigger you felt in a conversation? It likely ties back to a past experience that shaped your beliefs about yourself or the world.
In NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), this is known as your internal representation system. Your mind filters current situations through your past. If you’ve been hurt before, your brain might be scanning for red flags, even if they’re not there.
That’s why you can logically see someone as safe, yet still pull away. Your nervous system is responding to an old memory, not your present moment.
Self-trust begins with awareness: What story are you living in?
Where did it come from? How old were you when it formed?
Step 2: Release the Baggage
Awareness is powerful, but it’s not enough. You can’t think your way out of emotional pain. It lives in your body. That’s why I guide clients through Mental and Emotional Release®, a timeline-based technique that clears unresolved emotions at the subconscious level.
We focus on clearing core emotions like anger, sadness, fear, guilt, shame, and hurt.
These emotions impact more than your mindset. They affect your confidence, relationships, and physical health. Carl Jung said, Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
Many reactions, such as people-pleasing, shutting down, and overachieving, are actually protective habits. They’re your nervous system trying to keep you safe from past pain, even if that pain no longer applies. By releasing these emotions at the root, you create space to respond instead of react. You move from fear into presence.
Fear isn’t rational. That’s why willpower alone doesn’t work. To fully let go, the shift has to happen at the unconscious level.
A Quick Self-Led Reset (for Daily Grounding)
While MER® is a guided process, here’s a simple exercise you can use when emotions feel overwhelming:
The 5-Minute Emotional Grounding Practice:
- Name the emotion: “I feel ___.”
- Locate it in your body: Close your eyes. Is it a tight chest? Heavy stomach? Clenched jaw?
- Breathe into the sensation: Inhale for four counts, hold for 4, and exhale slowly for 6. Repeat 3 times.
- Ask what it needs: “What is this emotion here to tell me?”
Offer compassion: Place a hand on your heart.
- Say, “It’s okay to feel this.”
- “I don’t have to fix it all right now.”
- “I’m safe to be with myself.”
Even five minutes of emotional presence can shift your state. It’s about not abandoning yourself when things feel hard so you can trust yourself more.
Step 3: Choose a New Outcome
Once the emotional charge is released (whether it’s fear, guilt, or grief), you get to choose how you want to show up. This is what real self-trust looks like.
Setting a boundary without guilt
Letting in healthy love because you trust yourself to receive it.
Showing up in your career without replaying the old failure story
When you’re not led by old emotions, you lead from clarity. Emotions aren’t the enemy, but unprocessed ones will keep you from being able to trust yourself. Learning to release what no longer serves you is one of the most freeing things you can do for your health, your relationships, your confidence, and your peace of mind.
You don’t have to wait for a breakdown to begin. You can start now by getting curious about your story, letting go of the weight, and choosing a new way forward.
You deserve to trust yourself and to build a life that reflects your truth, not your fear.
“Self-trust isn’t built by doing more; it’s built by releasing what’s no longer true. When we clear the emotional weight we’ve been carrying, we finally make space to hear our own wisdom.” — Karla Gregg
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