Grownup Kids & Parents: ​3 Tips to Help Heal Relationships & Prevent Drama! by Dr. Bradley Nelson

As grownups we often have a hard time letting go of painful emotions associated with our parents due to our vulnerability when we were kids – the people who know us the best sometimes can hurt us the most. I've been treating patients and researching and lecturing internationally for more than 20 years on healing “trapped emotions” that damage our health and well-being.

All of us experience negative emotional extremes at times. Sometimes, for reasons that we do not yet understand, emotions do not process completely. In these cases, instead of us simply experiencing the emotion and then moving on, the energy of the emotion somehow becomes "trapped" within the physical body. So instead of moving beyond your angry moment, or a temporary bout with grief or depression, this negative emotional energy can remain within your body, potentially causing significant physical and emotional stress. Here are three tips:

• Take into account your parents’ emotional baggage. Heart-Walls™ are energetic barriers made of accumulated trapped negative emotions that can prevent people from freely giving and receiving love. When we understand that our parents’ hearts may be blocked by fear, anger or other negative emotions, it can help us to have compassion, forgive and let go of our own emotional baggage.

• Speak your mind without creating drama. Learn how to cope with insensitive family members – and where to draw the line. The key: Make it a non-emotional situation.

• Learn from your parents’ mistakes. Look at mistakes in a positive light –they helped you learn what NOT to do.

Above all, we should seek to approach our relationships with our parents with humility rather than blame. Your parents are just human, they're not supposed to be more.

Learn more by visiting DrBradleyNelson.com.