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What Is Emotional Baggage?
You may have heard the phrase emotional baggage and wondered what exactly it means.
Clinically speaking, emotional baggage is essentially unprocessedtrauma, Dr. Romanoff explains.
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The term emotional baggage can be stigmatizing as it generally tends to have negative connotations in relationships.
For instance, people tend to avoid prospective partners whom they perceive as having too much emotional baggage.
Below, Dr. Romanoff outlines some of the signs and symptoms of unresolved relationshiptrauma.
Lack of Trust
A major sign ofunresolved traumaislack of trustin your relationships.
Painful past experiences can lead to stress, doubt, and trust issues.
Lack of trust can also be the result of dishonest parents or only being exposed to distrust in relationships.
This may manifest throughdifficulty with commitmentand being emotionally unavailable to new partners.
You might begin to live your life through a constrained lens that prevents you frombeing vulnerableor getting hurt again.
However, these thoughts and behaviors only make it more difficult to connect and enjoy your relationship.
You might also experience regret about decisions youve made in the past or guilt for your behaviors.
Ruminating thoughts happen automatically.
People who experience them usually feel exhausted by them and want it to stop, but feel stuck.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
Coping With Unresolved Trauma
Dr. Romanoff shares some strategies that can help you cope with unresolved trauma.
Recognize How Its Affecting You
The first step is to identify the metaphorical baggage youre carrying.
Recognize the impact it’s having on you and how it’s coloring your world today.
Its important to developself-awarenessand insight.
The distinction is what you do with those experiences.
A Word From Verywell
Traumatic experiences can change us and the way we view the world.
They can affect the way we function and make it hard for us to trust people again.
2014;23(2):185-vii.
