Are You Experiencing Emotional Pain? How To Grow From Heartache

Emotional pain can be challenging to cope with. If you're experiencing pain in your heart, unrelated to a heart attack or other health concerns, or difficult emotions, you might not be sure how to proceed. Knowing that emotional pain can lead to both physical and mental health symptoms can be one place to start. If you are thinking, “my heart hurts emotionally”, you're not alone in the pain you're feeling. 

Certain physical illnesses or circumstances, such as a clog in your coronary arteries or severe allergic reactions, may leave you with heart-related pain. However, this pain is often unrelated to physical illness. Despite the discomfort, extreme grief, sadness, fear, stress, or other emotions can be a cause of physical ailments. In these cases, learning how to control your emotions can be beneficial. Many people also find counseling supportive during these times.

How To Cope With Heart Pain And Emotional Pain 

Your heart health, whether physical or emotional, can be important to maintain. While it can be challenging to experience painful situations, there are ways to learn from these experiences and recover. The following tips may guide you as you learn to cope with your emotions. Note that suppressing emotions can increase physical and emotional challenges, so being open and willing to cope with them is often the healthiest option. 

Discover What You Can Learn From This Situation 

Many people find themselves in situations that cause heartache at some point in their lives. If you find yourself in this place, consider processing the situation to see what you can learn about yourself or others as you advance. 

For example, if a significant other disrespects you, consider what signs you might look out for in your next relationship to avoid these patterns. You can also consider your boundaries with this individual to defend yourself from harm. Emotional pain often teaches lessons and can tell you when you're in an unsafe situation or unhappy. Keep these things in mind as you move forward. 

If you are facing or witnessing abuse of any kind, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 for support. Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text "START" to 88788. You can also use the online chat. 

Tap Into Your Support System

If you feel your pain is too much to handle alone, talking with a family member or friend you can trust may be beneficial during stressful situations. Researchers have found that social connection can increase physical and emotional health, which may help you relieve your physical symptoms.

When you talk to these people, let them know how you feel and what you need from them. Heartache may be a sign that you need someone to spend time with to help distract you from sitting in your pain. Your family and friends may also have a unique perspective to support you through these feelings. If you do not have a close support system, consider the following options: 

• Making friends in online support groups
• Attending an in-person support group 
• Joining a club at your university
• Attending a meet-up with a group in your town 
• Going to events in your city and talking to people to make friends
• Talking to a therapist 

Acknowledge Your Ability To Persevere 

There may be times when you feel as if you can't make it past a particular heartache. In these cases, reflecting on other times you have experienced emotional pain and persevered may be beneficial. If you have lived through an experience you weren't sure you could handle, such as a breakup or the loss of a loved one, consider thinking of any newfound strength you could tap into because of this experience. Doing so may help you build confidence to face the situation at hand.  Knowing that you overcame a situation where you felt intense heartache and survived can help you build resiliency.

Look For Ways To Help Others

When you go through difficult situations, it can open a door for you to help others going through similar situations. At a certain point in your recovery process, it may help you take a step forward if you take your focus off yourself and use your time and energy to help someone else. 

If someone is going through a situation similar to what you have been through, you may be able to empathize with them more than others. You may be able to use your experience to encourage them to continue moving forward as well. Helping others can also give you a sense of purpose, showing you that you make a positive difference in the world. 

Seek Professional Support

It can be easy to feel stuck in emotional pain. You might struggle to recover and move past it. If you feel trapped in your pain, consider contacting a counselor for further support. A licensed therapist can be a guide as you move through these experiences and teach you to cope with stress induced physical symptoms and emotional pain. If you feel hesitant to reach out to a therapist in person for any reason or can't afford face-to-face counseling, you might also benefit from online therapy. 

Online counseling can make receiving support easier for people experiencing emotional pain. Seeing a counselor from home online can make you feel comfortable during challenging moments. In addition, online therapy is often hundreds of dollars cheaper per month. Studies have found it more cost-effective than most forms of face-to-face therapy. 

Research in the field of psychology has found online therapy to be an effective alternative to in-person counseling. One study suggested no significant differences between internet-based therapy and the traditional office-based variety in terms of positive client outcomes. To get started, you can complete a brief questionnaire through a platform like BetterHelp to receive support within 48 hours.