MACON, Ga. — We can carry things on from job to job, relationship to relationship, situation to situation, but hurt and anger can stack up if you don't let go.
This week we're learning how to unpack that baggage that can weigh you down or even blind you to blessings in your life.
Lanai Coleman knows as life goes on, people can forget to unpack the emotional baggage picked up along the way.
"When I do have that baggage, and I'm not dealing with it, it's way harder to go out and do events or just have energy to do anything other than laying down," says Coleman.
Coleman says not only can she feel emotional baggage impact her energy but the weight of it is also felt.
"It almost feels like someone's pressing on my shoulders or you're constantly having the longest day ever, like every single day," says Coleman.
"We're always carrying issues with us that we should have worked through over time. If those things aren't resolved, they bubble up in the present moment," says Tiffeny Davis, a licensed professional counselor specializing in trauma.
Davis says that unpacked baggage can lead to trauma responses and other mental health issues.
"It can really wreck your mental health because it's almost like the unfinished business is stored in our body," says Davis.
Davis says it may even impact you physically. Providing ourselves with healthy comfort helps.
"Good coping strategies such as getting out there walking, calling someone who is safe to us and talking through stuff," says Davis.