CBT helps change thoughts to shift feelings and behaviors—but it’s only part of the process. Lasting change requires healing the deep emotional wounds beneath those patterns, including hidden, bodily-stored memories. Without this, old survival habits resurface under stress, making new behaviors hard to sustain. True transformation means tending to the roots, not just trimming the branches.
What you suppress doesn’t disappear. It lingers—in your body, your reactions, your patterns. It shows up in the way you over-explain when someone looks irritated, over-apologize for things that aren’t your fault, avoid conflict to keep the peace, or shut down when emotions rise. Unprocessed emotions don’t fade with time, they wait for you, quietly shaping how you see yourself and the world around you.