Understanding Emotional Displacement

What is Emotional Displacement?

The act of lashing out in an attempt to put others down is a reaction known as emotional displacement. People who feel anger and resentment toward others are truly suffering from a tremendous of anger towards themselves. We all have become the target of someone else's emotional displacement at various points in our lives; additionally, we all have targeted others in the same manner. So, it is imperative that we learn how to love and accept ourselves first, to dissolve feelings of self-hatred, in order to stop inflicting our own emotional displacement onto others. We are also responsible for developing the emotional intelligence required to stop allowing it to degrade our own self-esteem and sense of peace, in the event we are being targeted.

"[The mind] blames events or other people for 'causing' a feeling and views itself as the helpless, innocent victim of external causes. Actually, it's the exact opposite. The suppressed and repressed feelings [we experience] seek an outlet and utilize the events as triggers and excuses to vent themselves. Our triggers are set and ready to go off. In psychiatry this mechanism is called displacement. It is because we are angry that events 'make' us angry.

-Dr. David R Hawkins, Letting Go

If you become the target of another's expression of displacement, never allow it to shake your self-worth or trigger your own suffering:

"As long as you think that the cause of your problem is 'out there'- as long as you think anyone or anything is responsible for your suffering- the situation is hopeless. It means that you are forever in the role of victim, that you're suffering in paradise"

-Byron Katie, Loving What Is

"The actions of others do not have the power to grant you or deny you peace."

-Jac O'Keeffe

Your emotions, your self-esteem, your happiness, and your sense of peace is your own responsibility; not the responsibility of others. With enough support and proper mental health intervention, we all have the power to let go of pain and learn how to love ourselves, regardless what others may think or say about us. Do not allow other people's perception of you stifle your growth and prevent you from striving for the things you want in life. You deserve to love yourself, simply for being human. You also possess the right to take steps toward your own greatness and success, regardless what your past may look like, and regardless of what other people think or say about you.

"Please do not allow past pains and present frustrations to diminish your glory, stifle your invincibility and choke the unlimited possibilitarian that lurks within the supreme part of you. In a world that seeks to keep you down, build yourself up. In an epoch that wishes you would stay in the dark, step into your light. At a time that mesmerizes you to forget your gifts, reclaim your genius. Our world requires this of each of us. To be champions of our crafts, warriors for our growth and guardians of unconditional love—for all of humankind."

-Robin Sharma, The 5 AM Club

"Your past is a place to be learned from, not a home to be lived in."

-Robin Sharma, The 5 AM Club

Let go of your past pain and suffering. Fight daily to focus only on learning from pain and strive to keep moving forward. The pain and suffering we endure should not become what defines us as human beings. As I said above, never let anything discourage you from climbing towards greatness. Please keep going, because regardless of whether or not your perception of yourself allows you to see it, you truly are, worth every step.