Feelings quietly run our lives. They shape what we say, what we do, how we treat others, and the decisions we make every day. Understanding them — especially the unwanted ones — is one of the most valuable things we can do for ourselves.
Feelings come in two broad varieties: those that lift us up and those that weigh us down. The positive ones feel light, expansive, and energising — the colour and warmth of a life well lived. But negative feelings are something else entirely. They can stop us in our tracks, push us toward choices we later regret, and quietly erode our happiness, relationships, and sense of self.
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Where Negative Feelings Come From
Research conducted over many years has arrived at a striking conclusion: we create all of our own feelings. At first, this might sound like unwelcome news — but it carries within it something genuinely hopeful. If we are responsible for creating these feelings, we are also capable of releasing them.
Positive feelings are created consciously and cause us little trouble. Negative feelings, however, are different. They are born in moments of overwhelm — a shock, a trauma, a loss, or a time when life felt like it was falling apart entirely. In those moments, something becomes lodged inside us, and we carry it forward without realising it.
The research describes this as being stuck inside a “bubble” of the original overwhelm. Long after the event has passed, whenever life echoes it even slightly, we are pulled back in — re-experiencing the same old feelings as though the wound were fresh.
Two common examples:
A person who loses a partner in tragic circumstances and, years later, still feels the same raw grief — they are still living inside that bubble.
A normally calm person who suddenly erupts in rage over something small — they have been “triggered,” pulled back into the emotional charge of an earlier upset and acting it out in the present.
The more often these negative feelings are replayed, the stronger they grow and the weaker we become. Eventually, they stop being reactions — they become the lens through which we see everything.
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Signs That Old Feelings May Be Running Your Life
Ask yourself honestly whether any of the following ring true:
• You frequently react in the moment and regret it almost immediately
• You lose your temper easily or carry a constant undercurrent of stress
• Relationships tend to be a source of pain rather than joy
• You struggle to concentrate, study, or retain new information
• You live with depression, anxiety, or a specific phobia
• You are experiencing postnatal depression
• You are a veteran living with PTSD
• Sleep is difficult, or recurring nightmares disturb your rest
• Procrastination has become a pattern that holds you back
• Projects and goals pile up, unfinished
• Low self-esteem or a lack of confidence limits what you attempt
These are only some of the difficulties that have responded to this approach — often quickly and permanently.
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Imagine Life Without the Weight
Take a moment to genuinely picture it: moving through your life without the drag of old emotional wounds. Full access to your energy, your clarity, your potential. Simply yourself — your true self — unencumbered.
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The Method: CAUSISM and the Mace Energy Method
The body of knowledge underlying this approach is called Causism — named for its core principle: address the actual cause of a problem, not just its symptoms.
Traditional talking therapies often focus on retelling the story of what happened. This research has found that rehearsing the story provides no lasting relief — and can sometimes make things worse. What matters is not the event itself, but the negative feeling that was formed in response to it and never released. When that feeling is properly addressed, the story loses its power.
The practical application of this is called the Mace Energy Method, developed by John Mace of Perth, Western Australia. The name reflects a key insight: every negative feeling holds a portion of your energy and potential captive, locked away in old pain. When that feeling is released, the energy comes back to you — available again for your life, your relationships, your future.
A useful analogy: it is like recovering money from a bad investment. Nothing is wasted permanently — it simply needs to be reclaimed.
Importantly, this method requires no self-disclosure. You do not need to revisit or recount traumatic experiences. Sessions are typically brief —two is often sufficient — and can be conducted remotely.
Many people have described working with this method as a turning point. As a notable added benefit, a number of clients have reported that long-standing physical complaints resolved on their own once the underlying emotional burden was lifted.
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