First outlined in the ancient sacred text known as the ‘Vedas’ in 1500BC, ‘chakra’ literally translates to ‘wheel’ and are the energy centers of the body.
A person's chakras need to be opened and remain open in order for the individual to be healthy in mind, body, soul, and spirit.
When we experience troubles in our lives from social and emotional issues to physical ailments, it is thought that one or more of our chakras have become blocked, and reopening them will help the person to heal and restore inner peace.
The Heart Chakra also known as Anahata (अनाहत) embodies the color green and is the fourth primary chakra of the body.
In this article, we’ll be exploring the signs and symbols that the Heart Chakra may be blocked or in the process of closing.
The Signs And Symptoms Your Heart Chakra Is Blocked
As you might have guessed, the heart chakra deals with matters of the heart such as love, emotion, forgiveness, and healing.
Therefore, many of the signs of a blocked heart chakra involve being trapped experiencing the pains of past trauma, or not being able to move on from a past hurt.
Below is a list of some of the most common signs that your heart chakra needs some attention. However, please know that if you find yourself only partly resonating with some of the entries you should still consider giving your heart chakra some TLC to prevent future blockages.
1. Dwelling on a Previous Relationship
While reflecting on previous loves can bring a sense of bittersweet nostalgia, dwelling on the what-ifs or becoming hung-up on a relationship which is over and has been for some time is often a sign of a blocked heart chakra.
Not being able to let go and holding on to unrequited longing will close off your heart chakra and prevent you from moving forward in a healthy way.
If you find yourself frequently thinking of an ex and feeling sad or lonely, or become triggered when you hear they’re in a new relationship, then you need to recognize that these feelings aren’t constructive and are harmful to you and take the steps needed to reopen your heart chakra.
2. You Hold Grudges
While it's normal to hold a grudge for a short period of time as you navigate the fallout from a hurtful experience, holding onto these feelings for months or years, even after the person has moved out of your life or apologized to you is toxic to you.
This is a sure-fire way to seal your heart chakra shut, and without this chakra open it’s likely you won’t heal properly from your experience and let go of the grudge which is causing you so much emotional, mental, and spiritual harm.
Even though it’s hard, it’s always best to try to forgive and forget.
Not only does it give you the emotional high ground, but also safeguards your heart chakra from blockage.
3. You Have Trust Issues
We all carry a little emotional baggage with us.
It’s how we keep ourselves safe from falling for the same old tricks or negative behavior from others.
However, excessive emotional baggage will do nothing but weigh you down and prevent you from making new, healthy, and meaningful friendships and relationships.
While it’s natural for you to close off a little when your trust is broken, internalizing the actions of others and letting broken trust define you and your future decisions will close off your heart chakra and prevent you from healing and moving forward.
4. You’re Excessively Shy/Have Low Self-Esteem
The heart chakra is not only the center of our love for others but also the love we have for ourselves.
If you suffer from low self-esteem or are shy in social situations because you doubt your value to others then your heart chakra has likely become blocked.
If this is the case for you, (while this article isn’t going to go into how to open your heart chakra) I do just want to say that you matter, you are worth just as much as anyone else, and you deserve all the good in the world!
5. You Bottle Up Your Emotions
While no one likes treading on eggshells around an emotional tornado, there are healthy ways to express your emotions and keeping them bottled up isn’t one of them!
Bottling up intense emotion doesn’t just decrease your mental health (such as by causing increased feelings of anxiety) it can also impact your physical health too due to the amount of the stress hormone known as cortisol present in your body.
Opening your heart chakra can be an excellent way to release pent up emotion and refresh yourself with an emotional blank slate.
6. You’re a Commitment-Phobe
People can struggle to commit for many reasons.
As spiritual people, we’re naturally less commitment-centric than others, as we’re happy to go with the flow and like to view a situation from multiple angles and on multiple levels.
When it comes to matters of the heart, however, such as relationships, a lack of commitment whether caused by fear, or past experiences you haven’t recovered from, is a romance-killer, and can cost you your special someone.
While some anxiety surrounding big or long-term commitment is normal, when your heart chakra is closed you lack the self-confidence to be sure of your decisions as well as the healing ability to overcome factors that may have hurt you or held you back before.
7. You’re Putting Off Getting Out There!
If you feel lonely and feel ready for love but never take that next step, or avoid taking the plunge with someone you’ve been getting close to then your heart chakra is likely blocked.
As the heart chakra is the center of self-confidence and self-esteem it’s likely that the blockage is preventing you from having the ‘oomph’ to face the scary uncertainty of re-entering the dating pool.
Your blocked heart chakra may even be lowering your self-esteem and you might find yourself stopping yourself from getting out there because you don’t think you deserve to be loved.
8. You Can’t Let Go of Your Past Pain
Pain is certainly something that shapes us; as if we didn’t learn that the stove can burn we’d end up hurting ourselves over and over, but it isn’t something that should define us.
The same can be said for emotional pain, most commonly caused by family challenges, toxic friendships, and ended relationships.
While true trauma cannot be simply shrugged off, with work, often supported by a professional, you can limit your trouble to bad days or bad moments. The greatest challenge is recognizing that your past pain is holding you back or continuing to impact your life.
A blocked heart chakra can stop you from viewing your experiences and triggers objectively and can prevent you from properly healing meaning you aren’t able to let go of your past painful experiences.
9. You’re Plagued by Anxiety and/or Stress
A degree of anxiety and stress is natural in 21st-century lives.
From work deadlines to adult responsibility; a little stress can sometimes be what we need to push ourselves to achieve goals which we thought were impossible. In fact, stress and anxiety can be a powerful motivator; so long as it is handled in a healthy way.
Sadly, the fact of the matter is, few of us actually know how to handle our lives’ stresses and put our anxieties into perspective.
This will definitely be the case if you have a blockage in your heart chakra, and if ignored, the excess stress hormones in your body can start to have not just mental and emotional ramifications but physical ones too.
10. You Push Others Away
There can be many reasons why we push others away in our lives.
Sometimes it’s for our own wellbeing in the case of ridding ourselves of toxic individuals.
More often than not, however, and especially for those suffering from a closed or blocked heart chakra, it's from a misdirected need to protect ourselves. While shutting ourselves away from others does shield us from further harm or upset externally, it actually hurts us internally.
Closing ourselves off from others leads to feelings of loneliness and depression, worse it may also become a habitual negative coping mechanism.
When we push others away and live as lone wolves we don’t do anything to fix the problem that has caused us to feel this way in the first place. This is where working to open your heart chakra can help you to make positive steps forward and start to let people in again.
11. You Care for Others but Neglect to Care for Yourself
This is something which empathic individuals can struggle with, and maybe at a greater risk of this when their heart chakra becomes blocked.
While caring for others can be a great way to keep your heart chakra open and prevent you from falling into some of the others issues outlined on this list such as pushing others away, this mantra of care for others over care for yourself is not sustainable and you’ll quickly become burnt out.
As mentioned earlier, the heart chakra is not just a center for your love for others but also your love for yourself.
Keeping your heart chakra open will allow you to be more forgiving towards yourself and start to love and care for yourself.
Therefore, when this chakra becomes blocked or fully closed you’ll find it hard to take the time to love yourself.
Check out this article if you want to know more about practicing self love and acceptance.
Opening Your Heart Chakra
If you find yourself identifying with two or more of the problems on this list you likely have a blockage in your heart chakra that needs to be cleared.
Even if you only partly identify with an element on this list this still may be an indicator that your heart chakra isn’t fully open or is in the process of closing or becoming blocked.
With matters of the heart, or in this case the heart chakra, it’s essential you do not ignore them.
Just like feelings of unrequited love, trauma, or grudges, time is not a healer.
Instead, action needs to be taken to ensure you heal in a positive way and are able to move forward with a heart open to the world and all it has to give.
If you want to know how to unblock your heart chakra (or any chakra) check out this article. Or check out this article on the best essential oils for the heart chakra.
❤️ Related Post:
- 7 Signs You Have an Overactive Heart Chakra
- 7 Powerful Heart Chakra Stones & Crystals For Healing & Balancing
- The 7 Earth Chakras – Here’s Where Each One Is Located
I’m Chloe, an introverted, old soul, just trying to make my way in the world! Aside from studying and writing about the spiritual, I fill my spare time with reading and making all manner of things from knitted scarves to clay creations. I define myself as a ‘low-key Pagan’ and focus my attention on living a good, kind, and empathic life. For enquiries contact me at: [email protected]