The 3 Types of Blocks (And Why You Might Have All Three)
Why Blocks Aren't All the Same
We all carry baggage. But have you ever stopped to ask what exactly this baggage is. Where did it come from? How can I get rid of it? How can I make it clear? Or as I always say, how can I make my slate clean?
Many times I discovered the blocks, thoughts, or beliefs that were not mine. Some were from my family, my mom and dad. Some from society. But some were indeed created by myself due to experience and trauma, or my constant repeat of a self-inflicting block (“Nobody’s perfect. I’m nobody.”). What we learn from family and society is how to respond to certain situations. These are there as norms, but they can be a block too.
There are three main types of blocks:
Ancestral blocks—from your family and ancestors, called patterns.
Trauma blocks—from your own experiences.
Belief blocks—limiting beliefs you've created through repetition.
The majority of us have all three.
Ancestral Blocks: Inherited Patterns
What Are Ancestral Blocks?
These patterns, fears, and beliefs get passed down in your family. Not just what you learned. The unresolved trauma of your family gets chiseled into your nervous system. Here’s how:
Your grandmother survived war by being hypervigilant. Your mother learned from her to always be "on guard." Then you learned to be in constant anxiety without even knowing why.
This is biology. It isn't just psychology.
Epigenetics research shows trauma can literally change your DNA expression. Rachel Yehuda at Mount Sinai Hospital studied Holocaust survivors' children. They had altered stress hormone profiles—even without direct trauma exposure. Their bodies were wired to expect danger because their parents' bodies were.
Your nervous system learned these ancestral patterns. They became inherited.
Not sure what energetic blocks actually are? Start here — this breaks it down simply.
Family Systems Theory (developed by Murray Bowen) shows how emotional patterns transmit across generations through "emotional triangles"—unresolved family issues that keep repeating. Your parents' unresolved fears become your automatic responses.
And here's the thing: mirror neurons in your brain learned emotional responses by watching your parents. You watched how they reacted to stress, and your brain created neural pathways that mimic theirs. You're literally wired to respond like they do.
Ancestral blocks feel like "just how things are." They're so normalized in your family that you don't even see them as blocks. They're “the way your family operates”.
They also run deep. They've been encoded in your nervous system since before you were born. Your mother's stress during pregnancy shaped your stress response. Your father's unresolved trauma shaped your attachment style.
These "family traits" are encoded survival strategies that helped your ancestors survive but now limit you.
How They Show Up:
Repeating family patterns (same relationship dynamics, same financial struggles, same health issues).
Unexplained fears or behaviors that don't match your personal experience.
Feeling like you're "destined" to repeat your parents' mistakes.
Inherited shame or guilt about things that aren't your fault.
Attachment patterns (anxious, avoidant, or secure) that mirror your parents'.
I used to get triggered by my brother. My reactions were really vivid and strong. The worst part is that I couldn’t pinpoint what exactly triggered me. It just did. Probably something from childhood. Or even before.
The good news? Clearing ancestral blocks breaks the cycles that have run in families for generations. You heal the lineage.
Trauma Blocks: Your Own Experiences
What Are Trauma Blocks?
These are blocks created by your own experiences. Big T trauma (abuse, accidents, loss) and little t trauma (rejection, humiliation, betrayal). Your nervous system labeled these experiences as threats, and now it's protecting you from similar situations.
You were rejected once, so now you push people away before they can reject you. You failed at something, so now you avoid challenges. You were hurt, so now you don't trust.
What's actually happening at a neurological level?
Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory explains how trauma gets stored in your autonomic nervous system. Your body develops "neuroception"—an unconscious surveillance system constantly scanning for danger, like an antivirus program on the computer. Even when your thinking brain knows you're safe, your nervous system is still on high alert.
This is the nervous system disconnect in action. Here's exactly why your body won't believe you're safe — even when your mind does.
Bessel van der Kolk's research in "The Body Keeps the Score" shows trauma lives in the body, not just the mind. Your fast and furious amygdala (the brain's alarm system) becomes hypersensitive. It's like your smoke detector is set to go off at the slightest hint of smoke.
And unlike normal memories, traumatic memories are stored differently. They're fragmented, sensory-based, and easily triggered. A smell, a sound, a feeling— and suddenly you're back in that moment.
Unlike ancestral blocks, you know exactly where these came from. You remember the moment. You can trace the pattern back to the experience.
Your nervous system is still in protection mode. It's still trying to keep you safe from that experience happening again.
The Science of Being Stuck:
Trauma creates "stuck" neural pathways. Your brain keeps firing the same stress responses over and over. It's like your nervous system is playing the same recording on repeat.
Chronic trauma also dysregulates your HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis), leading to sustained high cortisol levels. Your body is literally flooded with stress hormones, even when there's no threat.
But here's the hope: neuroplasticity means your brain can rewire itself.
Memory reconsolidation research shows traumatic memories can be "reconsolidated" when recalled in safe conditions, allowing for healing. Your nervous system can learn that the threat is gone.
How They Show Up:
Triggered responses to specific situations.
Avoidance patterns (avoiding relationships, challenges, certain places).
Hypervigilance in areas where you were hurt.
Repeating the same relationship dynamics or situations.
Physical symptoms when triggered (racing heart, freezing, dissociation).
Your "window of tolerance" shrinks over time—making you reactive to smaller stressors.
Until today I moved eight times. Each time it felt like a life reboot, but as soon as the moving excitement faded and life became stable and quieter, the old programs running in the background started to pop out the notifications.
Who likes the reminders? Well, me neither.
So I kept overriding them until I had enough. I used to avoid the notifications. I was repeating the same pattern. I was running away.
After all the clearing work that I’ve done, I don’t need to run away. Now I want to run towards. And this is a huge difference. Totally different place.
The key difference:
Trauma blocks are about your nervous system being stuck in a past response.
Clearing means teaching your body that the threat is actually gone.
Belief Blocks: Self-Created Prisons
What Are Belief Blocks?
These are blocks you created yourself. Through repeated thoughts, statements, and beliefs. You told yourself "I'm not good enough" so many times that your nervous system believed it. You said "I can't do this" so often that your body stopped trying.
These are the most deceptive and dangerous because you created them. You can uncreate them. But first, you have to see them.
The Neuroscience of Repetition:
"Neurons that fire together, wire together." This is the foundation of neuroplasticity. Every time you repeat a thought, you strengthen the neural pathway. Every "I'm not good enough" or "I can't do this" literally rewires your brain to make it true. Chiseling in the new belief.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming research shows the brain learns through repetition. What you repeat becomes your reality. Your brain doesn't distinguish between something you experienced and something you've told yourself a thousand times.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy shows how this works: thoughts create emotions, emotions create behaviors, behaviors create results. Negative self-talk creates self-fulfilling prophecies.
And it gets weirder: the placebo and nocebo effects show that beliefs literally change your biology. Believing you'll get sick can make you sick. Believing you'll heal can facilitate healing. Your mind is that powerful.
Why They're Sneaky:
Beliefs feel like truth. They feel like facts about who you are. "I'm not creative." "I'm bad with money." "I'm not lovable." These feel like truths, but they're just beliefs you've reinforced over and over.
And here's the thing: your nervous system doesn't know the difference between a real threat and a belief you've repeated a thousand times. It treats both the same way.
Robert Merton's concept of self-fulfilling prophecies explains this perfectly. Your beliefs shape your reality through confirmation bias. You believe you're not good enough, so you notice all the evidence that confirms it. You ignore all the evidence that contradicts it.
How They Show Up:
Self-sabotage (you're close to success, then you self-destruct).
Imposter syndrome (you don't believe you deserve what you have).
Perfectionism (you have to be perfect or you're a failure).
Procrastination (you believe you can't do it, so you avoid it).
Negative self-talk that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
You literally create the reality you believe in.
I used to say “Nobody’s perfect. I’m nobody”. It’s a funny word-play, but it has an impact.
Just recently I thought myself into a headache. But recognizing the inception point helped me clear it instantly.
The Power of Clearing Belief Blocks:
Belief blocks are often conscious choices that became unconscious patterns. When you clear a belief block, you're literally rewiring your neural pathways. You're breaking the repetition. You're teaching your brain a new truth.
Why You Might Have All Three
Here's the thing: you probably have all three.
Your grandmother survived war by being hypervigilant (ancestral). So your mother learned to be anxious in relationships (ancestral). Then you were rejected in a relationship (trauma). And now you tell yourself "I'm not worthy of love" (belief).
All three blocks are working together, reinforcing each other, keeping you stuck.
The ancestral block says: "This is how our family operates."
The trauma block says: "This is what happened to me."
The belief block says: "This is who I am."
And your nervous system believes all three. This is why some blocks feel so deep. This is why some patterns feel impossible to break. You're not just dealing with one block. You're dealing with layers.
But here's the good news: clearing works on all three.
A block is a block. When you clear a block, you're clearing it at the root, regardless of which type it is. What matters is how attached your mind is.
And when you clear all three layers? That's when everything changes.
The Invitation
You now understand your blocks. You know they're layered. You know they feel impossible to break.
The truth is: understanding isn't clearing. It’s coping.
Clearing is immediate. It's lasting. It's your nervous system learning the threat is gone.
If you're ready to stop carrying your family's unresolved trauma.
If you're ready to stop protecting yourself from what already happened.
If you're ready to stop defending beliefs that don't serve you.
Then it's time to clear. Your slate is waiting.
Are you second-guessing? Are you afraid? Even that is a block!
You’re not broken. You’re blocked. And blocks can be cleared.
Let’s puffff them….
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The content on this site is for informational purposes and reflects personal experience with shamanic clearing and energetic healing. It is not medical advice and does not replace professional healthcare. Please consult a licensed provider for medical or mental health concerns. Full disclaimer in Terms & Conditions.