Face Your Feelings to Avoid Catastrophe – It’s Going to Show Up Somehow

I’m going to share something very simple with you in this month’s article, but it’s something that’s not always easy. It’s a basic fact of life that every human being has emotions. It’s also a fact that we all have to work through our own personal struggles in life. They vary greatly and every person has a different threshold for what they can handle, but we all feel and we all hurt in our ways.

Even if you don’t realize it, you’ve been through trauma in your life. You could have experienced minor trauma or major trauma. When we experience trauma, we experience negative emotions that can sometimes greatly impact our lives. How do you respond to negative feelings? Do you freeze and do nothing, suppress them, find ways to get even, get angry? I hope not because these are negative ways of dealing with your feelings. They can lead to unhappiness, bad habits, more negative feelings and even addictions.  If Ignored, emotions will build up and, just like lava under the Earth, they will bubble up to the surface and come out from under one way or another.

Please give yourself permission to feel. It’s the best part of who we are…the part that makes us good. The correct way to handle your feelings is to work through them. You do this by acknowledging how you feel and allowing yourself to feel that way. In the society we live in today, we think we don’t have time to feel. But we need to slow down and just be. If you want to cry, stop and cry. If you need to scream, go somewhere private and scream your head off. If you’re happy or proud of an accomplishment, take a moment to celebrate how you feel. You deserve it!

There are countless ways to connect with your emotions and release anything that’s weighing you down. Here are just a few.

  • Try meditation. Get quiet and breathe deeply for a while. Focus on your breath and pay attention to what you immediately think and feel.
  • Use a journal to write down how you’re feeling. Often, people realize more about how they’re feeling when they write it down. And, it’s a great way to release what’s bothering you by leaving it on the paper you wrote it on.
  • Move your body. Ride your bike, jog, swim, dance. Allow yourself the physical release.

Remember, when we were kids and we didn’t have a bunch of baggage and negative emotions weighing us down? You can feel like that again if you simply give yourself permission to feel and release. So, like Nike says, “Just do it!”

I have a fantastic free Therapeutic writing course that could be a great fit for you if you want to try journaling. Those who have tried it have had great results. You could sign up for it here http://themuseskiss.com/.

If you need more one-on-one support with this, you can call me to learn more about how to get support at 601-684-9657 or e-mail me at DrB@patriciabrawley.com.