february 6, 2018
Sometimes, we have intense emotions that are difficult to manage, such as anger, shame, depression, or anxiety. Difficulties controlling these emotions often lead to problematic behaviors that affect us and those around us. Problematic behaviors are often ineffective solutions to intensely painful emotions. We then find ourselves in a never-ending cycle of feeling overwhelmed by intense emotions and wanting to shut our feelings out completely.
Instead of this turbulent, emotional merry-go-round, we CAN learn to tame our emotions and take hold of them so that we can keep showing up fully in our lives and connect with the people and experiences that matter to us.
“Emotions” isn’t a dirty word – in fact, emotions offer us a lot of valuable information. Emotions provide us with a signal that something is happening so we can check out the facts. It’s a problem when we treat emotions as if THEY are the facts about the world. For example: “If I am afraid, there must be a threat,” or “I love him, so he must be good for me.” We need to be mindful that emotions are not facts. Therefore, it is important to check the facts about the situation – and our Mindful awareness of our emotions give us the signal to go ahead and check on the facts.
They also motivate and prepare us for action. The action urge connected to specific emotions is often “hardwired.” For example, when we hear a loud horn beep suddenly, we startle. Emotions save time in getting us to act in important situations. Our nervous system activates us (e.g., we instantly jump out of the way of an oncoming car). We don’t have to think everything through. Strong emotions can help us overcome obstacles— in our mind and in the environment.
Yet, sometimes, we take action without working through the facts and it doesn’t always turn out in our favor.
One of the favored topics in the Mindfulness Matters group focuses on learning to understand the emotions we experience so that we can identify, observe, and describe our emotions in order to know what they do for us. That way, we can uncover whether they are working for us or hindering us from getting what we want in this moment.
We go on to discover ways to reduce our emotional vulnerability to and stopping unwanted emotions in the beginning stages so we can let go of painful emotions when they start and increase positive emotions! This way, we can reduce our emotional suffering.
P.S. We go through these skills in more depth through a 8 session group in Mindfulness Matters !
Space is limited to ensure that everyone in the group feels heard and has a meaningful experience.
Register for a screening here: http://www.subscribepage.com/mindfulnessmattersgroup
I will be CLOSING the cart on registrations in just 10 days on February 16th so be sure to claim your seat!
Don’t forget that I post tips, tricks, information, and even more resources on my Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , and YouTube pages – along with a Mindful Monday mini-series on the “ Beyond the Couch ” podcast so that you have an overflowing supply of tools to get you feeling like your best self in the life you want to celebrate!
Comment below and tell me how you took hold of your overwhelming emotions!
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