Ep. 34 Processing Your Emotions

We are creatures of emotion. Our emotions are a huge part of our human experience. We chase emotions like pleasure, happiness, and fulfillment and we run away from emotions like pain, sadness, and overwhelm. But did you know you can't run away from your emotions? It's impossible. They will always catch up. The best way to live a life of wholeness, which involves a lot less persistent negative emotions by the way, is to process your emotions; to allow and notice them. In this episode I will share with you how to process your emotions which will lead you to a life of more wholeness, peace, and contentment. 

 

Below is the process and questions I promised. Enjoy. 

 

Hello!

So glad you have decided to take care of your mental health and do the work! I am so excited for you to see and feel and peace, contentment, and freedom that comes with doing this work. Below you will find the steps of Allowing and Noticing laid out. Remember this is a life long journey not a quick fix. All the little shifts add up and make a huge difference!

 

• K, so, allowing your emotions looks like pulling up a chair and inviting your emotion to sit down and stay. You are feeling it, not acting on it. It is thinking about your emotion as a separate entity than you. Almost like this emotion is another person entirely that has come to visit you. So you hold still, go internal, and sit with it. This is allowing it. You aren’t running away from your emotion and you aren’t pushing it away from you. You are just allowing it to be there with you.
• Now were are going to notice it by asking yourself these questions and listening for the answers.
• Where is _(emotion)_ located in my body? Can be more than one location. No right answer. Just observe and go with it. Then choose one location, if you had more than one and go there.
• What does _________ look like in your my body at that location?
• What form is _________ taking? A person, a shape, and animal, an object?
• Does ________ feel heavy or light?
• Is ________ moving or still?
• What color is it?
• Is it doing anything? If so, what?

At this point feel free to go to one of the other locations in your body that you felt __________ in and ask the same questions of the _________ in that location. Notice if it is the same or different. Once you have done that then go back and forth between the two locations asking yourself “what is happening now? Has anything changed?” And just notice what is happening. No hard fast conclusions, just noticing. You are in a dialogue of sorts with _(emotion)_. What is it trying to tell you with all of this?

The goal is to see, hear, and understand the emotion.

When you start to wrap up your processing session just notice that this is how you feel that emotion. This is what feeling this emotion looks like for you. Then ask yourself “What do I think about ________?” “Am I trying to hide or run away? Am I fighting with __________? Is _________ covering up another emotion?” Etc. Again, no right or wrong answer here.

*insert the name of the emotion in all the blank spaces. Remember that emotions are one word descriptions such as overwhelm, sadness, angry, frustration, etc.

 

Remember this is a continuing daily work, like sleeping or eating. Keep at it and you will start to see and feel the improvements. It is worth it! You are worth it. You got this.