Mommas Have Special Needs Too

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.  
 

Ep. 33 Choosing your struggle

If you have to struggle, which you do, you might as well choose it. Listen in to learn why choosing your struggle is awesome, what it is, and how it will help you struggle less. 

Ep. 32 Working with Medical Professionals

This is a huge part of your life if you have a child with medical needs and it can be tough. But it doesn't have to be. Listen in as I share what I learned and how I made it easier to work with my daughter's medical professionals. 

Ep. 31 Grieving

Some doesn't need to die to feel immense loss. How do you deal with this kind of grief? I share my experiences as well as what I have done to process and move through my grief. If you want this too, you'll want to listen in.  

Ep. 30 hardship versus resilience

It's hard and my life is limited versus I'm free and resilient. Where are you? Where do you want to be?

Ep. 29 Feeling good without changing my circumstances

I wallowed in self pity, disguised as "reality", for too long. Thought that all the negative emotions that I was experiencing was happening to me. I wish someone would have told it to me straight at the beginning of this journey. So today I do. 

Ep. 28 Unnecessary Suffering

There is a difference between suffering with a purpose and suffering unnecessarily. I'll tell what that is and why it is important when you have a child with special needs. 

Ep 27 Neuroplasticity

In this episode I introduce the idea of neuroplasticity and leave it open for interpretation of what it could mean for you and your families mental health.

Ep 26 Introspective Questions

In 1750 Benjamin Franklin, in his Poor Richard's Almanack, observed the great difficulty of knowing one's self, with: "There are three Things extremely hard, Steel, a Diamond, and to know one's self." And boy was he right. But I have found a gateway to starting the journey of knowing yourself better and more intimately and that is introspective questions. Introspection is the examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes. As I have asked myself questions that foster introspection I start to understand why I do what I do, say what I say, and think what I think. It has been enlightening and freeing for me. I hope it can do the same for you.

Ep 25 How to handle you anger towards doctors

Ever been angry with your child's doctors? In this episode I talk about when I was feeling angry and tried to avoid my child's doctor and what I discovered that helped me turn it around.