Feeling your Feelings
I was once facilitating a group in the hospital when a patient wandered in and asked what the topic was for the day. When I answered, “emotions”, he (jokingly) paused and turned on his heels to go back in the direction of his room. While he did decide to join the group, his reaction to the idea of talking about emotions was not surprising. Often, the topic of emotions or feelings leads to discomfort and a tendency to want to run in the other direction. Emotions or feelings can seem overwhelming, chaotic, or uncertain. In mainstream U.S. society, being labeled as an “emotional” person usually has a negative connotation. That means that we often learn to ignore, distract and disconnect from our emotional experience. In many cases, this response may have developed as a response to stressful or unpleasant emotional experiences, and it may have served you well for a time. However, over time, the more we try to disconnect, usually from the unpleasant emotions, you might notice that its...