Managing Reactions to Emotions

We are all feeling so much right now. And as humans, we often want our emotions to fit neatly in a box - we want to understand why they are happening, exactly what situation caused them, and we often feel an immense pressure to be happy. This translates to shame around negative emotions and trying to control them. And trying to control your emotions can create even more tension and stress.⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Distilled down, this pressure and control is fear; you may feel fearful of tough emotions and have a lack of trust in your ability to process them. You might also have societal shame & shadow around what not feeling happy 100% of the time means about you - “I’m negative, ungrateful, unlovable, etc.” This is really common and you certainly aren’t alone.⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⁣

We need to reframe this, ESPECIALLY right now. Yes, humans are innately deserving of feeling joy and happiness, but we also feel every other emotion on the spectrum, and that is perfectly normal. In fact, it’s healthy and it's part of the human experience. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

All of our DIs (Deep Imaginings) or DREs (Daily Reprogramming Exercises) are also great tools to aid in processing emotions. The Emotional Clearing DRE (available in the free Anti-Racism Tools) really holds space for you to move through whatever you’re feeling and helps get your nervous system back to a state of neutral and calm. If you experience shame around allowing yourself to feel, you can also take this through the Shadow & Inner Child DRE (also, available in the Free Anti-Racism tools) to help yourself get to the root of not being allowed to feel in childhood and reprogram.

So, give yourself complete licensing to feel. When your reaction to difficult emotions is no longer trying to control them, that in itself can free up some of the emotional tension you’re experiencing.⠀

Photo by Mitchell Luo