Today I collected my dog, Temi, from the veterinary hospital as she had a lump removed from her head. She now has a Harry Potter type scar running down her forehead and she is so uncomfortable that she is crying regularly. This is from a dog that rarely cries. My heart is breaking. She must be so uncomfortable and in so much pain. I wish she could talk and let me know how she is feeling. I can’t do much except sit close to her and let her know that I am here. I know she isn’t a human being but right now it feels as though she is.
Pets become a part of our lives. It seems strange that my dog can’t use words, but she has her own way of communicating with us.
It’s putting me in such a state of discomfort right now that I have a tightness in my stomach which I know is due to anxiety and a feeling of helplessness.
Experiencing negative emotions is a part of life so I am not running to food to buffer my emotions. I am sitting here in discomfort (it’s not easy) and I’m letting this horrible feeling wash over me.
I know that she will be OK and therefore so will I.
When last did you feel an uncomfortable feeling and how did you deal with it?
When we have a negative emotion there are four ways that we can handle it:
- We can resist the emotion .Think about a beach ball that you are holding under water, to hold it under the water is to resist it and inevitably it will pop up to the surface.
- We can react to it. Just because we’re screaming and yelling doesn’t mean that we’re actually experiencing the emotion. It means that we’re reacting to it.
- We can distract ourselves from it. By overeating, overdrinking, overexercising or whatever OVER you would normally do to use as a distraction from your unwanted emotion. But not focusing on it, not thinking about it doesn’t mean that it’s not there.
Those are three options. The last option is to actually FEEL the emotion.
How do I feel an emotion?
- Allow the emotion to be there. Stay present with it.
- Describe the emotion in detail as though you are explaining it to a Martian. Once you start to describe it you are then able to separate yourself out as a compassionate observer.
- Name the emotion. Labelling your emotion helps you wrap your mind around what your body is experiencing.
- Be willing to be present with an emotion. This will require you to be uncomfortable. That’s what I did when I sat in discomfort and let the feeling wash over me.
That’s why I wrote this blog as it helped me to process the negative emotion I was experiencing without distracting myself by Over……
The next time you experience a negative emotion know that there is no emotion that can kill you. Don’t resist, react or distract, sit with it and know that the worst thing that can happen is just a physical sensation in your body and that it will pass.
Reference:
Brook Castillo. The life coach school.com
This post is part of the wellpreneur blog challenge. http://learn.wellpreneuronline.com/blog-challenge/