Valentine's
Day is full of love, happiness and romance....but not for everyone. This
"hallmark
holiday" can trigger stress, frustration and all kinds of
negative emotions that make us want to hide from our feelings, emotions and
pain.
As a
therapist, I help people focus on the positive and the good in their lives
everyday. I encourage gratitude
and mindfulness daily practices like Fill
Your BAG Happy and teach skills to re-frame
negative thoughts and interpretations to more positive and realistic ones.
That
being said, you would think that I would tell you that to be happy and healthy,
you should eliminate or avoid emotional pain or negative
feelings. That would make sense, right?
Well,
I’m actually going to tell you the opposite.
Avoiding
emotional pain and building those emotional walls can often do more harm than
good. Understanding and accepting life in all of its' imperfect beauty offers
us a healthier way to experience life.
If you
are someone who finds this day difficult, know you are not alone. Many people
feel like you do. Did you know that much of our suffering is caused by
our efforts to get away from emotional pain and less from the
original feelings themselves? Avoiding negative emotions may not be as healthy
as you think. In the book Radical Acceptance:Embracing Your Life With the Heart of
a Buddha, Tara Brach asked
"What
would it be like if I could accept life--accept this moment--exactly as it
is?"
In
answering this question, keep in mind that all emotions have a role to play in
our lives, even those that don't feel good at the moment. It can be okay (and
even healthy) to allow yourself to experience negative emotions. An important
thing to remember is that those emotions do not define you. What you
are feeling and who you are, are different. Feeling negative emotions and
practicing self-compassion and care are keys to embracing and accepting life as
it is with it's ups and it's downs.
To learn
more about benefits of negative emotions, continue reading my latest article "5 Reasons We Shouldn't Avoid Emotional
Pain" in EveryDayPower
Blog HERE!
Valentine's
Day is full of love, happiness and romance....but not for everyone. This
"hallmark
holiday" can trigger stress, frustration and all kinds of
negative emotions that make us want to hide from our feelings, emotions and
pain.
As a
therapist, I help people focus on the positive and the good in their lives
everyday. I encourage gratitude
and mindfulness daily practices like Fill
Your BAG Happy and teach skills to re-frame
negative thoughts and interpretations to more positive and realistic ones.
That
being said, you would think that I would tell you that to be happy and healthy,
you should eliminate or avoid emotional pain or negative
feelings. That would make sense, right?
Well,
I’m actually going to tell you the opposite.
Avoiding
emotional pain and building those emotional walls can often do more harm than
good. Understanding and accepting life in all of its' imperfect beauty offers
us a healthier way to experience life.
If you
are someone who finds this day difficult, know you are not alone. Many people
feel like you do. Did you know that much of our suffering is caused by
our efforts to get away from emotional pain and less from the
original feelings themselves? Avoiding negative emotions may not be as healthy
as you think. In the book Radical Acceptance:Embracing Your Life With the Heart of
a Buddha, Tara Brach asked
"What would it be like if I could accept life--accept this moment--exactly as it is?"
In
answering this question, keep in mind that all emotions have a role to play in
our lives, even those that don't feel good at the moment. It can be okay (and
even healthy) to allow yourself to experience negative emotions. An important
thing to remember is that those emotions do not define you. What you
are feeling and who you are, are different. Feeling negative emotions and
practicing self-compassion and care are keys to embracing and accepting life as
it is with it's ups and it's downs.
To learn
more about benefits of negative emotions, continue reading my latest article "5 Reasons We Shouldn't Avoid Emotional
Pain" in EveryDayPower
Blog HERE!
