Life can feel like a roller coaster and at times I feel like my emotions are going on a roller coaster ride of their own.
For so many years I hid my emotions, thinking it wasn't okay to feel angry, sad, overwhelmed...in fact I thought if I felt these emotions I wasn't strong enough, good enough, and something was seriously wrong with me...wow was I so wrong.
Our emotions are here to show us where we need to heal, what we need to learn and they helps us grow...if we let them show us the way.
Have you ever felt like a bottle of champagne...not the sparkling bubbly part of it but like someone shook it and you're about to explode?
This was me for years and I really do mean years. So whatever is showing up today, feel it, own it, give it a hug and then lovingly let it go.
Here's a cool tool I learned that helped me at the beginning of my emotional-friendly relationship with myself.
It's a 4 step process:
Step 1 - Name it -> What are you feeling?
Step 2 - Claim it -> Don't shy away from it, you are allowed to feel, you're human.
Step 3 - Feel it -> Really, truly feel it. Hit a pillow, cry, let your emotions out.
Step 4 - Release it -> A couple ways I do this is either write it down, talk it out with someone you trust, and ask yourself "What is this trying to teach or show me?"
Remember your emotions (all of them) are your friend...let them in, give them a hug, then let them leave after a loving, friendly hangout. It's awesome to have friends over to visit but you don't want them to crash at your place forever, right?
So the next time you try to push your feelings down and ignore them, find a place and a technique to let them out safely and lovingly instead. And remember that life can be like a roller coaster, so you might as well strap in and enjoy the ride!