How To Handle Raw Emotions

By Kathleen Myers


Life is a journey with many ups and downs. There is no doubt that many of us have had to deal difficult situations at one time or the other. In some cases, the emotions are so overwhelming and one may feel that they are being driven to the edge. When raw emotions are triggered, they have the potential to lead to self destruction and severe relationships with the people we love the most. It is important for everyone to learn how to regain control over themselves whenever they find themselves in such situations.

One of the terms commonly used by psychologists to refer to stressful feelings and thoughts is emotional flooding. Perhaps the reason as to why this term is considered appropriate is because the thoughts are sudden and overwhelming, just like a flood. In most instances, there will be a predominant feeling in the foreground such as sadness, hatred, depression or fear. It is also common for feelings to change over time.

There are a number of well known triggers of deep emotions. They include, for example, recalling past events, the thought of a troubling future and present stressors. The affected individual tends to get lost in these thoughts to the extent of recreating the trauma and hurt suffered or is to be suffered. This serves to make things worse for them unless they adapt and develop a different perception of their situation.

There are a number of things that can be done to confront the unwanted deep emotions. These include, for instance, the practice of deep belly breathing. This exercise has been shown to be effective in reducing stress and promoting relaxation. The benefit is often in small incremental steps. The general advice is that the practice should be continues as long as the unwanted thoughts are present.

Steps should be undertaken to identify the feelings involved. Acknowledging and accepting the feelings will start off the process of getting better. Without doing this, one will end up in a closed emotional loop in which the emotions are likely to feed on themselves and worsen the situation.

Social support plays an important role in the coping process. Most people do not talk about their struggles until when things appear to be getting out of hand. A strong social support system will help to keep you in check if you appear to be heading in the wrong direction. Some of the potential sources of help include close friends, relatives, colleagues and religious leaders among others.

It is important to take a step back. This will allow you to take stock of your emotions and plan on the best way to respond. This means that you literally have to set aside some time to think about your feelings. It is not easy to make major decisions with so many other things playing out in the background. You will be surprised to discover that some cases are just an overreaction that was not warranted.

Dealing with various emotions is never easy and especially when they have just been triggered. Strong emotions may lead to self destruction if one does not know how exactly to handle them. Taking time to understand the feelings should be the first step towards deciding on the best way of handling them. It is important to always ask for help when you realize that what you are dealing with is making your life difficult.




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