How to Process Your Emotions
psych2go:
There are nuances to every emotion, and during any given moment, you can experience contradicting feelings. The elusiveness of your emotions can cause anxiety and stress without you knowing why. Often, the pursual of understanding why can lead you down the path of rumination and negative thinking.
Though rumination and negative thinking can exacerbate mental health problems, overall, it is a problem in itself. While rumination and negative thinking can devolve into an unconscious habit, some techniques can help you find a balance between ignoring your emotions and feeling overwhelmed by them.
So, how can you process your emotions?
1. Journaling
Being able to process your emotions starts with becoming aware of them. A popular tool is journaling. Many experts recommend writing down your emotions as it has been shown to reduce stress. A study published in 2005 by Karen A. Baikie and Kay Wilhelm from The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Australia recapitulated the many immediate and long-term benefits of journaling. According to earlier studies, some of the objective physical benefits of journaling are improved physical health such as blood pressure, liver function, and improved immune system.
Although there is inconsistent evidence regarding whether or not journaling can improve psychological symptoms, a 2003 study found that expressive writing was beneficial for those with alexithymia, which has similar characteristics found among patients with psychosomatic or borderline personality disorders. Additionally, an article published by the University of Minnesota in 2016 found that expressing your emotions via writing, talking, or another medium, improved mental health in students who were refugees.
The key to successful journaling is contingent upon the way you journal. A successful method was to write about your deepest thoughts and feelings regarding an emotional issue that affected your life. While writing, the point is to let go. Allow your thoughts and words to be undisturbed. Do not worry about syntax or grammar. Just write. In the world of art theory and history, this journaling process is very similar to automatism. A concept that began in the Dada movement and was later used in surrealist art.
If you don’t feel comfortable writing down your thoughts, find a different outlet. There are many different ways to express yourself.
2. Ground yourself
Continue Reading…
there are no
bad feelings
wrong feelings
there are simply
harder feelings
grief, regret, sadness
anger, rage, loss
suppressing them
avoiding them
just dams them up
buries them underground
pressure builds and
they show up
in unhealthy ways
like pus squeezed out
of an infected wound
like pressure building
erupting in random, small geysers
until a volcano explodes
like pinhole leaks in a dam
that gradually expand into cracks
before the whole dam fails
feel them, process them,
let them flow through and observe
feel your feelings, honor them with their time
trace them back to the thoughts
that fed them, accept them,
seek to understand them
clean the wounds
so they can heal
