Why Acknowledging Your Emotions is an Important Part of Moving Through Them

Facing painful emotions can be incredibly difficult, regardless of their cause.

So, whether you are dealing with uncertainty, loss, illness, fear, financial difficulty, shame, guilt, sadness, or a breakup, the pain inside can be unbearable.

For this reason, people often dissociate or ignore their suffering, but you will transcend painful emotions faster by facing them.

Face painful emotions by allowing yourself to feel them

I have experienced a lot of pain and trauma in my life.

In fact, I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression and suffered for many years because I did not benefit from medication.

So, I was forced to find another way to heal, and facing painful emotions did not come naturally to me because my tendency was to bottle up my pain.

Now, I have learned that this is not the way and it is possible to heal and be free from suffering with patience and compassion.

First, get rid of the idea that you need to feel better.

This puts pressure on yourself and is like punching yourself in the head to get rid of a headache.

It only makes things worse.

For this reason, thoughts like these inadvertently add to your suffering:

Why am I so depressed?
What’s wrong with me?
I should be able to handle this better!
Why do I always feel so anxious?
I must get out of this rut!

If you have any of these thoughts now, let them go.

When you tell yourself that you NEED to feel better, you are essentially saying; what I am feeling right now is not okay.

This indirectly intensifies anxiety and depression and leads to further internal conflict.

Perhaps this idea comes from societal pressure, as we are often expected to put on our best face and shut out anything that would be deemed as “negative”.

Allowing yourself to feel your emotions is not a passive approach.

This does not mean you forego the desire to feel better altogether.

Nor does it mean you remain identified with depressive and fearful states, or that you stop taking action to improve your situation.

Rather, this approach requires strength and wisdom to allow the emotional sensations to be there, without being attached to them.

In other words, your emotions are there and to deny them is no different from denying reality.

Furthermore, the more you allow them to be there, the less they will disturb you.

In fact, resistance to them causes more pain than the actually sensations you feel.

Consequently, accepting how you are feeling is a relief from the resistance you may have.

Give yourself permission to fully experience your emotional state. 

Placing pressure on yourself to feel and do better, can be extremely demotivating. Hence increasing feelings of sadness, dissatisfaction, and anger.

Emotions are perfectly natural even when they make you uncomfortable.

So, by facing painful emotions and accepting where you are, you will have more clarity when deciding how to move forward.

Do not reject, push away, or fight your feelings.

Emotions are always coming and going, don’t bother fighting with them. They will eventually go on their own.

Ignoring painful states of mind is like not wanting to look under the bed as a child.

You must be willing to fully look under the bed rather than turning on a nightlight.

Fear tells you that if you look, you will be consumed by what you may find.

By listening to this voice of fear, you remain identified with the fear and your pain.

Alternatively, by accepting that you are afraid you recognize your avoidance and see how you are being impacted.

It is only once you acknowledge your emotions that you can begin facing them.

If you never face painful emotions, the fear to look will never go away.

Now, in extreme situations where this is a lot of trauma, it is advised to seek help from someone who can help you work through your pain in a safe space.

Otherwise, fighting and suppressing your feelings will only intensify and perpetuate hostile states of mind, causing them to live on inside you and emerge another day.

Ever wonder why that random burst of anger occurred at a relatively small situation? Anger is rooted in pain.

If we all took the time to process our own pain instead of projecting it out into the world, we would live in a more peaceful society.

Therefore, do not reject sorrow; allow it to be there.

Sorrow can teach you compassion. Compassion will bring you to love, and love will bring you back to joy.

Find your way back to joy through love and compassion.

Don’t identify with these states.

Allow emotions to have their place and continue to take action as needed, but also recognize when you need a break.

It is said that there is a time for movement and a time for stillness.

As you bring more awareness into your inner experiences, your level of discernment will grow to understand what is needed in the moment.

You will be able to move through life effortlessly, even while experiencing intense emotional states.

Know that whatever you are dealing with, you can handle it and it will not consume you.

These are natural human experiences and they are perfectly okay, even when they’re painful.

Just sit and breathe through it, and always remember this too shall pass.

Sending you endless love,

Ravelle

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