Expressing Feelings
When an emotion is negative, once an outside stimuli or event acts as a trigger, the event and its presence in your conscious and unconscious mind is sometimes with you forever. However, by being fully aware of the process by which this happens, you can finally address those old issues and minimize their lasting effect. You do this by creating a new reality for yourself, readjusting your limiting beliefs and taking action from a place of positive feelings, not negative ones.
Why is Expressing Feelings Important?
- Feelings help us survive because it alerts us to everyday threats.
- Feelings promote emotional attachment and social interaction.
- Feelings support our growth.
- Feelings move us towards better health due to motivation and appreciation.
- Feelings reinforce creativity.
- Feelings connect us with all living things.
Try the “Traffic Light” Activity to Identify and Better Your Understand Feelings:
This is how it works
- Red light: Identify any current negative feeling that you are experiencing in a specific situation.
- Yellow light: Identify the specific event that provoked that feeling, and dissolve the negative feeling by:
• Naming the main judgmental thought that created this feeling and labeling it.
• Coming up with a few alternative neutral and positive meanings for your main judgmental thought. By doing this, you will assign new, reframed meanings to the event.
• Choosing the most attractive alternative meaning you came up with in the step above.
• Labeling the alternative positive feeling that has been consciously chosen in the step above. - Green light: Feel the alternative, positive feeling in your body.