Do we really need our emotions, even the 'negative' ones?
"Emotions are biological communications that need attention."
"You’re not weak for having emotions, your brain and body are working correctly."
Hilary Jacobs Hendel continues explaining in a post:
Emotions are a fact of being human. All people, men, women, and every gender are wired for anger, sadness, fear, disgust, joy, excitement, and sexual excitement.
It’s when we are judged, shamed, or abandoned for our core emotions that we start to feel chronically anxious or depressed.
Emotions are a part of everyone's daily experience. They are biological communications that need attention.
Emotions make us feel alive. Our thoughts are flat. It’s emotions that give oomph and color to lives. Emotions are, above all, energetic experiences. They infuse us with vitality.
Emotions have strong impulses that are designed by nature to make us move. Emotions make our bodies react quickly to danger and pleasure, for survival advantages.
For example, fear propels us to run; anger moves us to fight back to survive an attack. Disgust, with its gag reflex, causes us to expel something poisonous, protecting us from toxic food and (toxic people).
Sadness moves us to seek comfort in others. Without excitement, what would propel us to explore new and unknown endeavors? Without sexual excitement, we probably wouldn’t be here. You get the picture.
From her post 5 Things About Emotions I Wish My Parents Had Taught Me.
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Hilary Jacobs Hendel, LCSW is "a trauma psychotherapist, educator, and author of the award-winning book, It’s Not Always Depression: Working the Change Triangle to Listen to the Body, Discover Core Emotions, and Connect to Your Authentic Self."
She is a presenter at the ongoing Trauma Super Conference.
topic: Using the change triangle for emotional education
* How defenses protect us from the emotions of traumatic events
* Using the Change Triangle to bypass defenses to feel core emotions
* Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
Here is a short clip from her presentation:
Also see my article How to understand and heal trauma - the Trauma Super Conference.
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