Feelings can certainly be intense, can't they?!
The whole range of emotions can feel pretty darn intense. So much so that people sometimes worry that a feeling can overwhelm them, or even harm or kill them.
It's not true though. No matter how intense ("positive" or "negative") an emotion is, it cannot, in and of itself, have any other effect on us than causing us to feel.
Now, I'm human like the rest of you guys, so I do know that some emotions are more fun to experience than others, some are easier or more manageable to feel than others, some are downright rotten to have to bear. I'm not saying feeling our feelings is always easy.
All I'm saying is that emotions, in and of themselves, do not have any particular power to cause us harm (nor are they "trying" to harm us- they are just there, just a part of human existence). When we're in the middle of feeling some feeling, especially one of those "tough to bear" ones, we might feel as though we can't take it, or that we have to somehow stop the feeling. And in fact, sometimes feelings are so intense that people do take action to avoid, stop or minimize emotions (the fundamental strategy inherent in an eating disorder, right??).
Fear is one of those tough to bear emotions. We often try to deflect, deny or get rid of fear when it arises in us. SuperEgg, now that you are becoming more aware of certain emotions you experience, it may be tempting to try to avoid all that's coming up for you regarding fear. I hope you have a good support system where you can talk about all that's emerging, and where you can feel you aren't alone in dealing with fear. If you can avoid avoiding the things that are emerging for you these days they will get "out into the open" of your psyche (become conscious) where they can be resolved.
Oh, hey, did I miss the Bumper Sticker this week? I think I did... well, here it is: Emotions Can't Harm Us
Feelings can certainly be intense, can't they?!
The whole range of emotions can feel pretty darn intense. So much so that people sometimes worry that a feeling can overwhelm them, or even harm or kill them.
It's not true though. No matter how intense ("positive" or "negative") an emotion is, it cannot, in and of itself, have any other effect on us than causing us to feel.
Now, I'm human like the rest of you guys, so I do know that some emotions are more fun to experience than others, some are easier or more manageable to feel than others, some are downright rotten to have to bear. I'm not saying feeling our feelings is always easy.
All I'm saying is that emotions, in and of themselves, do not have any particular power to cause us harm (nor are they "trying" to harm us- they are just there, just a part of human existence). When we're in the middle of feeling some feeling, especially one of those "tough to bear" ones, we might feel as though we can't take it, or that we have to somehow stop the feeling. And in fact, sometimes feelings are so intense that people do take action to avoid, stop or minimize emotions (the fundamental strategy inherent in an eating disorder, right??).
Fear is one of those tough to bear emotions. We often try to deflect, deny or get rid of fear when it arises in us. SuperEgg, now that you are becoming more aware of certain emotions you experience, it may be tempting to try to avoid all that's coming up for you regarding fear. I hope you have a good support system where you can talk about all that's emerging, and where you can feel you aren't alone in dealing with fear. If you can avoid avoiding the things that are emerging for you these days they will get "out into the open" of your psyche (become conscious) where they can be resolved.
Oh, hey, did I miss the Bumper Sticker this week? I think I did... well, here it is: Emotions Can't Harm Us