So many times I hear from people that they are out of touch with their emotions. They don’t really know “what” they feel. They know “how” they feel, for they judge their emotions as good or bad, positive or negative.Since our childhood we are being taught that showing fear, anger or sadness is unacceptable, so no wonder that we start to suppress and hide these emotions even from ourselves. When people are asking us how we are doing, we say “fine”, pushing down the real feelings as we are trying to be the “pleasant” people, the ones who are easy to be around.Everything we experience has purpose. The purpose of physical pain is to create awareness to take action, and, surprisingly, the purpose of emotional pain is the same. All emotions are normal. There are no good or bad emotions. They are simply physical sensations in our bodies, the signals to notice and act upon. They are F.L.A.G.S.
Fear is born out of self protection. You fear losing what you value. It keeps you alive by protecting you from danger, real or perceived.
Love is life’s most powerful emotion. It’s everyones deepest driving force. All our other emotions exist to allow us to recognise what Love is.
Anger is born out of belief that there is a threat to yourself or someone/something you love.
Guilt helps you decide who you are. When you say or do something that goes against who you want to be, you feel guilty.
Sadness can occur when you have lost something – a person (by death or by circumstances), or a dream or a hope. Sadness can also show up a disappointment in yourself, others, situation. Sadness reminds you to appreciate the gifts of life.
Emotions are intended to be felt and fully experienced. They will not disappear when you don’t acknowledge or don’t express them. As you begin to pay closer and closer attention to your emotions and to their effects on your body, you will notice that there is nothing in an emotion to be afraid of. The only time that emotions become dangerous is when we bottle them up or discharge them impulsively, without understanding what they are actually trying to tell us.If you take time to simply experience the physical sensations that your emotions give you, you will begin to enjoy them more and more. Choosing options for what to do with them will become easier and more enjoyable. It may even feel like an adventure
