*Are You Fighting Your Emotions?
Why?
Did you gloss right over the question about your emotions?
Have you noticed that we humans fight to acknowledge that we feel ANYTHING at the moment?
If we are sad and grieving, we try to cover it over because we don’t want to feel that pain.
If we are anxious, we try to cover it over with excess activity.
If we are angry, we try to stuff it down and bury it.
Somehow, though, emotions of ANY kind are STRONG, They eventually come to the surface and are manifested — maybe in tears, nail biting, rants, addictions, sleeplessness or worse.
According to my research, it seems that no one is sure how many emotions we humans have. Some say 6, some say 7. Another says that we have 32,000. We are such complex human beings that not even the ‘experts’ know.
Sure, there are varying degrees to each emotion but let me list a few and you can determine if you are fighting, covering over or burying any of YOUR emotions.
Anger
Joy
Sorrow
Fear
Disgust
Surprise
Trust
Anticipation
Guilt
Surprise
Contempt
Amusement
Contentment
Excitement
Pride
Relief
Shame
Satisfaction
Being human means we will each experience some degree of emotion or emotions each day.
Why do we fight with ourselves over this, spending countless hours trying to act like we are feeling NOTHING, just going about our days?
Recently I experienced a doctor’s visit that resulted in GREAT news. I had such JOY but then I went right back to my daily life, doing my regular tasks.
I sensed that I needed to STOP and was to ‘sit in the blessings’. I’d never heard anyone use that phrase before but it caught me unaware and caused me to stop and think about what I was doing.
I was initially joyful and then stuffed that down and went on with my ‘work’.
Shouldn’t I be able to pause and experience JOY? Shouldn’t I be able to take some time to revel in it?
YES, I should have!
Yet I was too accustomed to plodding ahead to the next thing.
May I suggest:
STOP and FEEL the emotions that you are feeling, even if it is an uncomfortable feeling such as anxiety, guilt or shame.
ACKNOWLEDGE that you are feeling a certain way.
EXPLORE what and why you are feeling that way.
QUIETLY ‘sit’ in it a moment.
CONTEMPLATE it. Think deeply about it, not just surface thoughts.
DEAL WITH whatever you may need to do about what you are feeling.
MOVE ON and do the next right thing with a clean emotional slate.
Evidence suggests that learning to effectively regulate our emotions will help us from head to toe. We each know that physical disorders are linked to the ability or inability to deal with our emotions. Thus, it would be to our own benefit to recognize exactly what we are experiencing!
God has made us as such complex human beings that we cannot glaze over our emotions, go on to the next thing and never enjoy or deal with any of it, just going rapidly from one thing to another with NO pause. Shouldn’t we honor the GIFT OF EMOTIONS, both pleasant and unpleasant?
Let’s pause.
What are you feeling right now?
What should you do with those feelings?
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:14
Dawn Ulmer, a retired Registered Nurse, has enjoyed writing since the age of 19 when she wrote ‘My Philosophy of Nursing’. After marrying and becoming a mother, she developed a newsletter for young mothers called ‘Moms and Sidekicks’. She has been a columnist for a women’s newspaper in Grand Rapids, Michigan on the subject of time management. From that column, her first book was written and published: “Balance of the Hurried Woman”. Through the years, she has been published in ‘Decision’ magazine, ‘Our Daily Bread’ devotional and other publications. Presently, she is enjoying writing on Medium, her favorite platform.
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