Befriending Ourselves

One of the main times many of us reach out to a therapist, coach or trusted friend is when life’s circumstances become intense or stressful.  We become overwhelmed emotionally and need support and assistance in processing what we are experiencing.

When faced with intense feelings there can be a tendency to want to get rid of, escape from or fix our emotions as soon as possible so we can get on with our lives.

But what if we could find a way in those moments to recognise that our emotions are just energy in motion and turn inwards to explore our inner landscape in order to restore the harmony we are seeking.

Here are six simple steps to assist in this process:

  1. Create some space to listen to whatever is going on inside of you.
  2. Soften and breathe into the situation that is upsetting or stressful
  3. Take a few moments or write out your thoughts, reactions and beliefs e.g. Why does this always happen to me?  Or this is never going to change.Journal prompts such as: I am feeling……I am sensing……can be useful.
  4. Identify the thoughts that you might believe in but may not necessarily be true. The work of Byron Katie can be very useful to assist us in this.  For example, questioning our habitual thinking “is it true that this is never going to change?” can show us where we might be buying into false assumptions keeping us stuck and scared.
  5. Embracing and feeling our feelings without judgement or blame softens and dissipates them.
  6. Connect to the calm and ease that is always within us when we get out of our own way!

Taking care of our emotional landscape helps to balance our mind, body and spirit.  The result is we can choose to feel peaceful and empowered to respond to life’s situations in ways that serve us and those around us.

Have a great month everyone,

Much love,

Vivianne

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