Connecting with Emotions- Part II

Now that you’ve chosen a path of improved emotional health, we are progressing into a deeper exploration and connection with self. In March we learned the basic steps to connecting, identifying, and naming emotions. This month we will focus on recognizing patterns of your emotions and implementation of coping skills!

1. What purpose do my emotions serve? If you completed the suggested exercises last month, you may have noticed your emotional complexity. Maybe multiple feelings surfaced in response to a single trigger, or you made note that you tend to experience similar feelings across most situations. It is no coincidence, that you noted the above observations. What purpose do these feelings serve you? What do they tell you about yourself? What about your life continues to resurface them? Important questions to answer for yourself to continue to gain insight.
2. Carried or your own feelings? You may also have noticed that some sensations and emotions felt novel, while others seemed to have lived in your body for years! Now this is a complex task, but an important one in fully connecting with yourself emotionally. When feelings arise, check in whether this feeling has been learned/carried from a parent, sibling, or caregiver.  Whom does your emotional experience or reaction remind you of? Do you remember experiencing this sensation/emotion in your childhood? Do you get easily triggered when other people are expressing this feeling? If so, you may be carrying feelings which are not your own, but rather learned feelings. If that is the case, coping skills may help to address these emotional reactions.

Sandra Knapp, MS, LPCS
Mind Matters Therapy Services, LLC