How to Deal with Difficult Emotions

Last Friday, I woke up feeling off. I was sad for no reason, and a bit depressed.

I spent the morning with my kids, and had child care in the afternoon so I could work.

But I didn’t feel like working. I didn’t feel like doing anything.

I felt like grieving, and I wasn’t even sure why.

After moping around for an hour, I laced up my mint green running shoes, and hit the trails by our house hoping to feel better.

Less than ten minutes into the run, I decided to veer off my normal route and run up a steep hill. After reaching the top, I had a sudden urge to lie down in the dirt and cry. So I did.

I lay on my back in the mud, surrounded by tall grass, gazing up at this beautiful oak tree…and wept. And then I wept some more.

Every few minutes I’d stop crying and crane my neck to look up the trail, feeling self-conscious and paranoid that someone would see me.

I imagined them asking; “Are you ok? What’s wrong?!” And I’d have to say; “I honestly don’t know. I just feel like crying for no reason today.”

I felt silly. Self-indulgent. Confused.

And then, I heard something. It felt like this deeper wisdom coming straight from the gnarled branches of the oak tree over my head. And it said; “this is sacred work.”

This is sacred work.

Those words rang true. I didn’t know what my sadness was about (yet), but I knew it was important. And I knew it was real.

We often push down uncomfortable feelings because we don’t want to feel them. Or we don’t understand them.

But they don’t go away.

If anything, they come out sideways. We yell at someone we love, or we run out of the room overwhelmed in a moment when our voice needs to be heard.

Avoiding discomfort only prolongs it.

Now, I’m not suggesting you go out for a nice little jog in the woods, collapse on the ground and begin to weep every time you have difficult emotions.

But, I do have a really helpful (short!) guided meditation to release difficult emotions and feel all your feelings. 

Befriend Your Feelings Meditation – Vanessa Loder

 

Don’t worry about analyzing how you feel.

Simply feel the feelings, befriend them, surrender and release.

That’s the process.

Since surrendering to my grief on Friday, and calling a soul sister to talk about it, I’ve been feeling so much lighter and happier.

This week, I hope you make time for your sacred work, whatever that is.

And if you have any difficult emotions, try the meditation above.

Let us know in the comments – what was the meditation like for you?

We’d love to hear from you!