#FridayFacts: DEALING WITH DIFFICULT FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS

#FridayFacts

DEALING WITH DIFFICULT FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS

This week's facts focus on dealing with difficult feelings and emotions. Please see the picture below.

We see many clients in all three practices who find it tricky or difficult to cope with or manage feelings, emotions and moods that are, in particular, distressful. We often talk about how they wish to 'escape' the feelings, either by avoiding or distracting or perhaps by engaging in some unhelpful, even risky behaviour, in an attempty to numb or suppress the discomfort the feeling causes (e.g. binge eating, self-harm, alcohol, over-work etc.).

In psychotherapy, we call this distress intolerance and difficulty with emotional regulation. It may (or may not) come as a surprise to you that most of our clients (and much of the general population actually) have, at some time, difficulty managing distress and intense feelings or emotions. The key is to learn new ways of accepting emotions and practising strategies to tolerate them in a less distressful and stressful way.

Emotions are something that we all experience, and yet so many people misunderstand or apply judgements against them. Misunderstandings sometimes lead to individuals being mocked, shamed or dismissed for feeling and expressing emotion (or for not publicly expressing emotions, especially in times of grief).

There are numerous myths or misunderstandings about emotions that lead to people feeling they need to bottle everything up inside or not express themselves, but that can just lead to things building up inside of us over time. And what happens when something is held in and builds up and up and up? Eventually it explodes! This explosion can come in the form of tantrums, tears, anger or even violence, and unhelpful coping techniques.

If you are have some feelings or emotions you would like to talk to someone about, please get in contact and we can link you up with a qualified psychotherapist/CBT therapist/counsellor at one of our 3 practices below:

www.eatingdisorderscotland.co.uk

www.glasgowanxietydepression.co.uk

www.citizen17therapy.co.uk

Take care and have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Alexandra

Clinical Director and Lead Psychotherapist