Emotions are like waves in the ocean: they rise, crest, and subside. When we avoid an emotion, we stop the wave with a dam before it can pass. Over time, unprocessed emotions build up, stressing the brain and body.
Some distractions can be used as healthy coping tools, but only once we’ve turned toward and listened to our emotions.
1. Check in with yourself: are you using any of these to avoid the discomfort of your feelings?
- Social media
- TV
- Work
- Shopping
- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Food
- Something else
2. Which emotions are you avoiding when you turn to these things?
3. Try to use the various Managing Emotion skills (see below) before turning to a distraction. Over time, you may notice less of a need for distractions.
Releasing paused emotions:
In certain situations, such as helping someone during an emergency, it is natural to pause some emotions so we can leap into action. But we still need to take a moment to release those paused emotions later; otherwise, they can build up. Labeling the emotions plus a Releasing or Body-based exercise (explained later in this section) should help.