Emotions

If you're alive then you have emotions and often plenty of them. Emotions are complex things and often hard to pin down. It's easy to feel the big emotions like anger or fear or sadness or joy but often harder to feel some of the more subtle emotions like disillusionment and confusion.

Emotions are important because they help us tune into what's going on for us and for others. We can express emotions verbally and non-verbally and we're often very good at reading other people's emotions.

As we come to know our emotions better, we become better able to express how we are feeling and this is a very positive thing for our mental and physical wellbeing. It can be difficult to find the words to express our emotions and it can be difficult for to find the courage as well. It takes time and practice. small steps are they key to success.

In this country we're very good at talking about the weather! A very helpful practice is to try to describe our emotions in terms of our 'internal weather'. What I mean is that if you are furious with somebody who has treated you badly, how would you express this in terms of describing your emotions as wether? You might feel stormy, or like a raging wind blowing or a hurricane. If you so angry you certainly won't be feeling like a calm summers day! Whatever way you are felling it's ok. What's important is to begin to learn how to recognise and express our emotions in a healthy way.

The links below will help you understand a little more about emotions and how they work:


The ABC's of Emotions

Human Emotions

Depression: The Signs and Symptoms