We tend to be quick to grab for the magic silver bullet, the wide range of anti- depressants, from alcohol, recreational and prescribed drugs to deal the emotional, mental pain we suffer.
How often do ask the simple question, what am i really feeling?
What we assume to be depression , anxiety and a host of other labelled conditions may be more to do with our inability to express and process a wide variety of natural human emotions and feelings.
Loneliness, frustration, built up resentment, tiredness and fatigue can all be mistaken for a mental condition. Humans have a wide kaleidoscope and spectrum of feelings and emotions which we sometimes like to bundle up into a nice little parcel that is manageable and convenient. We like things to be comfortable, logical without variety, unless it is on the TV.
In a culture where the little logic brain is over inflated in it’s importance, we have reduced our ability to deal with or create from the tapestry of our emotional intelligence. It is easier to pop a pill or do drugs than spend time discovering the full gamut of our human potential.
When we are feeling emotional outside our acceptable range is it possible we have degraded our natural ability to process and learn from the experience. Being lonely, for example, can be a tool to show us we are disconnected internally from what sustains us. Some will say that is a disconnect from God, others will suggest it has to be with not having a clearly defined goal or worthwhile purpose.
Emotions tend to come in groups and it can be hard to identify the basis to what we are feeling, avoiding the issue is not always the most appropriate way forward. When we can acknowledge we are not feeling good and OK, it is a step in the right direction. Being able to sit in the uncomfortable space and observe ourselves allows us to identify where we are. Addiction to a comfortable life has made us weak and at times incapable of functioning as a balanced human being. We do whatever it takes to reduce the pain by suppressing it and hoping it will go away. It may seem to have gone until next time when it returns with more power then before.
All negative emotions and feelings are a gift, an opportunity to deal with an unresolved shadow, a hurt or wound in need of healing. Finding the courage to explore, discover and release the old wounds allows us to leave the pain and suffering in the past and create a future untainted by the emotional negative colouring these hurtful memories create
Life has up and downs, we come unstuck when we try and flatten outs the ridges and hollows. Our health benefits from the full rich appropriate expressions of the full orchestra of your feelings. In doing so we discover we are much more than we think we are.
With society obsessed with youth, there is a need to be an emotional grown up and learn to deal with real issues in a mature adult fashion. Being a mature adult is more than having a grown ups body, it involves developing and nurturing our emotional landscape with the full gamut of experiences and the ability to respond and and function within. The full spectrum of our emotional state.
