All the Feels

hi friends

today I went to therapy. we discussed my feelings. sounds so cliche, huh? but what it made me do was open up, become vulnerable, and be uncomfortable for 45 minutes...oh the HORROR!

our world has become so surfacy. by that I mean we as humans are becoming more and more used to putting on our facade every day and being "fine, just fine." how often are you asked "hey, how're you?" "how are things going?" and how often do you quickly respond, as if on autopilot, "doing well!" "things are good!" how honest are you being?

we have become avoiders. we avoid what we're really feeling. if someone were to actually be honest and respond with a "I'm not doing too great...today's been pretty tough" then the person they're talking to is instantly asked to slow down their pace and be concerned with someone else's life.

I know that this can get in the way of life. you might be late to a meeting or picking up your kid at school...but what if by stopping to talk to that person you ease their mind just that little bit? what if that's all they needed to move on with their day. I don't know about you, but I know for me it's always good to release my thoughts after I've hoarded them too long. I either talk to my parents or write in my journal. we all have our own way to release.

so here's my challenge:
today I want you to Examine Your Feelings. [you will survive, I promise.]

Step 1
check in with yourself.
are you angry?
sad?
happy?
confused?
anxious?
nervous?
indifferent?
excited?
hopeful?

whatever the emotion, feel it. explore why you're feeling that. and if it comes down to the answer being "just because.." that's okay. you've thought on it. you've accepted it.

Step 2
share your chosen emotion(s).
tell your spouse, best friend, dog [animals are great, but sometimes they don't have much to say...]
go through your entire thought process with them.
discovering the emotion, why you're feeling it, then what you're going to do about it.
write it down. on a post-it, napkin, or in your journal.
spell out what your
brain has got going on.

Step 3
take a deep breath.
remind yourself that you are human.
that you are allowed to feel.
NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR YOUR EMOTIONS

you may think I'm crazy. and again, let me remind you, I am in no way trying to be a therapist. I'm just wanting to share with you things that have helped me. today's session was pretty tough. I talked about difficult things. but now as I'm sitting here in the living room with Monster, I feel a little lighter. I don't feel as burdened with those feelings. I know that they are there. I confronted them. and now I can move on. and that, my friends, is a beautiful thing.

as of yesterday, Monster is 3 months old!

I'd also like to share with you an article I found while on Tumblr.
it's called "Depression Isn't Selfish" and it is beautifully written.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/depression-isnt-selfish/

I hope this entry didn't come across too weird :)

and a picture of Monster...of course.

all my love!


H