Friday 28 December 2018

Ways Of Handling Raw Emotions

By Kathleen Myers


Life is a journey with many ups and downs. There is no doubt that many of us have had to deal difficult situations at one time or the other. In some cases, the emotions are so overwhelming and one may feel that they are being driven to the edge. When raw emotions are triggered, they have the potential to lead to self destruction and severe relationships with the people we love the most. It is important for everyone to learn how to regain control over themselves whenever they find themselves in such situations.

Psychologists often use the term emotional flooding to refer to a state of overwhelming emotions. These emotions tend to be overwhelming and come suddenly hence the use of a flooding metaphor. Although the feelings are usually mixed, one of them will predominate. This may be a feeling such as anger, anxiety, sadness or happiness. The predominant emotion often changes over time.

There are a number of well known triggers of deep emotions. They include, for example, recalling past events, the thought of a troubling future and present stressors. The affected individual tends to get lost in these thoughts to the extent of recreating the trauma and hurt suffered or is to be suffered. This serves to make things worse for them unless they adapt and develop a different perception of their situation.

One of the things that can help us keep our feet on the ground during the unpleasant times is to utilize controlled behaviour. Deep belly breathing and other manoeuvres to help with muscular relaxation have been shown to minimize stress. The benefits come in as small incremental improvements. The emotional flooding will tend to recur hence the need to keep practising the deep breathing. Practising regularly makes it easier to do it during the stressful situations.

Even as you look for ways of dealing with these feelings, it is important that you take steps in understanding them. In most cases, there is a lot of confusion when emotional flooding occurs. There is a need to firstly, acknowledge the presence of the feelings and, secondly, to be willing to make some changes. Failure to do this often results in what is referred to as a closed emotional loop that makes things worse.

Social support is quite useful and helps one in coping with emotional challenges. The unfortunate thing is that many people are hesitant in sharing their problems until It is too late. It is important to open up to at least one confidant who will stand by you in spite of your difficulties. Examples of social support sources will include, for example, close friends, colleagues, relatives and even religious leaders.

It is important to take a step back. This will allow you to take stock of your emotions and plan on the best way to respond. This means that you literally have to set aside some time to think about your feelings. It is not easy to make major decisions with so many other things playing out in the background. You will be surprised to discover that some cases are just an overreaction that was not warranted.

Dealing with feelings such as shock, sadness, confusion and anger is not always easy. All these can lead to self destruction if not handled in the right manner. The most important thing is to remember what exactly it is that one is feeling before they can come up with solutions on how to deal with them. Asking for help from a trusted friend or colleague is show of strength rather than weakness.




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