Quit hiding your feelings...

Last week, I talked about how this pandemic has me feeling down and out of sorts. And while nothing in the way life works right now has changed this week, I feel better. Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I no longer feel a profound sense of disappointment. 

And I realized the only thing that I did differently was talk about it. To you all. 

It's amazing how something so simple can make such a big difference. But I know this. I've known this for a long time. It's part of the reason why I blog and write in journals. Getting it OUT of your head is the first step to getting control of your thoughts and feelings. 

A lot of people think the opposite. That talking about your feelings makes you weak. But it doesn't. It makes you strong. It makes you human. Having feelings isn't a bad thing. Being able to talk about them and process how you feel helps so incredibly much. 

Think about it. Have you noticed when you hold onto something that bothers you, it eats at you? It bottles up inside of you until it eventually explodes. And generally that explosion is over something seemingly small. So the people around you have no idea what just happened. 

I know it's happened to me. It used to happen often. I'm not proud to admit that, but it's helped me become the person I am today. 

I learned to express myself in a healthy way. It started with journaling about my feelings. I needed an outlet where I felt safe. I didn't yet feel comfortable talking about some of the things I was thinking about, so a journal was a safe outlet for me. I knew nobody else was going to read it, so I was free to write whatever I wanted and/or needed to. I sometimes go back and read them, and they are all over the place. But they helped me get things out of my head and to provide clarification for a lot of things in my life. 

I tell my clients this is a great option for them, as well. Especially those clients who struggle with figuring things out or not being able to express themselves well. Often, when we have so many thoughts rambling around in our head, it's hard to adequately put those into coherent thoughts. But writing them out helps to get them clear. It helps to "data dump" everything onto a piece of paper and see exactly where everything falls.  Get it all straight, so to speak. 

I've since turned that into my blog posts, which I realize is a very public forum. But for me, this has become my outlet. I know I'm not alone in how I feel and I want to be able to help as many people as I can. 

Now, I'm not suggesting you start a blog post unless you like your inner most thoughts to be out in the world. But I am suggesting to start with a journal. Something private to help you put your thoughts into words and to make sense of things. 

Eventually, this will translate over into being able to better communicate with your loved ones. You'll have a better understanding of your thoughts and feelings, which will help you communicate those to others. Aka, you won't bottle it up and have it all explode later. Those conversations never end well, do they? 

Let me know if you have any questions about anything above. I'm here to help, especially now with everything we're going through. 

Have a beautiful week. Stay safe, and stay sane! 

With love and wellness,
​Whitney