Emotion...

Ah…emotion. It’s a relatively small word that evokes a lot of feels. Emotion can not only be experienced and interpreted differently, but avoiding it can literally be the roadblock we are looking to remove.

Emotion, pending your history and neurotype, can be experienced in the felt sense in different ways and can be communicated differently both internally and externally. For those with emotional processing and interpretation variances, inclusive of those with alexithymia, this may arise in the ability to interpret, assess, and be aware of emotion, understand its connection to how we physically feel, and impact communication received and given.

For others, emotion and the feelings derived from it can be uncomfortable. It’s completely understandable why we may want to avoid it, distract from it, and even pretend like it’s not there. When we do that, we often create a stronger undercurrent, a bigger bottom half of the iceberg, that at some point in time will come back and influence our future self, both in thought and in behavior. The goal with emotion is to treat it as a messenger that it is in a way that is approachable for you.

Bottom line…be curious in a gentle and compassionate way to yourself, honor what is being felt in a way of self-validation, and then care for yourself in ways that are aligned with your value system and create more understanding of self and those around you.