They are sooo important, yet they are neglected. We don’t talk about them, we avoid them, we try to skirt around them…
But, you guys… they are what create your relationships and drive your experiences in life!
Let me show you!
Dive deeper with me this month as I share what emotions are, why they are important, what they do, how powerful they are, how to manage them in safe and healthy ways. I’ll also be sharing some tools I encourage you to try out.
Energy in motion
Let’s first discover what emotions are…
Everything on this earth is made up of vibrating energy.
Sound creates vibrations we can hear and use to communicate (do you ever “feel” someone’s tone).
Light and color are vibrations we see and use to interpret and understand our world (colors help people “feel” a certain way).
Mass communication is accomplished through energy waves sent as texts, emails, zoom meetings and transactions we cannot see; however we enjoy the result of these unseen energy waves everyday (or don’t enjoy them if they aren’t so pleasant).
We are beings of “organized energy” as well.
God created us this way.
We interact with each other’s energy all day.
It’s this energy that tells you your teenager is upset when they walk in the door, or if your child is excited about something before they express it.
An abrupt expression of energy is directed at you when someone yells at you, glares at you, or raises an eyebrow at you. Like they are throwing little darts at you or questioning you. You feel it drag you down, attack you, and make you feel small, or cause you to question if what you are doing is right.
This energy/emotion is also felt when you walk in a room that was just filled with laughter and you somehow feel lighter and happier.
Sometimes this energy it’s helpful… sometimes it’s hurtful.
It does whatever we ask it to, with our thoughts and our actions.
Everyone manages this energy in different ways. Some of us ignore it, push it away, or brush it aside. Others feel deeply hurt, lash back, or even make it part of their identity.
I’ll discuss more about these examples later this month, but for now, just realize that emotions are…
“energy in motion…” all around us, and “a vibration in your body,” constantly interacting, communicating and vibrating.
Chemical reaction in the Body
Emotions, or feelings, are also chemical reactions in your body.
When you feel an emotion the amygdala, part of your brain, (and other parts of the body, such as the parathyroid and thyroid) sends signals to the different parts of your body to trigger certain hormones and/or chemicals to release.
When you are happy, accomplish something, laugh, or solve a problem, your body gives you a shot of dopamine (the happy hormone). Even if your kids are bothering you, you seem to have the patience to handle it because of this extra dopamine.
However, sometimes emotions deplete our stores of chemicals in the body also.
Interestingly, when you are angry, a lot, your stores of calcium are depleted.
If you find yourself angry at everything all the time, and unable to manage it, you can work towards remedying the issue by eating foods high in calcium AND/or work on managing the emotion “anger” so it doesn’t deplete your stores so quickly.
If you can move through anger in a healthier and quicker way, you won’t deplete your calcium as quick. (I’ll be sharing some tools on how to do this later this month).
However, if you decide to boil in your anger and frustration for a long time you’ll find happiness is harder to find, and hold on to, because you don’t have the chemicals to support happiness as much.
In short, emotions are chemical reactions in your body that support the emotion you are choosing to feel because of your thoughts. Interesting…huh?!?
Emotions are your Guiding Compass
Emotions are neither, good, or bad, just a compass to help guide our thoughts and actions in life.
The more you become aware of “how you feel,” the more power you will have over guiding your life choices and interacting with others.
How are you at using this compass?
Do you push guilt, resentment, or anger away to avoid it? Silently glaring, huffing, or avoiding your husband or teenager (remember they can feel that energy whether you say anything or not).
Perhaps you feel so overwhelmed that it paralyses you from taking any action, causing you to get further behind and feel more overwhelmed until you give up.
OR J do you ask yourself, “I wonder why I feel…?” allowing the emotion to guide you to the thoughts that are creating it and then making a choice to keep it or not.
This involves humility, and loving yourself unconditionally.
Let me give you permission…
It’s okay to feel overwhelm, if it leads to discovering why, and what actions you can take to feel less overwhelmed. It’s okay to feel guilty, if it leads to discovering how to make better choices. It’s okay to feel frustrated, if it leads to discovering what’s frustrating you and if it’s worth being frustrated over.
And IT’S OKAY to allow your CHILDREN to experience these emotions as well; without your judgment, or stepping in to change it. Give yourself and them a break for being human!
And let’s allow emotions to do their job – to guide us in life!