I work with clients to identify the difference between healthy, present emotional states from extreme responses, and to learn methods for dealing with extreme emotions.
The Need for Emotions
Emotions connect our thoughts with our bodies; they connect our thoughts with our daily lives so that we feel our responses to the world around us. These feelings allow us to know what we like and what we don't like, where danger lies, and when change is needed. They give us feelings of satisfaction, and of completion. Without emotions, we feel lost, disconnected and unable to make decisions.
Fear of Emotions
Many people hold their emotions in tight control because they fear that if they allow the smallest portion of their emotions to be expressed, a tidal wave of emotion will be unleashed to destroy the world. Others fear that if they feel their own emotions, they will drown in the bottomless depths and never get out. Chronic anxiety or depression, or a combination of the two is a typical result.
Other people feel overwhelmed by their emotions but don't know how to contain or express them in a manageable way.
- rage
- grief
- fear
- anxiety
- sadness
- extreme reactions to small events
- feeling out of control
- increasing emotional reactions
- poor health due to emotional stress
- sleep disturbances
- alienating others
- tolerating hightened emotional levels and resultant behavior from others
- attracting others with similar extreme emotions
- difficulty interacting with more sensitive people
- difficulty in relationships
When extreme emotions persist for a long time, they can lead to depression.