The Most Important Thing I've Done: Feelings in Recovery

Learning to interact with emotions from a place of self respect is an ongoing journey. It is not for the faint of heart to feel and be present with emotion. Questioning the stories that are being told about what feelings mean is one of the most important things I have ever done and continue to do.

Feeling is all information. Emotions are energy in motion, exhilarating or intense. The energy in emotions, as they move through the body, can feel like too much... Using drugs, alcohol or other addictive habits to numb the emotional experience is common, it is also dangerous and creates a false sense of safety in dimming the human experience. So many stories are created about what certain feelings mean. The meaning we place on them can turn emotions into an experience of pleasure or torture.

The truth is, feelings just are. They either feel safe or they don't. It can be really scary to feel. There is great power in emotion. It can be vulnerable and frightening to express emotions when we don't know whether others will accept or approve of us when we do.

Feelings are safe and can be great allies, teachers or friends - once we learn how to interact with them. Accepting emotions happens through letting them come, letting them be, letting them go.

Acceptance is the answer to most questions, the solution to most dilemmas, the security measure to most uncertainty. Learning to provide a safe container to feel and flow with the energy of emotions is your responsibility. This is an initiation and a privilege, part of your role as an adult in the world choosing to recover and live on purpose. The stories told about emotions can become empowering now, regardless of what you've been saying or believing up until now about the F Word topic.

...What comes to mind when you tune into the stories you have been telling about emotions?
...Which feelings do you want to befriend?
...What parts of yourself will you have access to when you tell new stories about feeling, emotions and expression?
...Which feelings have you been avoiding? Why?
...How will you show up differently, for yourself and other relationships, when no feelings are off limits?

Grab your journal and get some ideas down on paper.
This is your space to explore.
I invite you to explore what it means to be a loyal ally to yourself, where all feelings are allowed and accepted.

This is the Radical Reinvention. Welcome Home to Yourself and What's Possible. You are worth getting to know.