Transforming Emotional Pain through Self Compassion
Knowing how to care for our emotional pain is a natural part of being emotionally healthy.
Sadly, we are often taught that only positive feelings are ok and that having negative emotions is unacceptable. We feel wrong or weak for having feelings that are not positive, and we try to ignore or hide them.
Sometimes the feelings and emotions seem to take us over:
We might freeze up or start crying in situations where we feel it may not be appropriate, such as our work environment;
We might snap, criticize, complain about or blame the people around us, especially those in our intimate circle;
We may withdraw, stop communicating, isolate ourselves.
We tell ourselves that our feelings don’t matter. And we often just pretend to be something we are not, we put on the happy mask.
Caring for our emotions begins with being authentic on an emotional level and turning toward our pain or hurt or anger with the same compassion and acceptance that we use when we turn toward a friend who may be in emotional distress.
When we are not able to be emotionally authentic, we feel out of touch with our soul or the spiritual side of ourselves. When we are emotionally authentic, we begin to awaken to our deepest self.
As your counsellor and therapist, I listen deeply. I create an emotionally safe place for you to express, make sense of, and care for your emotional pain. I help you begin to feel a sense of calm, of being more authentically ‘yourself’.