Constantly intellectualizing and analyzing our emotions is a way of keeping ourselves from really feeling them. It’s a protective mechanism: if we’re always thinking about our emotions and analyzing them, we won’t need to physically feel the pain or discomfort that’s behind the rationale. When we find ourselves getting lost in the headiness of an emotion and stuck in the story, it’s an invitation to return to the bodily experience of that emotion, from the neck down, if it feels safe and accessible to do so. Not everything we feel has to be explained or rationalized. It can just be what we’re
...more
