Gilbertson sees wallowing as “(w)allowing”—allowing emotions to have room and attention. While some might consider wallowing indulgent, I think Gilbertson is right on. Wallowing is a powerful way to move through difficult emotions. Pushing them down doesn’t work; we just get depressed. Repressing them won’t work; they leak out in other ways. Denial further abandons the little girl inside us who tucked away the emotions her mother couldn’t tolerate. We already know how to do that. It’s time to learn something new.
