Being ok with "bad" feelings...

Hi all! This is my first post so I wanted to say thank you to everyone for all you contribute to this forum. For months I have been secretly drawing support from you all and I finally decided to join in.

I am at a point were I understand that I have these repressed feeling, but part of me is having trouble accepting it. I like thinking of myself as a "good" person and acknowledging that I have angry thoughts towards other people makes me feel "less good", if that makes sense.

How did you come to accept negative feelings and still feel like a good person?

 

Hi ash,
Great question! I have come to realize that having the full range of emotions is part of being human. I can accept them and feel them, but don't have to let them influence my behavior.

And welcome to the Forum! We are glad you have joined in the discussion.

 

This question is discussed in the following recording with Nicole Sachs, LCSW discussing her book the Meaning of Truth.


Click here to download the mp3 audio

 

Know that no one is reading your mind. Your thoughts are private. They don't have to know what you're thinking while you work on being honest with yourself.

There are even online diaries you can write in, so no one will stumble upon your journaling.

Good luck on your journey

Peace.

 

Thank you Ellen and Anaya! Very helpful.

 

hi, Ash86 and welcome to posting. We learn a lot from each other and help each other here.

I journaled into my boyhood and discovered things that troubled me, but writing about them
was good, it led me to understanding better and forgiving. That's the pathway to healing that
worked for me.

 

Walt, I am actually reading your book now! So far its been very helpful.

 

So glad you found that helpful

For me, that really helped A LOT to begin the process of working through some things. I would find myself making progress, really getting in touch with some deeper things within me, then feeling guilty, then struggling over the thought... until I started saying to myself,"No one is listening to you! Jeez! Relax!" lol

It made such a difference!

Peace.

 

"How did you come to accept negative feelings and still feel like a good person?"
Ash86, I'm so glad you asked that question. This was a HUGE part of my healing. I had successfully repressed negative, angry feelings so well that I didn't even know I had them. Once I went through the SEP and other TMS recovery work, I started recognizing these feelings and THEN was able to link it directly to the TMS occurrence. It was the actual process of repressing them, not allowing them to live that was causing so much pain for me. The more I journaled and really let those feelings have their say, I started feeling better and better. I actually feel more real today than a year ago when I started with this forum. I'm humbled by the range of emotions, feelings, immaturity that I can have on a given day. The ticket for me is to recognize their existence, acknowledge them to myself and feel compassion and love for myself. Its made me more patient for others who are negative around me.