A friend asked me the other day, “how do you sit with your feelings?”. It’s a great question. Therapists love to say, “I think you have to sit with that”. But what does it mean? Here are my 3 tips to “sitting with” emotion.

1. Don’t numb out! We all have behaviors that numb us whether it’s as severe as an eating disorder or something seemingly harmless like nail biting, shopping, or cleaning. These behaviors can prevent us from truly processing what’s going on internally.
2. Journal. Journaling always helps me truly process what’s going on in my head and get it out on the page. Identifying emotions never came easily to me, but journaling has been a way that I can filter through all the chaos in my head and identify what’s really going on.
3. Lean into the emotion. When you feel yourself getting angry, sad, scared, jealous, frustrated, etc, let yourself! If you feel tears welling up, allow them to flow. If you’re experiencing fear, talk about it. If you’re angry, yell! So many times I see people hold back their emotions and that isn’t helping anyone! Let your emotions flow, it is the only way you can work through them!

Sitting with our feelings is incredibly difficult in the beginning, but it gets easier the more you practice. Remember feelings fade, they don’t last forever. Next time you are struggling and aren’t sure how to “sit with it” try these tips, they can help you get in touch with how you’re feelings and you will begin to gain confidence in yourself in processing them.