Having a healthy relationship with your emotions is hard. Like, really hard. They can be erratic and irrational and seem to be our driving force. Other times we try to control and suppress them. Finding a healthy balance between the two extremes – emotions controlling me and me controlling emotions – is hard… and often exhausting!
Our feelings are valid. We have been given emotions so our body can communicate with us. If we feel fearful, we know to look for safety. If we feel guilt, we are motivated to make amends for a wrong we have caused. If we feel happy, we can enjoy blessing and rejoice. If we allow ourselves to feel emotions as they come, we can stop trying to control them.
On the other hand, feelings are not facts and we do not have to be at their mercy. Feelings are not fact, they internal responses. A fact is a thing that is known or proved to be true. It is objective and outside of ourselves. In order that feelings don’t control us, can allow ourselves to feel what we feel but remain able to check the facts.
All feelings are valid but feelings aren’t fact.
While I was looking at the 5kgs I put on during my 5 week hospital stay and thinking about the fact I had been in a mental hospital for 5 weeks, I was beating myself up… but then that small, kind compassionate voice reminded me, “you’re alive. You’ve survived. You got this.”