Are grief, anxiety, boredom, or other emotional beasts waging war on your insides these days?

If so, you’re not alone.

With all the uncertainty, change, and loss going on in our world today because of the Coronavirus pandemic, most of us are feeling attacked by a whole gamut of feelings that make us squirm.

The struggle’s been real, Friend.

How’ve you been dealing? How’ve you been handling all this emotional madness?

The Lure of Distraction & Avoidance

If you’ve found yourself reaching for distraction or escape to avoid the emotional turmoil these days, I totally understand where you’re coming from. 

Believe me, I used to be the QUEEN of avoidance and distraction.

In the past, any time I was confronted with discomfort or pain, my natural inclination used to always be:

Ruuuuuuuuun!

My low pain tolerance drove me to flee from “hard and painful” and run toward “carefree and happy” using blissful distractions, such as:

• Shopping for the latest “must-have’s”
• Planning fun trips or weekend adventures…
• Throwing myself into the hottest new Netflix binge…

You get the idea.

Reaching for distractions was my “out” from facing whatever was really going on inside my personal world. And man, was it addictive. Because it worked. Well, at least, temporarily. 

But here’s the truth: running from emotions never does us any good in the long-run.

In fact, for me personally, my habit of numbing, distraction, and avoidance ultimately led me into a world of hurt that nearly cost me my life. 

(If you’re interested in hearing more on my “ruin to redemption” story, you can check out this blog post: My Undoing: Ruined for Redemption). 

Ride out the “Real” Feels to Deal and Heal

Friend, take it from a girl who had once mastered the art of avoidance, numbing, and distraction:

Chasing happy, suppressing pain, and avoiding problems may feel like the best option…

But trust me: pain avoidance only leads to more problems.

Running from our discomfort never solves anything. In fact, it only causes our pain to fester, leading to more problems, such as:

• Compounded emotional pain like stress, depression, and crushing anxiety.
• The use of unhealthy coping mechanisms like shopping addiction, disordered eating, drug abuse, and other numbing agents.
• Decreased joy and happiness (we numb the “bad,” we also numb the good!)

Friend, feeling our way through uncomfortable feelings is certainly not the easiest option. Nor is it always the thing we want to do.

But riding out our emotional storms is truly what’s best for our own emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.

THE GOOD NEWS is it that it gets a whole heck of a lot easier the more we learn to ride the emotional wave out, rather than opting for escape.

So, Friend, how about we learn how to face those uncomfortable emotions head-on and build-up our emotional resilience?

Video: How to Deal with All the Feels

Dealing with uncomfortable emotions can be hard. And yes, it does take some effort (and time) to unlearn that nasty habit of avoidance and distraction.

But don’t be discouraged. It’s completely doable.

If this girl was able to learn how to lean into the uncomfortable and ride out emotional waves, so can you (or anyone, for that matter!). 

It just takes practice.

In my latest video, I explain how you can begin building emotional resilience instead of opting for avoidance.

IN THIS VIDEO, YOU WILL LEARN:

• How bringing awareness to our emotions can actually help elevate stress, anxiety, and other uncomfortable emotions
• Why it’s so important to “feel the feels” and process through our emotions
• The power of acceptance and letting go of what we cannot control
• How to put a stop to the crazy spiral of catastrophizing thoughts
• How bringing meaning to our suffering can help in building emotional resilience

Feelings can be intense, but remember: they always pass. 

Best of luck sitting with the uncomfortable and riding out the emotional waves.   

You’ve got this, Friend!

Additional Resource to Help You “Ride the Emotional Wave”

Don’t leave before grabbing your FREE TOOL!

Grab a FREE downloadable copy of my daily journal to check in with yourself, get honest with your feelings, and choose more affirming thoughts to carry you through the day.