The truth is, sometimes we need to be sad and sometimes we need to be angry. We need to sit with our uncomfortable feelings and listen to what they are trying to tell us; to provide space for our bodies and thoughts to tell us what is wrong and what we need. If the automatic reaction to uncomfortable feelings is to turn them into more comfortable ones, we are robbing ourselves of the opportunity to get to know that part of ourselves. To make lemonade out of lemons, we need water and sugar. Otherwise, we are just drinking lemon juice, convincing ourselves it’s lemonade.
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I once worked with a woman, we’ll call her “A,” who by many measures would be defined as successful; she was considered ‘happiness goals.’ “A” was often told what an inspiration she was and how great she always looked. What brought her to therapy was this unsettling feeling she couldn’t name, but seemed to be lurking in the shadows. When she would talk to her family and friends about it, they would respond with calls to just be positive and assured those feelings would go away.
How Always Thinking Positive Might Actually Be Negative For You was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
