Sitting with our feelings sounds like a lovely idea, right? Some kind of guru-like experience where you picture yourself calmly sipping a cup of tea, surrounded by the gentle beach sounds generated by your Alexa, as the warm embrace from your oversized knitted throw grounds you.
In reality, sitting with your feelings can be like being trapped in a room with a toddler who has just discovered the word “why” and insists on asking it over and over and over again—until you run away!
Let’s be honest: most of the time, we don’t want to sit with our feelings. Alexa, turn off my feelings!
They’re uncomfortable and loud, and sometimes, they cause us to end up in questionable predicaments (like crying in the middle of Target). Accepting emotions can also be problematic if they’re not something you’re accustomed to, whether it be challenges rooted in childhood, neurodivergence, or a limited support system.
Sometimes, feeling is the last thing we want to do, and that is totally valid.
I mean, it’s one thing to sit with your feelings during a quiet moment of self-reflection, perhaps to journal or express them in letter form to someone who may bear witness at another time. But it’s a different experience when those feelings are *screaming* at you from the inside. Begging to be seen, asking you to (not so kindly) tune in, pay attention, and breathe through the chaos.
Yet, somehow, this is the work. “Sitting with your feelings.” They’re not going anywhere until you learn to accept them and deal.
So, you breathe. You nod. You sip that tea, pretending it’s a medicinal potion of calm, while your feelings throw a tantrum in the background. But hey, progress. At least you didn’t run away.
