'Is this what you mean by 'getting real'?' Listener question

I notice that much thoughts have some layers. The first layer is a negative self image. On top of that are thoughts that want to do something about this. To top it of there are thoughts like “I’ll never get over this etc”.This morning I just sat with it. The first two layers dissolved until the negatieve self image. I continued to sit with it. Listened to it. There came thoughts like “I just feel so sad”. And then I felt all the sensations in the body (and cried). There was no urge to manage something or make the feelings go away. I feel lighter now. Is this what you mean with getting real? Or is this an perfect example of someone who is totally lost in the woods of his own thinking? Reason for asking this is a confusion about “it is just thought”. Because this very often used sentence implies that a negative self image is just thought and that someone don’t have to feel it / look at it / be bothered. On the other hand that feels like spiritual bypassing to me. Because the negative self image looks very real to me.