Self-Awareness: Managing Your Strong Emotions

Strong emotions are part of being human, but many of us were never taught how to handle them in healthy ways.In this episode of Making Wholeness Possible, Danae and Ken continue the conversation on self-awareness by exploring what we learned in our first formation about managing strong emotions.They talk about how early messages, family patterns, and modeled behaviors can shape the way we respond as adults, like learning to stuff our sadness, not to cry, not to show fear, or not to let anyone see what we were really feeling.But those emotions do not disappear. They leak out in our relationships, our parenting, our leadership, our work, and even our bodies.This conversation is about looking back with curiosity so we can understand what we learned, name what is still shaping us, and begin practicing healthier, more whole ways of responding.Show Notes:Ways to Get Into Action This Week1. Reflect on what you learned about strong emotions.Choose one emotion to begin with: anger, sadness, fear, disappointment, grief, anxiety, or shame. Ask yourself: What did I learn about this emotion growing up? Was it welcomed, ignored, punished, silenced, mocked, or modeled in a healthy way?2. Make a simple “what I learned” list.Draw a line down the middle of a page. On one side, write what you learned that may have been healthy or helpful. On the other side, write what you learned that may have been unhealthy, limiting, or harmful. Consider both what was said out loud and what was modeled without words.3. Use the Five Whys.Think about a recent moment when you had a strong emotional reaction. Then gently ask yourself “why?” several times to get beneath the surface. Why did that upset me? Why did it feel threatening? Why did I respond that way? What old story, wound, fear, or pattern might be underneath it?4. Use a feelings wheel.If it is hard to name what you are feeling, look up a feelings wheel and use it to find more specific language. Sometimes naming the feeling is the first step toward understanding what is happening inside of you.5. Name the loss.If you are feeling sadness or grief, ask: What have I lost? Then ask: What is different now because of this loss? Naming the loss can help you sit honestly with grief instead of running from it or stuffing it down.6. Give yourself permission to feel what you feel.Feeling an emotion is not the same as being controlled by it. This week, practice saying, “It is okay for me to feel this.” Then ask God to help you respond with maturity, honesty, and compassion.We would love to hear from you! Email Danae and Ken at [email protected] Faithwalking’s course, What No One Told You About Life: Growing Up Emotionally, Managing Anxiety, and Improving Relationships, is designed to help you grow in emotional maturity, manage anxiety, and improve your relationships.Learn more here: https://faithwalking.com/what-no-one-told-you-about-life/Learn More