Are some Emotions Negative ?

Are there negative emotions ?

Well for a long time i would have said yes. Anger, jealousy, fear, pain ,envy, shame … i thought they were negative, destructive. They had to be tamed and transcended in order to be a person of relational and spiritual value.This belief was so painful for me because i was divorced from myself, i was confused also and unauthentic in so many ways. Unhappy and lost not understanding why the pain and fear and jealousy i was trying to control always came back and created havoc within myself and my relationships.

Lo and behold i found out through my years of training as a Non-directive Creative relational therapist and my personnal sessions with my therapist, that emotions are important and that their are no ‘negative » ones.

Actually emotions are Signals, Allies and Guides. They are as important to navigate our world as our other senses are and they guide us to take care of our needs.

When we feel those « good emotions « , love-joy-contentment-happiness, it is because some of our needs are being met. The need for love, connection, acknowledgment, creativity, freedom, value, affirmation etc…
And when we feel those  » negative emotions » it is that a need is not being met, and it is a way for us to know that.

So emotion if we acknowledge it and listen to it will let us know what we need.

The bad news is that most of us have learned to judge, reject, hide and push down some of those more difficult emotions.. For some it is our anger we reject, other’s it might be jealousy or envy, for some it is sadness or fear….

The good news is we can learn to reconnect with our full spectrum of emotional possibility, we can learn to accept our emotions understand their langage and their gift. Learn to trust them.

Sometimes we need help doing that. One of my roles in the life of my clients life is to hold space for them to learn to connect with their emotions. It is such a sacred gift to witness people reclaim, slowly and at their own rythme, the full spectrum of their human experience and therefore gain more insight, knowledge, connection and empowerment to take truly care of themselves in their relationships.

So my questions to you today :

which emotions do you have a hard time acknowledging within yourself ? Which emotions do you reject,judge or avoid ?

www.katherinebarrtherapy.com
#emotions #therapist #emotionnalhealth #happyrelationships #selflove