Meeting Your Emotions with Mindfulness
Our very own Chelsea was featured in Mynd’s newsletter!
Read a transcript below and view the newsletter highlight!
Meeting Your Emotions with Mindfulness
by Chelsea Brookshire, LMSW
To say the year 2020 has been worthy of our full spectrum of emotions is an understatement, and many of us are overwhelmed. Contrary to popular belief, emotions are neither good nor bad -- rather, they are neutral messengers. They can provide us the guidance we need to meaningfully respond to the real challenges of our lives, both personal and systemic. I invite you to practice meeting these emotions with a 5-step mindfulness technique.
Acknowledge your emotion by simply stating “it’s here.”
Notice how you feel toward this emotion and gently invite those feelings to relax for just a moment.
Put your hand on your heart and allow yourself to become curious, asking yourself, “what’s here?”
Notice what the response to your question is. It could be in the form of a body sensation, emotional response, or thought.
Treat yourself with the kindness you might a child and say a self-compassion mantra such as “it makes so much sense you feel this way, sweet one.”
Mindfulness requires us to consciously practice the technique until it becomes second nature.
Note: Some emotional responses are a result of trauma. I recommend you explore repeated distressing emotions with a licensed therapist.
Chelsea is a psychotherapist in private practice in the Atlanta area. Her areas of specialty include working with young adults and adults, including folks who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Many of her clients come to her seeking help with depression, anxiety, stress, emotional sensitivity, and issues related to relationships and spirituality.
