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Feelings aren& #39;t fate. They& #39;re transient. We just don& #39;t know what to do with them and so we think if we acknowledge them, then we& #39;re stuck with them forever. But we& #39;re not. It& #39;s like being thirsty. I can just say I& #39;m thirsty and drink water. Doesn& #39;t mean I now have a disorder. https://twitter.com/damoche/status/1262643683817598976">https://twitter.com/damoche/s...
Thirst: your brains way of telling you you& #39;re dehydrated.
Label it: I& #39;m thirsty
Fix it: drink water
Catastrophize: OMG I& #39;m dying of thirst!
It happens more often: get checked & find out it& #39;s too much spicy food. Or a side effect of meds, or you& #39;re diabetic. Or you have polydipsia
Label it: I& #39;m thirsty
Fix it: drink water
Catastrophize: OMG I& #39;m dying of thirst!
It happens more often: get checked & find out it& #39;s too much spicy food. Or a side effect of meds, or you& #39;re diabetic. Or you have polydipsia
There& #39;s a whole spectrum of possibilities. And how you respond to that initial feeling depends on many factors. If you grew up in a society where you& #39;re not supposed to ever say it out loud because thirst is stigmatized, maybe you& #39;ll be quiet. Or you& #39;ll express it as normal...
...and the people around you, who also see being thirsty as normal will hear you, validate the feeling & offer you water. Or someone on Twitter will say you& #39;re weak for talking about being thirsty because they go for weeks without needing water. Or they& #39;ll share their experiences
Someone might say go check it out, my cousin was thirsty all the time & it turns out they had diabetes. Or they& #39;ll remind you that there are people more thirsty than you. Or maybe it& #39;s summer & you just never realized you get thirsty more when it& #39;s hot. Or you ask your doctor.
Usually how someone responds to you will depend on how they view life. I& #39;m a therapist, so I& #39;ll probably ask how it makes you feel. An endocrinologist will respond differently. But you that you& #39;re feeling the feeling, you& #39;re the one who knows how it& #39;s doing you.
So, label your feeling correctly. Feel it. Talk about it. Might it mean something else? Maybe or maybe not. But you& #39;re not wrong for feeling a feeling. Your brain is talking to you.
Long story short: is there a possibility that by talking about feelings all the time, people might end up misdiagnozing or pathologizing? Perhaps. That& #39;s not enough reason to shut down normal expressions of feelings. Especially given how openly discussing them is newish.
Actually, you might want to examine your own feelings about other people& #39;s feelings.
Why does it bother me so much? Why am I so uncomfortable when I hear people talk about THEIR feelings? Why do I feel the need to mock experiences that differ from mine? Why am I dismissive?
Why does it bother me so much? Why am I so uncomfortable when I hear people talk about THEIR feelings? Why do I feel the need to mock experiences that differ from mine? Why am I dismissive?
