As I listened to my counselor’s advice, I wondered, Do I DARE feel all the feels?

It was the end of our session, and she was encouraging me to slow down and do just that. When I felt an emotion, instead of pushing past it like I’ve almost always done, she encouraged me to pause and evaluate with these questions:

Is this a worthy feeling that deserves acknowledgement? (As opposed to desires/emotions that spring from sin.)If so, what legitimate need does that feeling expose?How can I meet that need or who can help me meet that need?

What a great filter!

Here’s the example we’d been discussing. That morning I came awake in a flood of anxiety. I already felt behind on my to-do list, and my feet hadn’t even hit the floor. She encouraged me to process the emotion of anxiety like this:

Pause and identify the emotion: anxiety and overwhelmBe curious and ask, Is this a worthy and legitimate emotion? In this case the answer was “yes.” I had a lot on my plate that day.

Continue Reading Do I Dare Feel All the Feels? at AmyCarroll.org