Tug-Of-War With The Bricks On The Wall

Mental Health

November 25, 2022•3 min read

What are the bricks on the wall?!? Ever felt like a heavy sensation in your chest that would not move?!? Ever felt a lump in your throat that swallowing wouldn’t take away?!? Ever felt a stabbing pain in your stomach, when there is no knife present?!? Ever felt like your eyes couldn’t stay open due to that tension headache?!? Ever felt like your heart was going to beat out of your chest due to the intensity of your heartbeats?!? Ever experienced increasing rapid breathing?!? If so, those are the bricks on the brick wall… The wall of life experiences!!

Life is unpredictable even if you plan..plan..PLAN!! Life is unpredictable even if you think..think..THINK!! Life is unpredictable even if you pray..pray..PRAY!! Life is unpredictable even if you believe..believe..BELIEVE!! The list could go on and on… One thing for sure emotions are attached to ALL life situations. At times, emotions are transient and other times those emotions are prolonged and/or more severe…

On a daily basis we experience different emotions.. Why?? Because we are emotional beings.. Unfortunately we can not rid ourselves of those big -uncomfortable emotions like anger, fear, sadness, and disgust… Big emotions can be expressed in a number of ways.. Such as body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, and the list of symptoms {Bricks} listed in the first paragraph..

It’s important to remember that emotions are triggered by situations and thoughts.. Recognize how you are thinking!! If you change the way you think and process situations, your emotional outcomes may be different!! So here’s an example: Negative Emotional Outcome— I’m driving from home to drop off my toddler to daycare. A driver is tailing me and speeds past me and cuts me off, causing me to slam on my breaks!! I begin to yell and become angry!! I drop my child off at daycare {with an attitude} and proceed to work {with an attitude} and have a horrible day!! Positive Emotional Outcome– I’m driving from home to drop off my toddler to daycare. A driver is tailing me and speeds past me and cuts me off. I noticed he was driving erratically, so I slowed down– after all my child is in the car. I think to myself, maybe he is trying to get to a relative who was rushed to the hospital. I drop my child off to daycare, with a smile. Proceed to work and have a happy-proactive day!! We have to change the way we think!!

What can I do to have different emotional outcomes? I thought you would never ask!! To have better outcomes it’s important to expose yourself to those fears {this is not easy} of the unknown. Feeling angry is not always a BAD thing. Angry feelings can motivate you to find solutions to those things that bother you the most. To avoid exacerbating feelings of sadness, acknowledge that you are feeling sad. Talk to someone, engage in something that makes you happy {self-care}, talk with a supportive person.

Okay readers!! The bottom line is to acknowledge what you are feeling, be aware of your needs, and put forth the necessary actions to handle those bricks on your wall of life experiences!!