Julie Hanks, LCSW, a therapist and blogger at Psych Central, works with many clients who are besieged by stress. What her clients typically discover is that they aren’t necessarily overwhelmed by stress, they’re overwhelmed by their emotions.
“As [my clients] learn to unpack the anxiety, they discover that their worry, stress, and sense of impending doom is the not just anxiety, but the culmination of years of unprocessed emotions of all kinds,” said Hanks, who’s also a media contributor and private practice consultant. “Anxiety is often the label that clients have given to the experience of being emotionally overwhelmed.”
So the key is to get to your core emotions. It might be tricky to identify these emotions, Hanks said, but doing so lets you know what you really need to feel better.
She offered these four tools to spot your core emotions.
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Site last updated: 21 May 2013
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What helps me is allowing myself to feel bad instead of finding ways to escape from these feelings (like I used to do).
A good cry is great, too, but tears don’t come so easily to me, it’s hard work.
Deep breathing is also beneficial. I find it very soothing and it helps me to focus and get away from the endlessly repetitive chatter of the mind.
I usually do go out in a place that is relaxing like in a park to help me unwind. It frees me of things that worry me which causes me stress. Also I usually have a massage for relaxation.