How to Feel Your Negative Emotions 101

Try the following steps to feel your negative emotions:

1. Breathe.
2. Tell yourself “I am not my negative emotions.”
3. Breathe.
4. Feel them.
5. Become them.
6. Breathe.
7. Tell yourself “I am not my negative emotions.”
8. Breathe.
9. Let them go.
10. Breathe.
11. If necessary, repeat these steps.

When feeling your negative emotions, beware of these tendencies:

1. Judging your negative emotions.
2. Denying your negative emotions.
3. Shaming your negative emotions.
4. Escaping your negative emotions.
5. Resisting your negative emotions.
6. Minimizing your negative emotions.
7. Invalidating your negative emotions.
8. Suppressing your negative emotions.
9. Thinking about your negative emotions.
10. Pretending your negative emotions do not exist.
11. Telling yourself you shouldn’t feel a certain way.
12. Thinking about the stories or beliefs related to your negative emotions.

If you find yourself doing these things, stop because you are not feeling your negative emotions. Gently pull the focus back to feeling your negative emotions.

General rules:

1. Your negative emotions are valid.
2. There is no wrong or right way to feel.
3. Your negative emotions demand to be felt.
4. It’s okay to feel your negative emotions.
5. The more you suppress your negative emotions, the more depressed you will be.
6. You need to feel these negative emotions to release their energy from your system.
7. Be gentle with yourself. Take your time.
8. Practice makes perfect.