Often in mindfulness,
We focus on the tendency to resist,
Block,
Avoid,
And numb out difficult emotions.
But some of us,
Some of the time,
Can kind of drown in emotions.
We might even feed them or indulge them,
Or at the very least,
Get really overwhelmed.
Or we're such diligent mindfulness students that we want to face the tiger of our emotion,
Look at it square in the eyes,
And deal with it by really embracing it.
So this might not always be the most wise or compassionate move,
Especially with emotions related to trauma.
So what else can we do?
Maybe we could approach the emotion gently,
Rather than blasting through our defences.
Perhaps we could use homeopathic doses of mindfulness and self-compassion.
Sometimes in the thick of intense emotion,
We can forget all our tools.
ABC is a useful mnemonic to remember,
A bigger container.
How can we bring some spaciousness into the emotion,
Or some space around the emotion?
Try it now,
Perhaps sitting or standing a little straighter.
Using the breath to expand the chest and belly,
Noticing tension in the body,
And perhaps even actively contracting this before relaxing them on the out-breath.
Perhaps a bigger container may involve opening the eyes with a really soft gaze,
Expanding the actual visual space around us,
Widening our peripheral vision.
Perhaps having soft ears as well,
Just allowing the sounds to be reached by the ears with gentleness.
So perhaps notice,
Without even going right towards that emotion,
This space might make a difference.
A bucking horse in a tiny paddock when moved to a huge field still has the same energy,
But much less impact.
Maybe even a kind of beauty,
Or maybe not.
Once there's a little bit more of this space,
Perhaps you could explore using a bit of self-compassion.
You are suffering a lot right now.
Can you gently put a hand on your heart?
Imagine the compassion of a caring teacher,
Or spiritual figure,
Or someone else important in your life.
Just giving yourself care because you are suffering,
Remembering that the wish to alleviate suffering is part of compassion.
For those dedicated mindfulness students,
It's okay if you're drowning in emotional pain to visualize the pain leaving you in some metaphorical form.
You're not cheating.
If all this is going well for you,
Perhaps savouring that ease or slight easing of the emotional pain.
And if the emotional pain is just too intense at the moment,
Perhaps trying some touch and go.
You can just lean into the emotional pain for just a second,
Or a moment,
And then retreat,
Perhaps to an imagined safe place with a safe person.
Or maybe to an actual safe place with a soothing cup of tea,
Or something like that.
And perhaps you've listened to this audio and you know this is just a no-go area right now.
Can you choose your least harmful numbing mechanism for the minimum amount of time?
Perhaps some more wholesome choices might be patting your dog,
Having a sleep.
And there's always your favourite device,
Of course.
Please accept compassion from me.
Overwhelming emotional pain,
Whoa.
It's really difficult.
And very human.
You're not alone.
Take care.
