I've called this episode "Sit with it" but really it should be called "Start to slowly and gently process your emotions"... Not so catchy unfortunately!!
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Transcripts
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Hello, darling heart, and welcome to the Drink Less, Live Better podcast.
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This is the podcast that helps you to see that drinking less doesn't need to be lonely, stressful, or boring.
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I'm your host, Sarah Williamson, and I decided to have a year alcohol free as a little life experiment and haven't looked back.
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With my experience and training, I now help other people with their alcohol free or drink less adventures.
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You can find out more and sign up to my 5 day drink less challenge at drink less, live better.com.
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I'm here to tell you that you can relax, connect, and have fun without alcohol in your life.
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Join me here each week to find out how.
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It's a popular piece of advice at the moment. Sit with your feelings.
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It's short, punchy, and looks great on a social post. But what does it actually mean?
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When I was feeling stuck, hopeless, and demotivated that piece of advice didn't help me at all.
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I know what sitting looks like and I know what being sad feels like, but what would I was I supposed to do with that knowledge?
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Looking back on that time in my life, I really needed some support to help me identify my feelings.
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My emotions were scattered and fast moving.
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Pinning them down was a confusing task that changed moment by moment.
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If someone had been able to give me a resource to help me, I might have been able to get closer to naming the emotion that
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I was feeling and therefore understanding myself a bit better.
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In my early sobriety, I spent a lot of time feeling upset.
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I used the descriptive word angry because I really wasn't quite sure what it was that I was feeling.
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Looking back, I think that the emotion I was really experiencing was one of frustration, but I just hadn't been able to find
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the word frustration in my mind at the time.
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I believe sit with your feelings is another way of saying start to process your emotions.
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If I'd have known that sooner, I might have been able to identify some of the tools that could have helped me.
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I now like to consider the idea of processing emotions as a holistic one.
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I break them down into mind, body, and soul, and I use different tools at different times with different feelings. For my mind, writing.
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Writing about feelings and emotions either in a journal or a notebook, sometimes even a scrap of paper, anything to allow that mind hand connection to happen.
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Allowing those feelings out onto a piece of paper is often a really good starting point for sorting out what is going on inside your head. Doodling. I love to doodle.
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I like sketching around the side of a page. I can escape into a doodle.
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In moving my pen or pencil around a page without judgment, there often comes freedom. Talking therapies.
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Choose a therapy that suits you best.
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Whatever you tried before that's worked, or try something new. For my mind, physical sensations.
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Have you ever stopped and thought about where in your body you feel particular emotions?
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I know that for me, angry is a feeling that I feel most in my chest. It's a contracted feeling.
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My shoulders round, my head comes down, and my body feels stiff.
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I notice where the feeling in my body is.
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I ask myself what I might be able to do to release it. Move gently or rapidly, stretch perhaps. What about crying or laughing?
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If you can do these things spontaneously
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it Are there any therapies that you know and trust?
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I love a massage, Reiki, or reflexology. What else might support your body?
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For my soul, stillness, meditate, pray, reflect.
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Do you like to listen to music? Have you ever tried breath work?
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Would any of these feel good to you?
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If they do, then start to use them and carry on using them if they feel fabulous.
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And if they don't, just put them down gently to one side.
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After trying some of these mind, body, or soul ideas, how do you feel?
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Do you feel emotionally lighter, mentally clearer?
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Perhaps you feel more relaxed, or something else entirely.
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And don't forget that any emotional discomfort you had before might take a while to process.
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It might not be a quick fix, but it is really worth exploring.
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I know that I spent many years escaping, denying, pushing down, tolerating or trying to control the feelings and emotions that were uncomfortable for me.
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Coming to a place where I was able to process my emotions took practice, time, and energy.
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I'm always a work in progress, and so are you.
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Check out the show notes on this podcast or any other episode.
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You'll find details about the Drink Less Live Better retreat 2023.
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You'll see the link to a hidden podcast episode to help you with your 5 PM cravings, and you'll be able to read about my one to one coaching program.
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I'd love it if you could follow and download the podcast, and if you feel inclined, please leave a review. That would be lovely. Thank you for listening in today.
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Do come back again next week, and, PS, I believe in you.
