Psychology: The Fear of Feeling

The Fear of Feeling

Written by Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

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Title: The Fear of Feeling Author: Margaret Paul, Ph.D. E-mail: mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com Copyright: © 2003 by Margaret Paul Web Address: http://www.innerbonding.com Word Count: 643 Category: Emotional Healing, Spiritual Growth

THE FEAR OF FEELING By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

We desire to find repparttar 126230 path to peace, joy and freedom. We strive to feel lovable, worthy and secure. We know that if we do our inner work and open to our connection with Spirit, we will feel all of that. Yet we don't. We put it off for days or weeks. We stay stuck in our misery or numbness. Why? What are we so afraid of if we open to learning about loving?

I have searched for many years for repparttar 126231 answer to this question. Over and over I would find myself out of grace and joy and into anxiety and stress. Each time it was because I failed to take care of myself in some way.

The problem is that all feelings are in repparttar 126232 same box. Pain is in repparttar 126233 same box as joy. We cannot be putting a lid on pain without putting a lid on joy as well.

What is repparttar 126234 pain we are striving so hard to avoid feeling? Most people feel a lot of pain. We feel anxious, frightened, depressed, hurt. Since we are often in pain, it doesn't seem to make sense that we are, at repparttar 126235 same time as we are feeling all this pain, also avoiding pain. Yet that is exactly what we are doing.

As unhappy as we may be feeling, we are avoiding pain that we believe is even greater than repparttar 126236 pain we are feeling.

I have discovered that there are three feelings which most people want to avoid at all cost: aloneness, loneliness and helplessness.

Aloneness is what we feel inside when we are disconnected from God. Loneliness is what we feel when we cannot connect with another, either because our heart is closed, their heart is closed, or both of our hearts are closed. Helplessness is what we would feel if, when we want to connect with another and his or her heart is closed, we accept that there is nothing we can do to make them open their heart. Helplessness is what we feel when we accept our lack of control over others.

DEPRESSION BECOMES YOU

Written by Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW

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Title: DEPRESSION BECOMES YOU Author: Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW E-mail: mailto:editor@overcoming-depression.com Copyright: by Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW Web Address: http://www.Overcoming-Depression.com Word Count: 673 Category: Mental Health

DEPRESSION BECOMES YOU

Have you ever overheard people talking about couples that have been married for a very long time? One of things often said is how a couple will begin to look alike over time. How and why do you think this occurs?

This phenomenon parallels a tea bag being steeped in clear water. After a while repparttar 126228 water takes on repparttar 126229 color and characteristics of repparttar 126230 contents of repparttar 126231 tea bag.

This is what happens with couples. They are both, at repparttar 126232 same time, repparttar 126233 "clear water" AND repparttar 126234 tea bag -- Each saturating repparttar 126235 other with ideas, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, food choices and so forth. After a while there is a melting pot effect where they each more resemble repparttar 126236 other, and this is so powerful that couples eventually begin to look alike. Powerful, eh?

Now, having a relationship with depression can be scarily repparttar 126237 same. The depression tea bag will steep itself deeply in your life at least one time. Normally you will be able to take out repparttar 126238 depression tea bag by adding new coping skills and continually diluting repparttar 126239 mixture back to its original quality. "Clear water" is who you really are at your core. You have a base set of qualities that make up both your personality and what is most important in your life. It's your essence!

We all know that some teas are stronger than others. The depression tea bag is a strong, biggie-sized tea bag! It can powerfully impact your life, saturating you completely until you forget who you are. Depression becomes you!

When this happens you take on all repparttar 126240 characteristics of depression, leaving much of who you are behind. How you walk will reflect depression. Your tone will reflect depression. Your moods will reflect depression. Your posture will mirror depression and so on.

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