Episode 125: Acknowledging Feelings When They Don’t Seem Appropriate

<span style='font-weight: 400;'>When my mom told me she wouldn’t be visiting for Easter this year – choosing to visit a friend instead – I experienced a flood of emotions. </span> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>I immediately felt disappointed and sad.</span></p> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>Easter isn&apos;t a big deal in our family – we don&apos;t even go to church – but I was still looking forward to seeing her. I was bummed. </span></p> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>And then my Monger started sounding off: “What&apos;s the big deal? She’s allowed to go to visit her friend and it isn’t like you are a deeply religious family or anything. You are so uptight and rigid! This shouldn&apos;t make you sad.” </span></p> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>The rest of the day when I would feel sad or disappointed the voice of the Monger would swoop in and tell me that my feelings were irrational and I would feel terrible about myself.  </span></p> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>But here is the thing: feelings happen. It doesn’t matter if the feelings make sense or not. You are still having them and that is more than okay, no matter what your Monger is telling you. </span></p> <p><span style='font-weight: 400;'>Today, we are continuing this month’s deep dive into the F word.  In episode 119 I introduced the topic of</span> <a href='https://live-happier.com/episode-119-acknowledging-your-feelings/'> <span style='font-weight: 400;'>Acknowledging your feelings as a key part of reducing anxiety,</span></a> <span style='font-weight: 400;'>and last week, I addressed</span> <a href='https://live-happier.com/biggest-fears-about-feeling/'><span style='font-weight: 400;'> 2 of the fears we have about feelings.</span></a> <span style='font-weight: 400;'>Today, I am going to explore what to do when your feelings just don’t seem appropriate. </span></p> <p><strong>Listen to the full episode to hear:</strong></p> <ul> <li style='font-weight: 400;'><span style='font-weight: 400;'>What happens when we don’t give oursel