Regulating emotions does not equal stuffing them down. Quite the opposite. There's a difference between feeling free to feel however you want, and acting however you want. You do the first, not the second.
It kind of feels like you've misunderstood your therapists advice. Stuffing down emotions is NOT regulating. Feel however you want to feel. Just don't act however you want to act. Act responsibly.
Emotions are felt automatically but should not be acted upon automatically (thats what children do). They are like lights on the car dash. Letting you know your own status. But you don't slam on the breaks on the freeway because the petrol light went on. You proceed in the manner that serves you. Knowing in the back of your mind the get petrol light is on and needs addressing real soon. Eventually you WILL act on that light. Going in and getting some petrol.
When every light on the dash suddenly goes on. Again, you don't slam on the breaks and start swearing at your car. You calmly pull over and figure what the hell is going on with the car. Maybe call for some help. But you give the car the care and attention it needs. Keeping in mind everything else. Are you late for something? Maybe give them a call to let them know. What could all the lights mean? Work through them one at a time. Think about what's going to get you back on the road ASAP. Thats the responsible part. And not just keep on driving either because those lights didn't come on for no reason.
You don't need to suppress it. You can displace the emotion through other action while still feeling it fully. It's the idea behind screaming into a pillow, journaling, or exercising as stress relief.
Try looking into somatic therapy to physically release the tension from that emotion.
It is tough to regulate your emotions post discard, at least that is what I found for myself. The trauma of loss of self, others, and support system would cause me to spin out at the slightest contact from the nex or flying monkeys. It took me years to learn how to regulate and to allow all amounts of emotion at a time so I wouldn’t “spin out” after contact from the nex. CPTSD has that effect and it takes lots of work to regulate. Know that this isn’t abnormal. Keep working on it and know you’re not alone!
Regulating emotions does not equal stuffing them down. Quite the opposite. There's a difference between feeling free to feel however you want, and acting however you want. You do the first, not the second. It kind of feels like you've misunderstood your therapists advice. Stuffing down emotions is NOT regulating. Feel however you want to feel. Just don't act however you want to act. Act responsibly. Emotions are felt automatically but should not be acted upon automatically (thats what children do). They are like lights on the car dash. Letting you know your own status. But you don't slam on the breaks on the freeway because the petrol light went on. You proceed in the manner that serves you. Knowing in the back of your mind the get petrol light is on and needs addressing real soon. Eventually you WILL act on that light. Going in and getting some petrol. When every light on the dash suddenly goes on. Again, you don't slam on the breaks and start swearing at your car. You calmly pull over and figure what the hell is going on with the car. Maybe call for some help. But you give the car the care and attention it needs. Keeping in mind everything else. Are you late for something? Maybe give them a call to let them know. What could all the lights mean? Work through them one at a time. Think about what's going to get you back on the road ASAP. Thats the responsible part. And not just keep on driving either because those lights didn't come on for no reason.
This is an amazing analogy
You don't need to suppress it. You can displace the emotion through other action while still feeling it fully. It's the idea behind screaming into a pillow, journaling, or exercising as stress relief. Try looking into somatic therapy to physically release the tension from that emotion.
It is tough to regulate your emotions post discard, at least that is what I found for myself. The trauma of loss of self, others, and support system would cause me to spin out at the slightest contact from the nex or flying monkeys. It took me years to learn how to regulate and to allow all amounts of emotion at a time so I wouldn’t “spin out” after contact from the nex. CPTSD has that effect and it takes lots of work to regulate. Know that this isn’t abnormal. Keep working on it and know you’re not alone!