During depression, the intensity of the feelings can be so strong that some people worry that the feelings will overwhelm them or even hurt or kill them. The temptation is to panic and push it all down. this is not true. No matter how intense, cruel or extreme the feelings are, they cannot kill us. We may think we are insecure during an emotional release, but this illusion recedes later. With practice, we begin to feel spiritually secure under our emotions. We learn that we are safe even during intense storms of emotion.
Instead of resisting the feelings, ask yourself what is the best way to allow the safe expression of feelings. Feel inwardly which option is right for you – while experiencing deep feelings. Do your best to allow the intense energy of the emotions to spill out in a way that is natural and safe for you. Keep breathing. Feel deep inside yourself and ask, “What is the best thing I can do for myself right now while this process continues? What is the best form of expression I can give my pain to help myself heal?”
Expression comes in many forms. Do you need to listen to relaxing music, scream in the privacy of your car, burrow your feelings into your journal, mourn your painful story to a friend who will listen, sit in the warm sunlight, or take a walk in the cold night? Do you feel the need to shower or bathe? Draw them, sculpt them in clay, or make visuals. Take the emotion or feeling in motion or sound. Or maybe you feel the need to cry? If that’s the case, go ahead and let her out. Cry, settle into the cornered fetal position, and know that you’ve had this experience.
You don’t need to know why or what the tears are for. Get out of your head and stay with yourself while you cry. Wait for the emotional wave to pass. If a painful story comes up, hold your breath and use some sort of expression to get it out of yourself. Moving things into conscious awareness provides fresh perspective and healing. You don’t have to act on feelings, but they do require awareness through expression.
There is no standard “right” answer for what you’re supposed to do. There is no fix for emotion. There you just breathe, sensing within yourself the best way to express yourself, keep yourself safe, and allow your process to complete. Things are complete when there is nothing else to express, when you are running out of strength, or when you notice that you are expressing the same things repeatedly and there does not seem to be an inner reason to keep expressing. When you get to this point, take a deep breath and let the process complete.
