Day 34: Question regarding expressing/feeling emotion and rumination?

[Seeking]

The program seems to be working and the pain moving doesn't seem to be bothering me as much. Some superstition around actually saying "I'm getting better" but it certainly is feeling like it.
One thing that I would like to ask is where is the line between feeling the emotion, expressing the feeling and ruminating in it? I follow Eckart Tolle's work as well and he talks about the ego trying to hold onto the "victim" identity and how rumination in the emotion is a vicious cycle just bringing up the negative emotion over and over to no end.
I hope my question makes sense. Any thoughts out there?

 

[Ellen]

For TMS recovery the important thing is to become aware of your feelings, in other words to stop repressing them. You need to feel the emotion and labeling it can also be helpful (e.g. grief, anger, sadness, etc). A feeling will last about 90 seconds when felt, but thoughts can re-ignite it (ruminating). So the advice is to become aware of the emotion, label it, and then let it go. There is no need to express it to others for TMS recovery, but there may be good reasons to do this for the sake of deepening a relationship with another. That is another whole area regarding relationships and communication that is important, but not critical for immediate TMS symptom relief.

 

[Tms_joe]

The program seems to be working and the pain moving doesn't seem to be bothering me as much. Some superstition around actually saying "I'm getting better" but it certainly is feeling like it.
One thing that I would like to ask is where is the line between feeling the emotion, expressing the feeling and ruminating in it? I follow Eckart Tolle's work as well and he talks about the ego trying to hold onto the "victim" identity and how rumination in the emotion is a vicious cycle just bringing up the negative emotion over and over to no end.
I hope my question makes sense. Any thoughts out there?

I believe he is correct. I read his first book. Just started his second. Your emotions and thoughts are a construct of your ego and are affected by external factors outside your control. Learn to see them and ignore as needed. This has been tremendous for me. Catching my mind trying to start that vicious cycle. So much energy wasted and pain.