Day 8 Emotions connected to pain

The question to ponder asked if I'm recognizing the emotions connected to my pain. Yes and no. I'm recognizing a LOT of emotions in the journaling. I've also, on a few occasions, been able to recognize emotions "in the moment" throughout the day (mostly feeling frustrated and angry with my kids). But I haven't been expressly connecting these emotions to the pain. That is, I haven't been able to say, "I have a lot of pain right now. How am I feeling? Oh, I'm angry about this-or-that," and then notice a change in my pain. Should I be explicitly trying to figure out the particular emotion behind the pain in a particular point in time, or is it enough to work on the journaling and recognizing emotions as they come up and being kinder to myself?

 

Hi, Pain-free. You may be overdoing the process of feeling the harmful emotions. My own experience has been to recognize an emotion but not to dwell on it or it could be depressing. Dr. Sarno says discover the emotion causing pain, and that is enough. We don't have to replay stressful situations or solve the problems they created. Our subconscious recognizes that we discovered the harmful emotion and stops sending the pain. If pain persists, that means there are more emotions to discover. You're doing great by living in the moment and being kinder to yourself.

 

Thank you, Walt. I don't feel like I've been dwelling on the feelings, but I have been feeling them as I journal. Once I'm done journaling, I'm able to move on.

The reminder that if there's still pain, there are more emotions to discover is really helpful. I'll keep at it!