Day 18 Question to Ponder

What emotions are most prevalent?

Anger & fear for sure. It seems to be textbook TMS stuff. Dr Sarno was very clear in that his observation was that anger/rage were the most repressed emotions - I'm seeing that very much in my journaling. I come across many other emotions as well, such as sadness, guilt, grief etc, but some form of anger and fear are really always involved. It's good to feel them during the journalling, I feel safe to let it out.

 

I've been seeing a psychologist recently to help me deal with periods of anxiety. She told me that there are four main emotions: anger, fear, sadness and joy, and that all other emotions are aspects of these. So it makes sense that you should be experiencing a lot of fear and anger. I'm the same...plus lots of sadness. It does make wonder what's simmering away in my subconscious though, because generally, on the whole, I'm pretty happy but when I journal or speak to my psych I experience really strong emotions.

 

I found that anger, unlike fear, can cause tension in the body if it is not somehow expressed, eg sounding off or throwing a plate against a wall etc. I suspect that this happens when our anger is a response to some sort of violation by someone else. Of course we don't normally act on it unless we are physically needing to defend ourselves. So the tension is not usually released and if that anger or rage, which is worse, persists over a long time then the tension will become "a fixture" in the body somewhere. I've had a friend who used to clench his jaws when he was angered. It explains the jaw pain he sometimes complained about.

I found sounding off is good, especially when alone and mentally addressing the offenders saying what I think of them. It helps to express the anger and get it out of the system. We also do plate throwing in Greek parties, which I feel sure a lot of people participate to get some relief. You don't need to go to a Greek party to get the benefit. Just buy some cheap china and find a convenient brick wall or some concrete blocks to smash the plates against. It makes you feel good.

 

Hahaha, yes, I entirely agree with this. Living in NYC, one is CONSTANTLY violated by someone else, witness taking the subway, walking, biking, etc.... and in general, one simply takes it, shrugs it off as "just being that way in ny", and that is the attitude one must take or else there would be constant violence in this city... but, as you also pointed out, enough of that will build up if not released another way.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Me too, but I'm grateful to have a tool now to explore that stuff. Before finding this Dr. Sarno's concepts and this site, I never journaled, at least not for emotions. The way I see it, the time I dedicate to sitting down and doing the journal activities is my time to really just let it out, not judge any thoughts, feelings, etc.... it is intense, and sometimes even a little scary for me when I REALLY start letting it flow, like the murderous rage that I can feel, and at times over seemingly trivial things! But I tell you what, I'd rather feel ALL of those things than allow them to build up to the point of more TMS symptoms!

 

Hi, Kevin. It's great that you feel good about journaling. Yes, we can discover some disturbing things, but that's how we heal. Just don't spend a lot of time each day on journaling or trying to discover your repressed emotions. An hour a day is enough. Try to enjoy each day. I had some worries but decided to put them off until next year. I want to enjoy the holidays and time leading up to them. Jesus said not to be anxious about tomorrow's problems. Living in the present moment blocks out the worries about tomorrow.