Keeping Difficult Emotions in Check

Understanding Grief / Understanding Grief : Eleanor Haley



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negative emotion monsters
one person saying: "do you want to go grab a coffee?" other person responding: "can't, it's very important that i keep an eye on Worry at all times"
person trying to enter a room: "why of course, the code word must be HAPPY" "incorrect, the code word is BLAH. you may not enter"

These are difficult emotions. All human beings are familiar with these creatures, but—as someone who is grieving—I'll bet you've recently come into contact with a particularly intense breed. Even though your difficult emotions may look and sound a little different, they all share the singular desire to take up as much as space in your life as you will allow. They feed on attention and they are relentless in their efforts to get it from you. They create a lot of noise in your life, overshadowing other emotions and convincing you that it's very important for you to pay attention to them OR ELSE. 

Sometimes people are especially susceptible to difficult emotions, for example when experiences like grief, trauma, and psychological disorder are present. These experiences contribute to the narrowing of a person's focus, and can cause them to be more open to difficult emotions, thoughts, and experiences than positive ones. Pretty soon, they may find themselves shutting positive emotion out altogether, like the bouncer at a very sad and unpleasant nightclub.

this is your brain

When difficult emotions are given too much space and attention, they can wreak havoc on your thinking; confirming negative beliefs, clouding your worldview, and negatively biasing your opinion of yourself and others. Difficult emotions grow and multiply until, one day, you find there isn't room for anything else. This is usually right about the time you decide there's no reason to get out of bed and put on pants in the morning.

The Problem:

Before going any further, I want to ask you to identify the emotions are you experiencing right now. You don't have to pick just one emotion; actually, I would prefer for you to consider the range of emotions you're experiencing in this moment. If you're sitting at your desk with a writing utensil and a piece of scrap paper handy, write these emotions down. Now I want you to ask yourself - Do I view these emotions as all positive, all negative, or a mix of both?

My hope is that you will say a mix of both. Emotions that are typically considered "negative", like pain, longing, yearning, and sadness, are inherent in loving someone who has died. One must learn to tolerate these emotions in order to maintain a connection the deceased. Some may even go so far as to say they value these emotions because they serve as a reminder that their loved one is irreplaceable and their absence will never cease to be heartbreaking.

As counterintuitive as it may seem to some, the problem is not the existence of difficult emotion—rather it's keeping difficult emotions in check. Problems exist when a person allows difficult emotions to take up so much space that positive emotions, thoughts, and experiences no longer have room to survive. You need to reserve some space, even if it is a very little corner of your mind, where positive experiences can exist.

For example, the other day I took a minute to identify the emotions I was experiencing—just as I asked you to do above. I realized I felt stressed out and anxious, and typically my response to stress and anxiety is to feel paralyzed (i.e., the stay in bed, no pants scenario). But I didn't feel paralyzed this time, so I asked myself why. I realized it's because I simultaneously felt hopeful. Hope was the key because it balanced the emotional scales and gave me a reason to keep trying.

Creating Space for Positive Emotion:

In creating space for positive emotion, one shouldn't strive to eliminate difficult emotion. Rather the goal should be two-fold in that a person should attempt to (1) effectively cope with difficult emotion so it doesn't take over and (2) give positive emotion, memory, and experiences some time and attention. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Learn to tolerate difficult emotion. Experiences like sadness, guilt, anger, and anxiety will always exist, especially after the death of a loved one. Many people will instinctually try to run away from or escape these distressing experiences, but avoidance usually only makes things worse. These emotions will always be there cropping up when you least expect them to. If you try to eliminate distressing emotion, you will quickly find yourself so consumed with the job of playing emotional whack-a-mole that you cut yourself off from everything else. For more on avoidance in grief, head here.

2. Indulge difficult emotion a little bit less. Just because difficult emotion wants all your time and attention, doesn't mean you have to give it to them. difficult emotions are kind of like naughty children: If you allow them to be in control and indulge their every demand, they will run amok. difficult emotions need boundaries and they need to be told no once in a while.

"i haven't forgotten you're here, but right now i need to spend a little time with gratitude"

3. Do things to enhance well-being and positive emotionIn a recent post, A Balanced Approach to Coping With Life After Loss, we discuss our approach to coping: We assert that, while it’s important to find ways to cope with the thoughts, experiences, and emotions directly related to your loss, it’s also equally important to engage in coping that promotes adjustment and overall well-being. Our rationale is that the better you feel, the more strength you’ll have for dealing with grief. Check out a more thorough discussion on well-being at the links above.

4. Make room for positive memories and a continued bond with your loved one. People sometimes shy away from nurturing a continued bond with their deceased loved one because they fear difficult emotion or because society makes them feel as though they ought to leave their loved one in the past. Although memories of your loved one may always be tinged with sadness, in time positive memories and an ongoing bond with your loved one can be an important source of hope, inspiration, strength, and positive emotion.

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13 Comments on "Keeping Difficult Emotions in Check"

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  1. Acorn  November 1, 2018 at 1:50 pm Reply

    Unfortunately, my grief situation count continues to grow… now up to 17 in the last 18 months. It feels like “the hits just keep on coming”. On the plus side, there is some progress to report.

    I read the book _The Language of Emotions_ (see posts below). Even though the first half was quite repetitive — it read like blog posts or lecture notes put together without careful editing — the approach has been helpful in prompting me to use imagery to recognize and channel emotions — both positive and negative. Although the most recent challenges have been especially damaging, I am consciously taking the time to let my emotions settle before making any big changes.

    I recently found a book of practical suggestions that I thought I would share here. The authors have an online blog and their approach and writing style resonated with me and might be helpful for others. The book is called _Getting Back to Happy_ by Marc and Angel Chernoff.

  2. Acorn  June 13, 2018 at 1:30 pm Reply

    Thank you for mentioning _The Language of Emotions_ It was exactly what I was looking for.

    During the past 15 months I have experienced no less than 14 grief situations. Although 2 of them involved the loss of a family member, acceptable grief to most of the world, 12 of these situations have involved “disenfranchised” grief. I knew that I was grieving, but kept getting not so helpful messages — people around me telling me to “Snap out of it”. I am glad to have found a name for it and a space where this type of grief is recognized.

    In general, I am a person of action. I want to work through problems, but the latest grief situation has had me thoroughly stuck. I think the working through this book will be very helpful.

  3. Tirhas  January 22, 2018 at 11:42 pm Reply

    I lost my 22 years old son 2yers a go I’m so lost I’m empty confused I don’t know what to do or where to go my heart hurts my body hurts I just want to die is to painful to go on without my son I miss him so much I hate myself I’m failure mom I failed him I live with guilt every day I failed to protect my son I just want to die life is to painful now im broke I don’t care about anything anymore I ther is no point for me to live I love my son so much I miss him so much he’s so kind loving caring he’s is the perfect son gifts from god and I failed him

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  4. Tirhas  January 22, 2018 at 11:42 pm Reply

    I lost my 22 years old son 2yers a go I’m so lost I’m empty confused I don’t know what to do or where to go my heart hurts my body hurts I just want to die is to painful to go on without my son I miss him so much I hate myself I’m failure mom I failed him I live with guilt every day I failed to protect my son I just want to die life is to painful now im broke I don’t care about anything anymore I ther is no point for me to live I love my son so much I miss him so much he’s so kind loving caring he’s is the perfect son gifts from god and I failed him

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  5. Sherry Olander  December 9, 2017 at 11:30 pm Reply

    I have just discovered your site and blog and, as a huge fan of grief, I am thrilled to find you! This emotion definitely needs more screen-time in most of western culture, and especially in America. I wonder if either of you have read or heard of Karla McLaren? She wrote The Language of Emotions and her approach to emotions is very different than any other out there. One of the biggest tenets of her work is the importance of not valencing emotions into negative or positive – because they each have unique gifts to bring us. It is through her work that I came to understand grief at such a deep level and am so grateful for the beauty found within it.

    I especially appreciate the blog you have on the pros and cons of support groups. I plan to share this with others as I think it is a very useful resource. Thank you!

  6. Sherry Olander  December 9, 2017 at 11:30 pm Reply

    I have just discovered your site and blog and, as a huge fan of grief, I am thrilled to find you! This emotion definitely needs more screen-time in most of western culture, and especially in America. I wonder if either of you have read or heard of Karla McLaren? She wrote The Language of Emotions and her approach to emotions is very different than any other out there. One of the biggest tenets of her work is the importance of not valencing emotions into negative or positive – because they each have unique gifts to bring us. It is through her work that I came to understand grief at such a deep level and am so grateful for the beauty found within it.

    I especially appreciate the blog you have on the pros and cons of support groups. I plan to share this with others as I think it is a very useful resource. Thank you!

  7. Eliz  September 5, 2017 at 10:38 pm Reply

    Carla, thank you for writing about grief and a loved one with dementia. You put into words my experience with my mother. I felt the loss so strongly when the symptoms changed her ability to function independently. It was confusing and isolating, grieving someone who is still living. It is also demanding to grieve and to need to focus on decisions/tasks for the continuing care and well-being of the loved one. I didn’t find my way to this site until three years later after a different loss and it has been a source of comfort. I am sorry for your loss and send my gratitude for your post.

  8. Tina Newman  September 5, 2017 at 3:40 pm Reply

    Amzing choice of words. So much fantastic information right here. Thank you all so much. <3

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  9. Carla  September 5, 2017 at 1:21 pm Reply

    I appreciate your blog posts and your website so much! After my husband (who has vascular dementia) went to an assisted living facility, I desperately searched the web for anything I could find on my situation, that is, the tremendous loss felt even when the loved one is not physically dead. One of the most valuable things I found was your blog entry on ambiguous loss https://whatsyourgrief.com/ambiguous-grief-grieving-someone-who-is-still-alive/ And these sentences were uniquely valuable–“unique” because I have never seen this experience of mine reflected anywhere else: “Our ‘ambiguous grief’ feelings may be sadness and yearning, anger and guilt, or a range of other emotions. These emotions can become even more complicated than the grief that comes after a death when the behaviors and words of the ‘new’ person causes us to question our old memories. Or worse, they can start to consume our brains as those old memories begin to fade. ” I struggle every day with trying to remember my husband when his cognitive functioning was entirely intact. When dementia or another “person-altering” condition very slowly takes over, it’s extremely hard to know when it started and it can last for many years. On top of that, when there’s a clear diagnosis and symptoms become very obvious, there’s the shock of realizing that there was, effectively, a burglar (or really, a murderer) living in your house for years, but you didn’t recognize it. (That may sound silly, but then, why do suspense/horror movies use that deep human fear as a central premise?!)

    So, after saying all of this, I’d like to ask if maybe, from time to time, you could work this kind of grief experience into other blog posts? It seems like most of them are based on death of a loved one. This would help so much for those of us who are dealing with ambiguous loss, especially when society in general does not recognize our loss.

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