Dear Teen,
Rarely are we taught about our emotions and feelings. We’re familiar with mad, sad, happy….but sometimes you might not be sure what you are feeling. You just know you are feeling something out of the ordinary. It is always helpful to identify your emotions so you know where it’s coming from and what to do about it. Then when you know how and what you are feeling you can stop a moment and honor those emotions. What I mean by that is that all emotions are valid. If you are caught in a moment and are trying hard not to cry, you may just need to find a safe place and let it go! You may have to say to yourself, “Yes, I am very bummed out right now,” and cry or let yourself feel sad. If we don’t slow down enough to honor our feelings it means we are shutting them down/holding them inside. And that is not healthy. All emotions/feelings are valid, so that goes for your friends and family too. If you are angry about what someone else has done, you may need some time to process your feelings (think about it) so you don’t just react to the emotion and situation. Sometimes that can cause a negative situation. But it doesn’t mean you can’t be angry. I think if we were all taught early on about handling our emotions and feelings we would just get along a lot better. We might not have as much stress or anxiety about life. We might be able to talk about how we are feeling in an honest way. So next time you are feeling something, stop and give it a moment of your time to honor those feelings. Take a deep breath and ask yourself why you are feeling this right now. Be honest with yourself. Then let yourself cry, laugh, be frustrated, angry, disappointed, embarrassed, guilty or hurt. You have the opportunity to grow immensely in knowing yourself. Just make sure you can get yourself back to happy and healthy because that’s the goal.
AFRAID-TERRIFIED-LONELY-INSPIRED-LUCKY-THANKFUL-OPTIMISTIC-ENCOURAGED-INTRIGUED-REBELLIOUS-DISCOURAGED-SKEPTICAL-DISTRESSED-CALM-ASHAMED-GUILTY-CONFUSED-HOPEFUL