It’s Okay to Not Be Okay - The Importance of Acknowledging Your Feelings

In the past few years, messages of positivity and self-care have become increasingly popular. Everywhere we look, we see posts and quotes telling us to focus on the good, to practice gratitude, and to always keep a positive attitude. And while cultivating positivity and gratitude is undoubtedly valuable, I believe that these messages can sometimes be oversimplified. It’s essential to remember that being human means experiencing a full range of emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, and everything in between. In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of acknowledging and allowing yourself to feel whatever you feel, even when it's not all rainbows and sunshine.

It's tempting to push away negative emotions like sadness, frustration, or anger. After all, who enjoys feeling those things? But research shows that ignoring or suppressing your emotions can lead to increased anxiety, depression, and stress. It's crucial to remember that our emotions are a way of processing and expressing what we're experiencing, and ignoring them can hinder our emotional health.

Acknowledging your feelings can be an uncomfortable and vulnerable experience. Still, it can also lead to greater self-awareness and understanding. When you allow yourself to feel the full range of emotions, you better understand what triggers your emotions, what coping strategies work for you, and what areas of your life may need some adjustments.

One of the biggest misconceptions about emotions is that they are mutually exclusive. In reality, it's entirely possible to experience pleasant and distressing emotions at the same time. For example, you might feel happy that a friend has achieved success but also jealous that it's not you. Acknowledging both of these emotions can be challenging, but it's essential to avoid discounting the negative emotions entirely.

Unpleasant or distressing emotions serve as an indicator that something is not quite right, and we need to reflect on why we are experiencing them. They help us to identify areas we need to work on and provide insight into personal growth. Suppressing uncomfortable emotions can make us more fragile while acknowledging and embracing them can build resilience. Resilience allows us to adapt to life’s challenges and emerge even stronger. By experiencing all emotions, we learn how to cope with difficult emotions better and eventually transform them into positive action items. By ignoring them, we miss out on valuable opportunities for self-reflection and self-discovery that can help us grow and thrive.

While acknowledging your emotions is valuable, it's also essential to have healthy coping mechanisms to help regulate them. Engaging in activities like exercise, journaling, or talking to a friend can all be effective ways to manage challenging emotions. The key is to find coping mechanisms that work for you and that you can consistently incorporate into your routine.

Sometimes, acknowledging and coping with difficult emotions can feel unmanageable. In those cases, seeking professional help from a therapist or counsellor can be a valuable option. Therapy can help you unpack your emotions, gain greater self-awareness, and develop healthy coping mechanisms. It's important to remember that there is no shame in seeking help and that it can be a powerful tool in achieving emotional health.

In conclusion, it's important to acknowledge and give yourself permission to feel the full range of emotions. Suppressing or ignoring emotions can be harmful to your mental health. Instead, try to cultivate self-awareness and learn healthy coping mechanisms to help regulate your emotions. If you find that managing difficult emotions feels unmanageable, seeking professional help is a valuable option. Remember, prioritising your emotional health is a powerful act of self-care that benefits both yourself and those around you.

If you want support on your journey by learning more about feelings and emotions and gaining a variety of skills to manage them, enrol in our online course Working with Emotions, which will guide you to understand what you feel and how that manifests in your body, mind, and actions.