Emotional Freedom: Defeat Negative Emotions

This is an article about a recommended new pathway to freedom from toxic emotions.

Stress is the most powerful and common emotional reason why people fail to change. As soon as one starts to hurt emotionally or physically, there is an internal drive to shut the pain off with whatever it will take.

We can become tempted to engage in addictions and compulsions, which obviously have some pain numbing and analgesic qualities. But ultimately such behaviors keep us stuck on imbalance, suffering, self-defeat, and even failure.

Our most significant challenge on the road to health, recovery, personal freedom, and happiness requires us to find positive actions to resolve pain and suffering. Let's look at the following new process to release toxic emotions and replace them with positive ones.

I realize it is difficult and sometimes overwhelming to stop and think when you are under emotional, social, medical, mental, and even financial attack. When you find yourself in this chaotic mode, first verbalize or write about your stressful feelings. Take a deep breath; describe your emotions the best you can.

For example, try this exercise: "I feel angry because....." Or, "I feel sad, worried, fearful, and ashamed because...." If you don't know how you are feeling, just answer this statement: "I feel upset because..."

After you get some of your stressful emotions out, take a moment to pause; enjoy the partial relief that comes from sharing your feelings. Next ask yourself, "What am I willing to let go of?" If you don't know, that's all right. With practice and repetition you will gain these answers someday. Most importantly, keep asking yourself the question until the so called light bulb goes on.

Next, you can try to move on by replacing your painful emotions with positive ones. Find a feeling mantra that works for you. I just repeat the following five comforting words over and over: peace, hope, gratitude, joy, and love.

Then focus on how you can better reward and nurture yourself. Find new ways to take better care of yourself. Keep asking, practicing, and rehearsing coping skills that will bring you relief; such as, setting goals; taking constructive action in small steps; pursuing your strengths, talents, and abilities. Soon you will find what you seek.

If you are still feeling out of balance, hurt, and upset, just take a deep breath; i.e., inhale for three seconds and slowly exhale for six. Now work the above mentioned steps over and over until the cravings and urges to make bad decisions release you. Affirm persistently that you deserve to have a better life today. If you are still stuck, reach out for help.

Lastly, I thought it would be helpful to provide you with a summary of this release process, which hopefully will help you apply the concept of gaining more freedom from stressful emotions.

1. Verbalize, write, or even share your stressful feelings with somebody.
2. If you don't know what you are feeling, try to answer a more general question.
3. "I am really upset because....?"
4. Replace your stressful emotions with positive ones.
5. Just say these words slowly: peace, hope, gratitude, joy, and self-love.
6. Try to figure out what you need to let go of today.
7. Make an attempt to reward yourself in positive ways.
8. Return to practicing the process of slow and deep breathing.
9. If all else fails, then reach out for help.

Negative emotions trigger us to deny, procrastinate, give-up, and dance with chaos or self-destruction. Today, we can use a release process to gain emotional healing ,and restore the balance between mind, body, and spirit.

(Gary Eby is the author of The Eby Way: Challenge, Release, Heal Your Painful Past soon to be released by Sterlinghousepublisher.com in early 2009. http://www.squidoo.com/ebychallenge .)