Fete Lifestyle Magazine November 2021 - Food Issue | Page 68

How to Talk About Your Emotions With Yourself

By Alyse Gaulin

ften when we start to feel

fear or any strong emotion,

we instinctively attach

ourselves to it, beginning right from the language we use. We tell ourselves “I am scared” or “I am happy.” The verb choice To be brings attachment with it, a sort of identity, and subconsciously this will shift how we relate to those emotions. As soon as we say we are something, the emotions become an inherent part of who we are.

In reality, we are not happy, scared, or sad people. We feel happy, scared, or sad. This brings neutrality and distance to our emotions. Physiologically, we evolved with emotions because they help us learn more about ourselves and our surroundings. Like a regulatory system, we base our decisions based on how certain things make us feel, yet by attaching our being to those emotions we lose that distance. So the first step you can take to learning how to view your emotions and talk about them with yourself is to shift your language.

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Photo Credit Matteo Vistocco