Faith Matters

How to Stop Running from Your Feelings - A Conversation with Jana Spangler

Jan 4, 2025

Jana Spangler, an expert in emotional processing and resilience, shares her insights on understanding and navigating difficult emotions. She emphasizes that emotions are not enemies, but essential signals to guide us. Jana discusses the significance of somatic awareness and how suppressed feelings can harm our relationships and well-being. She offers practical tools for building emotional resilience, encouraging listeners to embrace discomfort for personal growth. The conversation highlights the importance of vulnerability in fostering authentic connections within communities.

01:00:35

Episode guests

Jana Spangler

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Emotions are vital signals that offer insights into our internal experiences, emphasizing their role as guides rather than adversaries.

Practicing emotional awareness and processing builds resilience, allowing individuals to navigate discomfort and enhance overall well-being through understanding.

Embracing authentic emotional dialogue fosters deeper connections and healing within communities, encouraging individuals to express and engage with their feelings.

Deep dives

The Value of Emotions

Emotions serve as vital signals, offering insights into our internal experiences and guiding our responses. Understanding that emotions are not adversaries but rather messengers is crucial for emotional health. Instead of suppressing feelings, recognizing and processing them fosters clarity and connection. This approach allows individuals to navigate discomfort and cultivate a healthier relationship with themselves and others.

Intro

3min

The Essential Journey of Emotional Processing

3min

Navigating the Connection Between Emotions and the Body

32min

The Impact of Suppressed Emotions on Body and Relationships

3min

Embracing Emotion: The Power of Honest Communication

4min

Building Genuine Community Through Vulnerability

16min

This week, we’re joined by Jana Spangler for a powerful and practical conversation about emotions—especially the ones we’ll do just about anything to avoid feeling.

Jana explains that emotions aren’t our enemies; they’re signals—messages from deep within us, rooted in ancient systems designed to guide and protect us. While emotions can feel overwhelming or even painful, learning to pay attention to them—rather than suppress or ignore them—helps us understand what’s really going on and respond with greater clarity, wisdom, and connection.

She breaks down what emotions actually are, how they begin in our bodies, and why listening to them is key to living a healthier, more wholehearted life. Jana shares practical tools for processing even the most uncomfortable emotions and teaches us how to build emotional resilience by sitting with discomfort instead of running from it. This practice, she explains, not only strengthens our ability to face life’s challenges but also nourishes our relationships, our physical and mental well-being, and our communities, creating space for greater connection and healing.

This episode is full of tools to help you navigate the hardest days and we hope it inspires you like it did us. With that, here’s our conversation with Jana Spangler.

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.

Faith Matters

How to Stop Running from Your Feelings - A Conversation with Jana Spangler

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Value of Emotions

Processing Negative Emotions

Cultural Challenges in Emotional Expression

Constructive Responses to Conflict

Embracing Humanity

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts