Girls Night #250: “I Shouldn’t Feel this Way” — How to Navigate your Big (and Conflicting!) Emotions! — with Dr. Alison Cook
May 6, 2024
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Dr. Alison Cook, a psychologist specialized in emotional wellness, discusses navigating big emotions and self-compassion. She shares strategies on 'naming, taming, and transforming' thoughts. The episode explores emotional complexity, therapy, discernment, and rewiring the brain for healthy emotional responses.
Embrace and validate your emotions to navigate life authentically.
Learn to name, tame, and transform your thoughts to manage complex emotions.
Recognize and break free from internal gaslighting to cultivate deeper emotional acceptance.
Deep dives
Recognizing the Value of Emotions
We often overlook the importance of acknowledging and understanding our emotions. In many instances, we tend to invalidate our feelings or avoid addressing them altogether. The podcast highlights the significance of embracing our emotions, recognizing that they play a crucial role in influencing various aspects of our lives, such as relationships, career, and self-image. By responding effectively to our emotions, we can navigate life more authentically and make informed decisions that align with our values and goals.
Exploring Emotional Guidance with Dr. Allison Cook
Dr. Allison Cook, a psychologist and author, discusses strategies for managing and transforming challenging emotions. In her book 'I Shouldn't Feel This Way,' she emphasizes the need to name, tame, and transform our thoughts to better understand and deal with complex emotions. Through mindful awareness and self-compassion, individuals can navigate their emotional landscape, gain insights into their responses, and cultivate healthier relationships with themselves and others.
Overcoming Internal Gaslighting
Internal gaslighting, a form of self-deception and invalidation, is explored in the podcast. This self-sabotaging behavior involves questioning or dismissing our own emotions, leading to inner conflict and confusion. By recognizing when we gaslight ourselves, acknowledging our authentic feelings, and reframing negative self-talk, we can break free from this pattern and cultivate a deeper understanding and acceptance of our emotions.
Practicing Mindfulness and Emotional Awareness
The episode underscores the importance of mindfulness and emotional awareness in processing and responding to our feelings. By dedicating time for introspection, such as during daily routines or quiet moments, individuals can identify their emotions, thoughts, and triggers more effectively. This practice allows for greater self-awareness, enabling individuals to manage their emotions, engage in healthier dialogue with themselves, and make conscious choices in alignment with their values.
Benefits of Therapy and Seeking Professional Support
The podcast encourages considering therapy as a valuable resource for personal growth, healing, and self-care. Seeking therapy can be beneficial for addressing trauma, anxiety, depression, or relationship challenges. Additionally, therapy offers a safe space for exploring emotions, enhancing communication skills, and developing strategies to navigate life's obstacles with resilience and authenticity. Whether in times of crisis or for regular mental health maintenance, therapy can provide valuable support and guidance.
Here’s the thing — we’ve all been there. We’ve all had days where it feels like our emotions are getting the best of us or our minds can’t stop racing. These moments are so frustrating because often we think, “I shouldn’t be feeling this way” — but still, we do! And these feelings have a way of impacting every facet of our lives — our relationships, our career, our body image and so much more!
But, the truth is, it’s okay to feel our emotions, what matters is how we respond to them!
Our guest for today’s episode is Dr. Alison Cook. Alison is a psychologist, podcast host, and the author of three books, including her newest book called, I Shouldn't Feel This Way: Name What’s Hard, Tame Your Guilt, and Transform Self-Sabotage into Brave Action. For 20 years, Alison has helped women, ministry leaders, couples, and families learn how to heal painful emotions, develop confidence from the inside out, forge healthy relationships, and fully live out their God-given potential.
One of my favorite parts of the episode was when Alison shared her strategy on how to “name, tame, and transform” our thoughts. I will be using this all of the time!
Friends, my hope is that you leave this episode feeling like you have a better grasp on how to navigate your tricky emotions and have more compassion for yourself.
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