What is this Feeling and How Can I Get Rid of It?????

Hey everyone. I wanted to let you all know that my interview with ArtistFirst Network is available for listening. Just go to www.artistfirst.com and click on Archives. Scroll down to Authors and then down to Kerri Cartelli. Click on my name and your computer will begin to download the file. It will open in your media player on your computer. I hope you all listen. It helps those who don’t know me to see where I am coming from and how I actually think about things. For those who have listened already, I say thank you.

I was looking at the headlines last night on the news. I found myself feeling for those victims of Hurricane Katrina. Last year when it happened, although I felt for the victims who lost loved ones, I couldn’t identify with them because I had never lost a loved one. This years as some of you may know, I lost my brother a few weeks ago, so, I am now able to at least identify with the feeling of loss.

So, how do you deal with grief? Do you shut down? The other day I was talking with a woman who is dealing with sadness. She hasn’t lost a loved one, but she was very sad due to a breakup. One of the main issues she was having was not feeling better. We try to feel better and better and better. My suggestion to her was to stop TRYING to feel BETTER! I think, and this is only my opinion from my experience, that when we are grieving for any reason or going through a situation, that our first reaction is to try not to feel. I know from my life, that whenever I try not to feel the feelings, I feel worse for longer.

I say that if we stopped trying to not feel, we would feel better faster. (Say that 10x fast) when the emotions come, we need to feel them. Having positive ways to vent our feelings are very important. If crying is the outcome, then I say “cry your eyes out.” If anger is the problem, than find a positive outlet to vent your anger. Like I said the other day, I have an actual punching bag in the basement. I scream in my pillow. Clean the house. That always has a good outcome.

Try to see the emotion as a way of releasing the negative feelings. Remember that tire that is going to explode? Emotions that are shoved down will eventually come out however they can. In my book What a Difference a Day Makes: A Survival Guide for Women, there is a chapter called the Discomfort Zone (The Stuffing Factor). It’s all about issues like these and others that we subconsciously avoid.

My intention for you all today, is to feel those feelings. Don’t be afraid of them. Here is a quote that I wanted to share with all of you today.
Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.
Quote by Leo Buscaglia

And always remember, We are in this Together!