Day #190 in A Year of Positivity

“I don’t encourage false positivity. Be sad when you’re sad. Cry if you must. Be angry if you are. Let it out. Then let it go. Honor your emotions, but always choose to dwell on the positive ones.”—Charity Delmo

I’m the suffer in silence type, because I don’t want to burden others with my problems or whatever’s bothering me, especially if I know they’ve already got a heavy load on their plate. So, I have this habit of bottling up all my negative emotions until I can find a safe way or safe space to release them. I don’t like it when people see me angry, and I really can’t stand it when they see me upset and in tears. When either of these emotions rears its ugly head in front of people, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom or another room, even if it’s only for a few minutes. The safe space of solitude helps me to step outside my emotions with clarity as I think through what’s stirring up the negative feelings.

It allows me to process what I’m feeling and why I’m feeling that way. Is what’s causing these negative feelings something that I can control, or something I can work on adapting and adjusting accordingly? If so, what can I do on my part to change things for the better for me (and if others are affected, them as well), and how can I express myself in a way that’s healthy and productive without losing compassion and appreciation of others that may be involved in the matter? If I have no control over the situation at hand and I’m alone in the matter, I’ll still allow myself some breathing room to feel the darkest depths of these emotions and process them by moving through their waves. Then I’ll pray about it and release them to God, trusting that He has me covered, even if I don’t understand everything. Sometimes, I’ll even write about it. Sometimes, if someone notices and pushes me into a corner with genuine concern, or I feel someone is safe enough to talk to, I simply share my feelings and thoughts. These are the folks that end up giving me clarity, peace, and a fresh perspective I didn’t even know I needed.

Don’t bottle up your negative emotions and bury them to the point you explode somewhere down the line. The negative emotions suck, especially in the way they make us feel, but acknowledge them. You’re a human being, and you matter, and so does how you feel. Don’t let society dictate how you feel or tell you what to do with any of those emotions. Every single emotion you experience on the scale is there for a reason. Honor them, allow yourself to feel and process them, and move through it in a way that’s positive and healthy, and then dwell on the positive emotions and outcomes.