Stop For A Moment: Listen To What Your Discomfort Tells You
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Sometimes the most difficult thing to do when you feel uncomfortable is to stop. We find it pointless to listen to what we feel, if it is uncomfortable, without finding a solution. And we act as if we do not have to listen to, recognize and accept discomfort. Instead, we hide it or push it away because we can not accept painful feelings and what discomfort tells us.
We forget that some emotions sneak in and take place. They make no noise, but they are full of information. Listening to them will help us recognize them and know ourselves better.
Remember that there are no good or bad feelings. We need each one to be able to appreciate our world and be ourselves.
But learning to listen to our emotions means having the ability to unconditionally accept what is coming. We can not judge anything or anyone. We must really learn to live in the present.
None of this is easy at all . So now we will show you how to accept discomfort and use mindfulness as a tool to live in the present.
The circumstances we are stuck in, as harsh as they are, just test our ability to overcome them.
Listen to and confirm your feelings, they are a part of you
Listening to, accepting and acknowledging our feelings does not mean giving in to reality. Giving in means being defeated and convincing yourself that you can do nothing about what is happening.
On the other hand, accepting and validating what we feel will help us understand what is happening. We want to feel it and take it in as yet another part of our emotional universe.
![Woman in landscape](https://buyera.xyz/img/stop-for-a-moment-listen-to-what-your-discomfort-t_1k3.jpg)
This will make us aware of the power of our thoughts, feelings and inner language . Remember that everything we say or think (whether we communicate it to anyone or not) can hurt us more than what actually happens. In fact, this damage will increase when you refuse to accept what you are feeling.
You will surprise yourself with how beneficial it can be to listen to what your discomfort tells you . At a consultation, when we ask clients to be aware of their feelings, there are often significant changes.
For example, I remember a client who stopped trying to stop the anxiety attacks when he felt them. So when they stopped, he realized that anxiety was coming from the pain caused by their child’s death. Once he knew the source, the seizures became minor until they eventually disappeared.
The wisdom that your emotions hide will be revealed when you listen to them and keep an eye on your discomfort.
What we have applied to anxiety can also help us with other negatively charged emotions. These range from grief to anger. Coexisting with them is difficult, but that’s how they talk and you listen.
Therefore, I pass on a simple idea. Let your painful feelings be with you. Listen to their message without trying to remove them early. And if you feel overwhelmed by them, seek professional help.
Mindfulness as a tool for listening and accepting what your discomfort is telling you
One of the simplest ways to start listening to ourselves and accepting what our discomfort is telling us lies in mindfulness . Listening to our emotions is always easier if we observe our minds. Therefore, noticing what we are thinking in every moment helps us to see details about our emotions that we would not have seen otherwise.
![Woman practicing yoga by lake](https://buyera.xyz/img/stop-for-a-moment-listen-to-what-your-discomfort-t_247.jpg)
It is the power of observation. We are only aware of the nuances of our experience when we observe attentively. When we use our listening skills.
Therefore, it is important to observe what we think, feel and sense in our body. To get the most out of this observation, we must do so without being dragged away by the experiences that may come before us. For that, you can follow these strategies:
Breathing as a starting and meeting place
Breathing is one of the easiest ways to bring us into the moment we are in. Focusing on that is important as we begin to practice mindfulness. You can probably lose focus for a second and go up in your thoughts. But returning to your breathing brings you back to the present.
Everything gets worse before it gets better
When we begin to practice listening to what we feel and accepting what is happening, our discomfort may actually grow. But keep in mind that this decline is short. And if we do it right, it will not take us long to start getting better.
Scan your body to really know it
Our body has lots of information in it. Being aware of your senses and tensions will help you know yourself better and release your emotions.
Be kind to yourself and the experience
We are often our own worst judges. We condemn all our negative experiences and convey our feelings by making a value judgment. What is happening is not good or bad. It simply happens, and for the most part, we cannot change it. Accept it and let go of it, like any other part of the experience, as the judgment does not help.
Now you have tools to stop ignoring the thoughts, feelings and senses that are unpleasant. Now you can live without feeling uncomfortable, by trying to avoid it.
Just listen to what pain and discomfort are telling you. And then learn from it. For it contains the key to overcoming it.