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Mental Health Moment - Sitting with Uncomfortable Feelings · Life Lived Better

• 0:15
  Hello there. Welcome to a mental health
• 0:18
  moment from the Life Live Better podcast.
• 0:20
  This is the place where we take just a couple of minutes to care
• 0:23
  for our minds. I'm Paula, and in this episode
• 0:26
  we're talking about sitting with uncomfortable feelings without
• 0:30
  fixing them. Sometimes the hardest thing that
• 0:34
  we can do is nothing. When an uncomfortable feeling
• 0:38
  shows up, like sadness, anxiety, anger, grief, our instinct is to
• 0:43
  fix it or distract from it, or even push it away.
• 0:46
  We scroll, we stay busy, we try to talk ourselves out of what
• 0:50
  we're feeling. And while that makes sense, it
• 0:54
  will really keep us stuck for longer.
• 0:57
  So today, let's practice something a little different.
• 1:01
  Let's sit here with what is. First, take a slow breath.
• 1:06
  Take it in through the nose and out through the mouth.
• 1:12
  Now you don't need to calm down. You don't need to feel better.
• 1:19
  We just need to notice our breathing.
• 1:22
  Now bring attention to the feeling that's present.
• 1:25
  Not the story that's behind the feeling, not how long it's been
• 1:29
  here, not fixing it, just the feeling itself.
• 1:34
  And ask yourself quietly, where do I feel this feeling in my
• 1:38
  body? Maybe it's a tightness in your
• 1:40
  chest, maybe a heaviness in your stomach, or even some kind of
• 1:44
  tension in your in your shoulders.
• 1:46
  And you don't need to change it, just notice it like you do with
• 1:50
  the weather. If your mind tries to jump to a
• 1:53
  solution or even judgments, that's OK.
• 1:56
  That's that's natural. Just gently come back to the
• 2:00
  sensation. You can even say to yourself,
• 2:03
  I'm allowed to feel this. It's OK.
• 2:06
  Uncomfortable feelings aren't emergencies.
• 2:09
  They're just information. And they move more freely.
• 2:13
  Honestly, when we stop trying to fight them.
• 2:16
  Stay here for a moment, just for a few breaths.
• 2:20
  Let the feeling rise and fall on its own time.
• 2:24
  And when you're ready, remind yourself, I can feel this and
• 2:29
  I'm still OK. You don't have to fix everything
• 2:32
  today. Sometimes the most healing thing
• 2:35
  that we can do is just make the space for the emotion.
• 2:40
  The Life Live Better podcast thanks you for joining us for
• 2:43
  this mental health moment. Until next time, take care of
• 2:47
  your mind because it's the only one you've got.
• 2:49
  And don't forget that knowledge leads to a life lived better.