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Are we supposed to feel emotions in the body?

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I only feel “bad” emotions in my body.

Can someone share how they feel happiness or excitem...
I had a manic episode last year. The 'blockage' seemed to lift and it was like a warmth in my chest. Obviously not a normal experience as I was very ill, but I wonder if that's what everyone else feels but in smaller doses.
 
I know when I first did the meditation for the body scan I had no idea how to find my foot let alone i...
Me too! I have always been uncomfortable in body scan meditation bc I can't connect with my toe or ankle or head or shoulder. It drives me insane so I quit trying. I still have blank spots in my body scan that I feel absolutely nothing like that part was amputated... crazy.
 
Five years ago when I started trauma therapy the first therapist said "where do you feel that in your body" and I said IDK she pronounced "you're not in touch with your feelings." I was a little offended I think by this brand new (to me) concept. I thought I was all about my feelings. I still don't know where they get this idea. I've pretty much accepted it along with the idea that repressed Traumatic memories are somehow stored in the body. I guess I'll ask the therapist again. I have noticed though in thinking about it over these years that my feelings are mostly not my own they are old feelings tied to the trauma which prevents me from experiencing a lot of what's actually real or real life or being myself. I just googled it and got an article in psychology today looks interesting. I tried to post the link but it didn't work.
 
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Trauma Sensitive Yoga is another way to get in touch with your body. Ugh. I hate it. Makes me want to run, throw up or dissociate. But not quite as much as it used to. I figure something I hate so much must be necessary to my healing so I’m signing up for my 4th 6 week session.
 
I had trouble noticing emotions in my body too, though I'm getting better at it. I was scared when I first didn't notice anything and continued to have a hard time with it. Muscle tension is typically anxiety. It helped me to read up on anxiety responses to notice them better. Things like muscle tension, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, rapid thoughts, discomfort/tightness in the chest, migraines, temporary vision disturbances are often signs of anxiety. As weird as it sounds, random burps are also a sign of anxiety because we end up swallowing air because when you're breathing fast and shallow.

As for happiness or excitement or joy. I think noticing pleasure is easiest. Pleasure is a pins-and-needles sensation but not painful, kind of like goosebumps. It feels "fuzzy" but in a good way. It can be localized but sometimes it's like waves of water that wash over me. Pleasure relaxes and calms me. I think excitement is suppose to be similar anxiety, but instead of fear/dreaded thoughts there's thoughts of eager anticipation. I think the thoughts are really the only difference (and well probably not migraines or vision disturbances). As for joy and happiness... I'm not sure as I haven't thought a lot about it. I think that's a feeling of warmth, light/elevated, and fuzziness and it may just depend on the energy of it. Like if it's a content sort of happiness or an energetic sort of happiness.

I recently had to shift my thinking and stop calling feelings thoughts, and thoughts feelings. It really helped to have a list of common emotions and had it spelled out what thoughts are. Thoughts of injustice can create emotions of anger to rise up, and emotions of anger can lead to thoughts about injustices done. They are different though. Anger is an emotion that increases adrenaline so our heart rate increases, we can feel hot, skin might turn red, a tension in our gut, shaking, etc. It's an emotion that helps you "do" something. Wanting to punching something, negative commentary, and "I hate you!" aren't emotions, but thoughts. Emotions might lead to a thought or action, emotions might be fueling out of control thoughts and actions, but the action and thought aren't feelings.
 
I had trouble noticing emotions in my body too, though I'm getting better at it. I was scared when...
Thank you for this. I think I realised that thoughts aren't feelings and it scared me. Because I feel like I have no feelings. Now I can see that isn't strictly true. The feelings are there and definitley produce thoughts and 'action urges' (as my T would call them). I just want to notice them. Especially happiness. I get that noticing pleasure is a start. But happiness is the holy grail. I have survived my trauma, there is plenty of things in my life that I know logically should produce happiness. Just need to tap in somehow. Defo need some kind of new T approach i think.
 
Thank you for this. I think I realized that thoughts aren't feelings and it scared me. Because I feel l...

Oh, it's really scary, I thought something was really wrong with me and felt a lot of anxiety. Like you said though, the feelings are totally there it's just a matter of recognizing them! I really relate to wanting to feel "happy" as that's my biggest driving force and it's honestly okay that you want it :) I think though, noticing what causes pleasure and relaxes us is part of getting to those feelings of happiness. I don't think we can tap into "happiness" if we're shut down and blocking stuff out because we're overwhelmed and stressed and etc. I think we need to feel relax and safe first, or I guess that's what called emotional regulation. I started teaching myself DBT skills and I'm going to see a DBT therapist soon as it's suppose to help with dissociation disorders :)
 
my therapist said i don't show emotions... and so he stopped the sessions because he can't help me.
i have been thinking about it and i think i only feel anger as an emotion. i can't even cry anymore... didn't even feel anything when my favorite aunt died...
 
Oh, it's really scary, I thought something was really wrong with me and felt a lot of anxiety. Like...
That is awesome. Will look into dbt. Can I ask what dissociation is? I dissociated once in a session (spaced out) but can it be more than that? I wish you well. A lot of what you said resonates (with something haha). :)
 
That is awesome. Will look into dbt. Can I ask what dissociation is? I dissociated once in a session (s...

Dissociation is something all people do, because in it's most mild forms it's just day dreaming or losing track of time/space. Dissociation, as a response to trauma, can become severe or continuous enough to be a disorder. So instead of just spacing out or checking out during stressful moments and returning to normal, we can be living in a continuous state of disconnect from ourselves and/or our surroundings. DID is probably the most severe form of dissociation, but is rare so please don't have a panic attack over it. Any dissociation, with therapy, can go away or greatly lessen. DBT, CBT, EMDR, mindfulness, etc are suppose to help.

Bare in mind things like PTSD and anxiety can also cause emotional blunting and depression causes numbness, so not all disconnects are a dissociation disorder. There's also medical/chemical/drug causes for dissociation too.

For me personally, the world looks and feels different. I have a haze over my vision (visual snow) and I don't feel much just being in the world. There's a vibrancy from life that isn't there anymore (I recall well what life was like before) because there's an emotional disconnect for me and the world I see. It's as if the world had music but now it's eerie silent. I stopped dissociating once, and I noticed from that experience that I'm not really in my own skin, and it's as if I'm not seeing much of the world. It's like the difference between watching a TV and an IMAX theater screen. I don't really relate to people saying it's like watching a movie or being behind glass nor do I feel outside my body, but I guess I understand why they may perceive it that way. I thought this all depression, and while I haven't had a proper assessment, I'm rather sure I have a denationalization/derealization disorder.

I can't put links in my posts, so if you want to learn more google it or ask your therapist.

Also, thanks, I wish you well too :)
 
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