In my post yesterday, I commented how there is seemingly a natural cycle of lower moods and higher moods, and that it’s totally to be expected – even during very happy times – that sometimes you’re going to feel introspective and sad.
And perhaps that’s absolutely critical.
I’ve described how it sort of feels to me like maybe I haven’t processed any of the negative emotions or difficult situations I’ve experienced for a long time. I’ve written that perhaps it’s because historically I would just drink something or distract myself with entertainment or other things, and that maybe that just totally shuts down your natural ability to process these emotions in a healthy way.
But maybe it’s these times when you’re alone and feeling low-energy and possibly sad that this type of processing really happens.
It’s also the time when most people immediately seek a distraction, whether it be their phone, alcohol, drugs, food, or anything else.
Maybe just sitting with those negative emotions and putting some work into thinking about them is key to actually processing them, moving on, and staying emotionally healthy.
I’m not a therapist or a psychologist or a neuroscientist so obviously I don’t know for sure. But it seems like a pretty plausible possibility.
It would also explain why people are more depressed than ever and seemingly more emotionally crippled.
Maybe the key is to seek out those moments where you are feeling kind of down and just sit with what you’re feeling and process it in a healthy way.
Maybe then you can get past it and recover better than ever.