Many people who suffer from distress believe that the problem to emotional suffering is that is "always" feels so bad. This is actually an over simplification of what really happens. Emotions are normal. Yes...even sadness is a normal human emotion. When sadness first occurs in the body, everything occurs in a normal manner. The part that becomes a problem is your reaction to the emotion.
Ex: Mary feels sad when her friend leaves town on vacation. She then starts remembering times that people have left and abandoned her. This causes her to recall times that people have called her names which makes her feel even more alone and rejected. This caused a stream of negative thoughts. The more Mary thinks, the more she feels rejected and abandoned. The problem that Mary is experiencing is not the emotion never ending, but her mind's reaction to her emotion.
In the book The Mindful Way Through Depression by Williams, Teasdale, Segal, and Kabat-Zinn, we learn this very concept. One thing I love about this book is that it comes with a guided meditation CD and a full 8 week structured program to learn how to let go of this type of reaction to normal human emotion. The concepts in this book are basically an integration of traditional Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness Meditation (MBCT).
Anyone seeking guidance of lingering emotions can benefit from this book. I would even go as far to say that it is highly beneficial to anyone at any phase of life.
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