Navigating Stressful Feelings and Emotions for the First Time without Alcohol
Are you navigating stressful feelings and emotions for the first time, without numbing them with alcohol? Try this!
- If you're feeling anxious, overwhelmed or agitated, try to figure out what thoughts are leading you to feel this way. Are you are worried you will be late, that the house is a mess, that you won't complete your work on time, that you don't have enough time to do it all? It may be several different thoughts, but it's essential to pay attention to them.
- Open your journal or even the notes app on your phone and write out what you're anxious about or what is snagging your energy. This brings more awareness to what is directly causing our anxious emotions.
- Take each thought and ask yourself, "who would I be without this thought?" For example, if you're worried you're not a good enough mom, what would it be like not to have this repetitive negative thought that you're not enough? Most clients answer this question by saying, "it would be so peaceful not to think this way" or "that would be freedom!"
- Ask yourself if this thought is really true or not? Recently I was coaching a client who was very anxious about her son's messy room. I asked her what her thoughts were about this. She said, "his room is a mess, so he must not care about me." I asked her, "is this really true?" and she responded, "of course not!" That was an anxious thought we could easily put to bed.
- What's the worst-case scenario? If you're worried or anxious about something - why? What happens? I use this all the time if I am late for something and I stress about being on time, but when I ask this question, I realise, nothing horrible, cataclysmic or life-altering is going to happen if I am 5 minutes late to a meeting, a dinner or even to get the kids to school.
Have you found it tricky to navigate your thoughts and emotions without alcohol?
