Join me in being too emotional... it's good for you

When I was thinking about what to write this week I had so many thoughts about what I wanted to say around emotional granularity and the intensity of feeling. Then I came across this poem… 
 

When you finally realise the joy is less fireworks more firefly
less orchestra more bird song
she will come back much more often 
for joy will not fight with the fast pace of this life 
she is not in the shiny or the new 
she breathes in the basic, simmers in the simple, and dances in the daily to and fro 
joy has been beckoning you for many a year my friend 
you are just too busy doing to see 
the very next time joy wraps her quiet warmth around you 
as the garden embraces your weary body in its wildness 
tip her a nod 
she doesn't stay long but if you are a gracious host joy comes back. 
 - Harry Baker 

So often we overlook the milder emotions in favour of the more intense. Some seek the extremes of emotion as these fire us up, give strong sensations, whereas feelings such as content, relaxed, calm, satisfied are mild… quiet. They’re not particularly exciting like their counterparts… elated, ecstatic, delighted, excited. But they are vital for a regulated nervous system. 
 
For some, it’s the opposite. We enlist a safety mechanism that keeps us in the milder emotions to avoid strong negative emotions. We remain ‘fine’ while supressing or avoiding anything intense. But in avoiding the intensely negative emotions, we deny ourselves the intensity of the positive emotions. We avoid being enraged or frightened, but in doing so deny ourselves the ability to feel happy, delighted and optimistic. 
 

I ask you to join me in being ‘too emotional’!

Allowing ourselves to experience the full spectrum of emotion allows us to regulate our stress responses and build resilience. We encourage healthy automatic function… our heart rate, digestion and respiratory rate are all influenced by our emotions. And we begin to understand ourselves and each other better.