“Studying girls, I became a witness to dissociation— a not knowing that was culturally inscribed and socially enforced… if we cannot think about what we are feeling, if our mind doesn’t register what is going on in our body, and if our self becomes like a mighty fortress, defended and boundaries rather than open and engaged in relationships, then we cannot know what otherwise we would know.
It's wild how simple this is. It's funny you mentioned yelling at the dog; just yesterday morning I was feeling agitated AF at a dog barking outside, and at my OWN dog in bed just LOOKING at me. Hand my chest, "anger is here," was more than enough to diffuse it. Just a bit of turning toward the feelings. The anger at the dogs wasn't about the dogs, I discovered.
Thanks Laura, I like the idea of Micro practices as a way of checking in to return to what's happening internally and respond to our body in the midst of stressful events.
Me too, Anne. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in my habitual mind patterns of negativity and danger-scanning that I need to be really intentional and keep flexing this muscle as much as I can!
It's wild how simple this is. It's funny you mentioned yelling at the dog; just yesterday morning I was feeling agitated AF at a dog barking outside, and at my OWN dog in bed just LOOKING at me. Hand my chest, "anger is here," was more than enough to diffuse it. Just a bit of turning toward the feelings. The anger at the dogs wasn't about the dogs, I discovered.
Love that, Chris! So simple, as you say, and also so hard to remember sometimes. Appreciate your thoughts! 🙏🥰
Thanks Laura, I like the idea of Micro practices as a way of checking in to return to what's happening internally and respond to our body in the midst of stressful events.
Me too, Anne. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in my habitual mind patterns of negativity and danger-scanning that I need to be really intentional and keep flexing this muscle as much as I can!