Moved to tears!
Here is a phrase I hear every single week in my therapy sessions.
“Nora, if I start, I just won’t stop.”
What am I talking about? CRYING.
Even as you read the word, what happens in your body?
We are so scared of our tears. So we hold them back to the point that it hurts our throats, our hearts, our bodies.
Our tears often feel “inconvenient” and too vulnerable.
The thing is that right now we are in the depths of grief.
We are grieving the death of our loved ones, the loss of dreams, an absence of physical connection, and opportunities being ripped away.
Emotional suppression only leads to more pain.
It’s not only our physical body that needs exercise. Our emotional body needs movement. E-Motions: Energy in Motion.
It is so important to have ways to release those pains to keep ourselves sane.
Crying creates good health. It is cathartic. It mobilizes intense emotions.
And not only that, we know that, physiologically, crying helps decrease stress.
Grieving is necessary. We deprive ourselves from a sacred experience when we obstruct our own grieving.
In today's video you'll learn the question that saved me.
Click to learn to how to embrace your grief.
Yes, it is a grave loss to ourselves to insist we stop crying.
The issue is that many of us struggle (re)connecting to our tears.
It feels overwhelming, so we choose to check-out. We quickly find our numbing device: our phones.
So how do we unblock?
Here are some good-cry release options
Journal. Put pen to paper and try to capture the essence of your feelings. Free writing helps us release.
Dance. Crying is a whole-body experience. Let your body speak your emotions. As my colleague and friend Stefanie Raccuglia says: Movements sooths your body and brain. Let her guide you through her simple movements here. My favorite is the Swing-movement.
Listen to emotional music. The right music can be the perfect way to help your emotions loom larger in your brain.
Here are my current emotional-release songs:
Stand Up by Cynthia Erivo, Fourth of July by Sufjan Stevens and Tsanga by Boul des îles
Read an inspirational piece
This is a powerful grief poem, written by Wendy Black Stern from the Grief Support Network here in Boulder, CO.
“Grief is unpredictable. She has no container or form to follow. She rises violently to the surface, has her way with you, and then rolls back out to sea again. You never know when she is going to overcome you. And, even once you think that you have released every drop, every tear squeezed from your body, she shows her ugly head and rages some more.”
To read the full poem, click here.
Where are you right now in the 5 Stages of Grief during this pandemic?
This tool from (W)right On will help you.
Where do you find yourself in this moment?
Sending you so much love and strength.
Nora