In the 2023 update of The Language of Emotions, I separated panic into two categories: immediate panic and frozen panic. It’s so important to understand the difference between them, because many people don’t know that frozen panic contains the energy we need to heal from past traumas. Frozen Panic: The Healing Witness GIFTS: Healing from past traumas ~ Freedom from cycling patterns ~ Completion of unfinished … Read More
Panic is an essential survival emotion that arises in response to a direct threat to your physical life. Panic is related to fear, but while fear is an instinctual and intuitive emotion that arises in response to change, novelty, and possible physical hazards, panic arises when you actually need to save your own life. The ingenious actions you can take in response to your fear number … Read More
Envy (and its partner jealousy) are treated badly in general, but envy is actually listed as one of the seven deadly sins in the Catholic tradition. We could say that the early Catholics meant to warn people against acting aggressively with their envy, but still, they called out a necessary human emotion as a sin. That’s not helpful. Your envy is a vital social emotion that … Read More
Jealousy (and its partner envy) needs a hearty welcome, because these two emotions are perhaps the most hated (and valenced) emotions in the entire emotional realm. This is a tragedy, because jealousy and envy are essential for your social survival — you really need them! Luckily, you can work with jealousy and envy empathically and shield yourself from the deeply unfortunate things we’ve all been taught … Read More
My husband Tino, who’s a lucid dreamer, found the perfect question for confusion in a dream, where he heard this saying: “Intention ends all ambiguity.” Since then, if either of us drops into confusion about some decision, project, or relationship, we ask each other “What’s your intention?” This question usually illuminates the struggles and difficulties we face — and the reason our confusion showed up in … Read More
Welcoming the healing break of confusion In my empathic approach to emotions, I’ve separated emotions into seventeen categories that are based on the unique actions each emotion requires. When I created these categories, I wasn’t trying to erase emotional nuance; I did it so that you could get a handle on your emotions and develop a working emotional vocabulary. I identify two healing and protective emotions … Read More
Art and Emotions: Exploring Your Emotions through Artistic Practices Online course starts March 20 at Empathy Academy Accessing your emotions and your inner artist We’ve got a wonderful course with artist and double-licensed Dynamic Emotional Integration® Trainer and Consultant Sue Barclay from Scotland. During her licensing process, Sue brought us a wonderful artistic practice that helped us access our emotions in amazingly simple, yet deep, ways. … Read More
In the updated 2023 version of my book, The Language of Emotions, anxiety has its very own chapter. But in the original, it didn’t because I didn’t understand anxiety very well! It wasn’t until late 2010 — after the original version of the book came out — that I heard Dr. Mary Lamia on my car radio and realized what had caused my complete emotional ignorance … Read More
Learning to access the genius in your emotions Live Zoom workshop, Saturday, March 11 from 10am-noon Pacific Your emotions contain the specific wisdom you need in each situation, but if you don’t know how to identify or work with them, their presence may just confuse you! In this Exploring Your Emotions as Allies workshop, instructor and Dynamic Emotional Integration® professional Heather Giasson will walk you … Read More
There are gifts in anxiety? Yes! People are often very surprised to learn that anxiety contains gifts, because anxiety is usually described only in terms of disorder or disease. However, at its most subtle level, anxiety (which is related to fear) helps you plan for the future and complete important tasks. Really! When I look at the problem of nuance, I see that so many of … Read More