Cycle 14 - Video 1 - Smarter Than BPD Quiz

Overcoming Emotional Avoidance: A Transformative Approach

• Emotional avoidance is a common phenomenon where negative feelings are cut off, leading to difficulty noticing positive emotions and being present in the moment.
• Avoidance strategies may help in the short term but can lead to long-term discomfort and unhealthy habits.
• Our brain is wired to choose avoidance, and we miss out on opportunities to build frustration tolerance and effective coping skills.
• Our unconscious runs the show, and 95% of our cognitive activity is unconscious, relying on our adaptive unconscious.
• When we're triggered, we go into a state of hyperarousal and high alert, and our amygdala gets hijacked, making it challenging to approach future situations broadly and flexibly.
• We're conditioned to always be happy, positive, and hopeful, which can cause unhappiness due to the pressure to be happy.
• Negative emotions inform us of what's important and meaningful, reminding us of our values and guiding us towards the life we want to live.
• Metaphors can be used as non-evasive, gradual means to expose and desensitize to emotional avoidance. They work directly on emotional avoidance, stimulate the creative side of our brain, and are easily actionable and impressionable.
• Metaphors are used from our natural environment and are sense-based cues to continually remind us to lean into our thoughts and feelings.
• Being up close and personal with our negative emotions can unleash our worthiness, goodness, vitality, and best self.
• Approaching situations that scare us with willingness and acknowledging our emotions can help us overcome emotional avoidance and heal ourselves.
• Conscious awareness and connectedness can help us find our vitality and best selves.