Cycle 14 - Video 1 - Smarter Than BPD Quiz

Study Notes

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.