In a situation of emotional distress, you usually have two options: to face the problem or not. Processing a problem means you are facing it. Suppressing the problem means you are not. There’s a big difference between the two.
Processing is to the mind what digesting is to the stomach. If your digestive system can’t handle certain foods, you have to stop eating them, otherwise you become sick. Similarly, if you find yourself in a situation where you cant cope, don’t just sit there taking it all in. It’s better to say something right there and then. To hold things inside will not allow you to have a healthy mind. What you take in will be indigestible and it will be obvious to others that you are having a problem.
Our ability to cope is hampered by thinking too much about other people. This causes problems in the mental digestive system. The best mental ‘antacid’ is in-depth spiritual study. This, plus regular practice of self-awareness, penetrates the mind very deeply, dislodging emotional pain at its roots. Only then can emotion be purified, refined, and ultimately transformed.
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