how to process emotions

a video series by Emma McAdam, licensed marriage and family therapist

0/30: Course Introduction

• The analogy: A fish-processing factory [2:48]
• Emotional regulation is a process: [11:32]
  1. Identify what each emotion is. Notice them, check them in, name them.
  2. Pause. Take a little time to feel the feeling without jumping to solutions to make the feeling go away. In order to do this, you need a calm body and mind.
  3. Explore what is the function and purpose of this emotion. What is this emotion trying to tell you? Check cognitive distortions, which are distorted ways of thinking that make it hard to see our emotions.
  4. Choose what to do with these emotions. That might be taking action, practicing acceptance, or such. Choose to act on your values.
• Principle 2 — Emotional processing is a skill that can be learned.
• Principle 3 — Emotions are deeper than thoughts or behaviors. [13:37]
• 'Foreclosure': Trying to jump ahead to solutions, to feeling better, but skipping the process of feeling your emotions. Tying to feel good without trying to acknowledge what you're feeling now. [10:33]

1/30: Name It to Tame It

2/30: A Nonjudgmental Attitude: The Lie of Positive and Negative Emotions

3/30: The Surprising Function of "Negative" Emotions

4/30: Clean vs. Dirty Pain: Are You Creating Your Own Suffering?

5/30: How to Stop Struggling With Anxiety and Intense Emotions

6/30: Willingness: How to Feel your Feelings

7/30: Primary Emotions vs. Secondary Emotions

8/30: The Mind-Body Connection — How Emotions Get Trapped in the Body

9/30: How Anxiety Affects the Brain — How to Recognize and Turn off the Fight/Flight/Freeze Response

10/30: How to Release Emotions Trapped in Your Body — How to Process Emotions Like Trauma and Anxiety

11/30: Calming Anxiety With Your Body’s Built-in Anti-Anxiety Response

12/30: Create a Sense of Safety: How to Turn off the Fear Response

13/30: Coping Skills for Anxiety or Depression

14/30: How to Turn off the Fight/Flight/Freeze Response With Grounding Skills for Anxiety

15/30: Remove Mental and Emotional Blocks: How to Move Past Mental Blocks

16/30: Neuroplasticity: Change How You Feel by Changing How You Think

17/30: Reframe Your Negative Thoughts: Change How You See the World

18/30: Cognitive Distortions: CBT Techniques

19/30: How to Change How You Think 💪 Cognitive Distortions Part 2

20/30: Intrusive Thoughts and Overthinking: The Skill of Cognitive Defusion

21/30: Mindfulness for Anxiety 💓 A Beginner's Guide

22/30: Cognitive Dissonance

23/30: Self-Deception — The Problem of Not Knowing You Have a Problem

24/30: How to Create the Life You Want, One Small Change at a Time

25/30: Why Trying to Feel Happy Backfires: Purpose vs. Happiness

26/30: Fight Depression and Anxiety With Your Core Values

27/30: Get Rid of Self-Limiting Beliefs

28/30: A GROWTH Mindset vs. a FIXED Mindset With Mental Health

29/30: Self-Compassion: How to Stop Beating Yourself Up

30/30: What's the Core Issue? How to Actually Change

31/30: Course Summary 🎉: THE CHOICE: Act, Accept, or Run Away

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