Here is another post I wrote for Modern Molly Mormon about being emotionally prepared....
I feel that more often than not, we use food, medication, alcohol, drugs and whatever else we can find.. to make ourselves numb.
If it means feeling anything OTHER than happiness, joy, anything feel good... we stuff it and try to make it go away.
I think that to be positive, and to allow ourselves to grow and improve we NEED to make sure that we are healthy emotionally.
So here is my post... let me know what you think! =)
Another way we need to make sure we are preparing is by learning to be open to the full effect of our emotions.More often than not we tend to try to make ourselves numb to anything negative or sad.
I know I do. I tend to do a lot of emotional eating when I am feeling frustrated, sad, and sometimes even just because I'm bored. If I have nothing going on... or the kids are stressing me out, and there is a pint of rocky road in the freezer... I can manage.
I may end the day 10 pounds heavier but I'm a happy camper.
Can you relate?
In times of crisis.. those comfort foods we enjoy may or may not be available. There may or may not be ways for us to numb our feelings with outside sources. We might not be allowed the luxury of stressing out, giving into sadness or just being able to scream!
In times of crisis, being an emotional wreck could mean life or death for ourselves or those around us.
We learn NOW, how to understand the why, what and hows of our feelings. By allowing ourselves to "participate" in the full range of the feelings we have been blessed with, we will not only have a reason to draw closer to the Lord on a regular basis, but we will also be more emotioanly balanced.
"We must have pain so that we may have joy..." Emotions are a part of what make us, well us.
When times get tough, this can be one of those traits we want to have.. one of those that may make us or break us. We have to be able to cope, we have to be able to remain calm, we have to be able to communicate. Daily practice of these things, will prepare us for those times when we will really, really need to put emotional preparedness to use.
By working to be in tune with our feelings daily, we allow ourselves the oppertunity to become humble and grow closer to Heavenly Father.
It is not only a way for personal self growth, but tremendous spiritual growth as well.
So next time you start prowling the kitchen... looking for something to snack on... stop and ask yourself...are you really hungry? Or are you just bored?
It is my prayer that we will be inspired to stop and think, and examine our emotional health, and to find ways to become more emotionally prepared.
