Handling an Intense Emotion

Feelings of failure, sometimes I think I can't seem to escape them. For example, yet again today I experienced this gut wrenching feeling, the thought felt so automatic, as if I couldn't stop it from reading havoc on my brain. It was this overall "wtf", then a "why am I back in this place of feeling like I fail when someone else rejected me". I was totally filled with anger than a deep sadness, angry at them from rejecting me, angry at myself for being in a situation to be rejected, then sadness about the situation playing out as I wanted, sadness for disappointing myself. 

After those feelings floated around for like 10 minutes, I thought "I'm just gonna let myself feel these intense feelings" after all thats what i would suggest any individual i talk to, to do.

Then I reached out for support which kind of helped, i just vented and said that this all just sucked. 

Finally I thought to myself (about 30 minutes into intense emotion sesh) "where can I find trust and gratitude in this experience". Gratitude tends to be easier for me to find, so I thought, "okay I just learned something, I can be grateful for that learning opportunity". Then I search my thoughts and feelings for trust, I landed on the thought "Let me trust my feelings in knowing that that in rejection it was 100% okay to feel angry and sad and I was not over reacting" and that "I can trust that I will be okay if any person rejects me".

So thats my full circle of handling intense emotions, and I writing this as a way to have closure of that intense influx of emotions and as a way to communicate that when you do intentional emotional healing these methods or perhaps ones that work uniquely for you can be developed to help you cope, recover, find meaning and purpose in emotionally charged situations. 

Brand New YouTube Channel

I created a YouTube to work on being more honest and unfiltered with my community. Join the community that I'm starting on YouTube. I will share information about therapy, my experiences, and some fun videos to continue the growth of a community that I'd like to build of people who are body positive and invested in mental health, spiritual health and physical health

I want you all to have access to great resources and having a YouTube channel is a great way to get a lot of videos out there quickly directly for this community. Plus I want to target specific issues that the community is struggling with, so I encourage everyone to leave comments of the videos.

Warning Signs of Sexual Abuse

Physical Signs

Direct physical signs of sexual abuse are not common. However, when physical signs are present, they may include bruising, bleeding, redness and bumps, or scabs around the mouth, genital, or anus. Urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and abnormal vaginal or penile discharge are also warning signs.

There are other indirect physical signs that include:

• Persistent or recurring pain during urination or bowel movements
• Wetting or soiling accidents unrelated to toilet training
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Chronic stomach pain
• Headaches

Emotional Signs

Emotional and behavioral signs or changes are more common and can include:

• Anxiety and depression
• Sleep disturbances, including nightmares or night terrors
• Change in eating habits
• Unusual fear of certain people or places; reluctance to be alone with a certain person
• Changes in mood that could including anger, aggressiveness towards parents, siblings, friends, pets
• Rebellion or withdrawal; runaway behavior
• Change in attitude towards school or academic performance; lack of interest in friends, sports, or other activities
• Unexplained or frequent health problems like headaches or stomach aches
• Poor self-esteem; avoidance of relationships
• Self-mutilation or change in body perception, like thinking of self or body as dirty or bad; suicidal thoughts
• Regression to previously outgrown behaviors, for example bedwetting or thumb sucking
• Abnormal sexual behaviors or knowledge of advanced sexual language and behaviors
• Too “perfect” behavior or overly compliant behavior

Body Image is Closey Linked to Self-Esteem

Negative body image often brings low self-esteem. They can change the way you understand your value and worth. Healthy body image and self-esteem are a big part of well-being.

 Negative body image may cause:

• Substance Abuse
  • Teens abuse drugs or substances to control their weight or might turn to drugs or substances as an attractive way to cope with body image issues.
• Depression
  • Almost 50% of people with eating disorders meet the clinical criteria for depression.
  • Changing adolescent bodies and overwhelming hormones may create depression and body image issues.
• Anxiety
  • Body image issues may cause social anxiety and cause individuals to obsess over what others think about their bodies.
• Eating Disorders
  • Teen males with body image issues may develop eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia as a coping method.
• Excessive Weight Lifting and Injury
  • Insecurities about body image may cause males to weight lift excessively, and incorrectly, risking injury. As well as engage in a variety of exercises that may turn into compulsions.
• Suicidal Thoughts
  • Body image issues contribute to a negative sense of self, and hopelessness. Those who thought they were overweight had more suicidal thoughts than those who didn’t.