Helping our patients to hold thoughts and beliefs with the right amount of lightness or tightness

Emotional literacy can be very nuance, and can be quite tricky for many of our patients. 

For example…..

When we hold a thought or belief of “I am not good enough, or I’ve made a terrible mistake” overly tightly, it can lead to feelings of shame.

When we hold it a little bit more lightly, we may feel guilt but not so much shame and worthlessness. 

When we hold it more lightly still or with compassion and empathy, it may arise as feelings of modesty, humility, or humbleness.

When we hold it too loosely or not at all, we may become arrogant, over confident, or uncaring.

So it’s not just the thoughts or beliefs that are necessarily the fundamental problem, it’s also about how tightly or lightly, we are holding onto those thoughts and beliefs.

We can choose.