Background Image
Table of Contents Table of Contents
Previous Page  9 / 36 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 9 / 36 Next Page
Page Background

9

WH AT AM I S U P P O S E D TO F E E L ?

W

hat we feel is related to our way of see-

ing what happens to us in the world. If

what just happened is an attack that

made us lose our confidence in others, and in their

goodness, then it is normal to feel anger. If we inter-

pret that it will not be easy to overcome this, and that

things have no hope of improving, then it is logical

that we feel sad and hopeless. If what happened dis-

torted our beliefs about the world, we may feel that

this is no longer our world. If what happened makes

us see dangers and threats everywhere, we will so

feel anxious that we will be under the impression that

this feeling will never stop. This is what our emotions,

or lack thereof, will be like: another reaction to our

interpretation of what happened, and a way to cope.

It is normal to feel hate and anger, to feel betra-

yed, misunderstood, abandoned, unsafe or suspi-

cious,

among many other intense negative emotions

related to others, who will be no longer trustworthy

in our view.

It is normal to feel sad, hopeless and apathetic

in

a world that is no longer interesting or trustworthy,

and is a place where there is no hope for a better

future.

It is normal to feel anxious and fearful

of what

may happen, since the world has become a threate-

ning place, where at any moment everything impor-

tant may be lost without any reason.

It is normal to feel more irritable and impatient

at

people close to us, as a result of living under stress

for such a long period.

But it is also normal that we feel unable to feel,

weep, or suffer proportionately to what happe-

ned, as if we were infused with a sort of emo-

tional anesthesia

that prevents us from mourning,

that shocks us, or even frightens us, but this is no

more than a normal protection mechanism to pro-

tect our mind by blocking those feelings, thus sparing

us from suffering excessively. It is expected that the-

se emotions gradually fade away, although they may

arise once again when signs recalling the situation

reappear. These may include odors, noises, speci-

fic times of the day, activities, people, memories or

images.