Things I’ve Learned in My Emotional Pain #2

Process Your Deep Emotional Pain With Someone Else

Here’s how it works.  You are in deep emotional pain, you are not capable of rational thinking, you feel like you’re going to die and be swallowed whole, you honestly can’t come up with a good reason to continue living, for all practical purposes you feel like there is nothing real beyond the pain except more of it. Okay, you need to tell someone all this. Preferably someone who realizes that all of this is normal for someone in deep emotional pain.  Hopefully a friend who loves and accepts you as you are.  Hopefully someone who can truly listen and not rush in to try and fix it or Bible-verse it away or slap a smiley face on it..

You need to share with someone the depths of your emotional pain.  There’s something about bringing that pain out into the light of a loving relationship that doesn’t necessarily take it away but makes it something you are more capable of digesting and enduring.  Deep emotional pain is like an elephant.  How do you eat an elephant?  It’s similar with emotional pain.  You’re probably not going to just pop out of it instantly.  Telling someone will take some of the edge off the pain and provide a little relief so you can keep moving through it.  This is critical when you are in deep emotional pain.  The care, concern, understanding, empathy, support, love and listening ear of another will help you put a little bit of distance between you and your pain.  At first, you can’t separate yourself from your pain.  By sharing it with someone else. it sort of becomes a “thing” to work through.  It’s not “you,” it’s more of a “thing” that you are experiencing and dealing with.

By Jim Palmer, author of Divine Nobodies

Stay tuned for Part 3…

A Sad Day For Creative Folks…

On a previous post, I raved about my favorite magazine, Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion.  I had heard a rumor that it was going out of publication, but I thought I had debunked that rumor.

I’m sorry to report that I was wrong.  Today’s mail brought notice of the magazine ceasing publication.  What a sad note to wreck a Monday that was pretty bad to begin with.  I felt like I lost something precious. 

I spent many hours with this magazine, soaking up the inspiration and creativity of lots of other artsy types.  I will miss that.  I feel like I’ve lost a friend.

My Claim To Fame

In the Fall of 2006, a local woman was going to be visiting her friend in New York. This friend just happened to be a producer on “The View.”  Since this woman was going to attend a taping of the show, she brought along gifts for her producer friend and for the hosts.  One of her objectives was to get some autographed pieces donated for the Menominee Animal Shelter auction.  Since the goal was to help the Shelter, and knowing that the ladies were all animal lovers, she decided to bring a set of my “Paws and Bones” jewelry line to each of the hosts of the show.   In return, I received a mug, signed by the ladies, which I am very proud of!
I don’t know if Barbara, Joy, or the others ever wore their gifts.  I like to imagine that they did.  But even if they didn’t, it doesn’t matter, because they made the journey.  And I have a fun story to tell…my little claim to fame.