The analogy of untangling a ball of rubber bands is one that I use often when I talk about the work of grief recovery.
The work of grief recovery and processing the emotions of loss can be compared to de-tangling a ball of rubber bands in several ways:
1) Complexity of emotions – one event or experience may contain the expression of multiple emotions and sometimes conflicting ones.
2) Sadness, anger, guilt, as well as emotions such as relief and peace, may be tightly wound together. When you have the correct tools to identify each emotion it is much like untangling each rubber band one at a time.
3) Resistance: When you start to pull on one rubber band in the ball, it often resists and pulls on others, creating tension. This is often why people don’t continue on the road to recovery but rather store those emotions in the body to be expressed at a later time. Unfortunately the way they are expressed is as disease and illness.
4) Many of my clients who are suffering from depression tell me that they feel numb. This can be indicative of many emotions being trapped in the “ball” and in the overwhelm it becomes impossible to feel anything.
There are SO many benefits to delving into the jumbled mess of emotions!
1) Untangling the emotions brings aha’s and awareness of things previously clouded. One of my clients recently told me that she found space for all of her feelings that she had previously judged as selfish or bad.
2) Getting unstuck – when you delve into what is contained in the emotions of an event, regret, or experience it breaks something open.
3) Renewed sense of life and enthusiasm for life.
4) Physical rejuvenation – healing happens on many levels.
5) Finding a core resolution to a challenging emotional pattern as you untangle the ball and access deeper levels of wounding and grief.
6) Relief and freedom!
If you would like to know more about how to untangle your emotions you can see here how I work with people.
To get to know more about my journey from hopelessness and depression to joy in life you might want to read my book. You can find it here.
