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Sarah Thompson's avatar

The five emotions are joy, anger, fear, sadness, and disgust. The last one, disgust, when turned inwards, is shame. Every single one has a useful, and a destructive, capacity. Anger indicates that we need to alter something. Fear indicates that we are confronting an unknown. Sadness tells us we must grieve. And disgust/shame tells us what to avoid/not repeat. Without an internal impetus to improve, we end up in a negative ratchet of self-destruction. With too much self-abnegation, same issue. The trick with shame is to acknowledge it and allow it without letting it drive the bus, just as with the other emotions.

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Tall Chick's avatar

Thanks for my DBT refresher. And I mean this sincerely.

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Sarah Thompson's avatar

What’s DBT?

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Tall Chick's avatar

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. It was quite effective for me and a few others I know who have tried it. Skills based.

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Sarah Thompson's avatar

I hadn’t heard that term! I’ve worked my way into all this stuff through a constellation of tools, many of which I brought on for myself and then others I’ve learned in real time for my professional practice. Thank you-I’ll look into that.

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