It’s time to change. It’s time to move. You feel stuck in a situation that’s hugely stressful. Your stomach is tight. You feel angry or depressed. You’re dragging through your day or charging through like it’s a medical emergency. If you’re a doctor, perhaps it is but otherwise, it’s probably not. You want to explode. You just can’t take it anymore. And you’re probably not meant to either.

Energy to use

It struck me the other day that stress is energy that just wants to be used. It can be feelings  that want to be heard. It’s physical energy that wants to move you, take you somewhere else. If you hold yourself back, you are putting a lid on the energy that is meant to create something new. Is stress sometimes the tension between “I should” and “I want”? Is stress a fight with yourself?

Calm down or move it?

When you’re stressed, a counsellor would probably tell you that you need to calm down. But maybe that advice is only partially correct. Sure, calming down feels better in the short term but it can be like taking a painkiller. The pain is there to tell you what’s wrong. When all is right again it will stop hurting. A painkiller only numbs. Maybe your thinking isn’t quite right but your feelings are signposts to that too. Take notice. If you’re thinking “I hate this” or “It’s horrible”, you’ve got to listen to that.

Don’t act out but do take action

When you feel strongly, it’s time to let the feeling move you. Energy needs to flow and flowing isn’t always gentle movement, sometimes it’s powerful. Feelings may be as powerful and transformational as a thundering waterfall. Necessary changes may be as scary and turbulent and confusing. Even so, it often feels better to go with that powerful flow than to cling endlessly to the wrong thing. Let go and let yourself do what you want. See what happens.

Advertisement