Whenever I’m really sad it feels like either heartburn, or this “tightness” or something just below my sternum.
Also Creamsicle says he’s sorry for making a dumb post. Here’s a picture of him with a noodle on his head.
Btw I take him to the vet when he eats cat food because that’s Gregory’s cat food. I tell the vet he got into some chocolate so they’ll give him an emetic and maybe he’ll decide the cat food isn’t worth it and there won’t be a next time, but he’s an idi—GOD DAMNIT CREAMSICLE COME BACK HERE.
”Yay!”
I haven’t read the book The Body Keeps the Score but I’ve heard good things about it, discussing how trauma can effect us physically.
In Buddhist teaching it’s said every emotional state has a physical counterpart, but meditating you can improve awareness of the body to more easily analyse mental states, but meditation can cause distress for some if not applied properly.
I use this in a positive way, you can practice generating the feeling in your stomach associated with wholesome love, like imagining hugging a dog you love or another and focusing on the physical feeling that arises. (The general practice is called metta meditation, or loving-kindness) It can help alleviate anxiety.
Idk what that feels like though.
For me it’s almost like nervousness or butterflies in the stomach. It can be a subtle feeling and might not be recognized physically, you can start with focusing on the emotion and scanning the body and seeing what’s there. I apologize I’m not a great teacher though. Or did you mean the emotion itself?
It can be especially tough if you have painful emotions going on also, it’s been probably ten years since I first heard of the technique and it doesn’t always work especially if I’m feeling anxious or restless.