An important truth about feelings

An idea occurred to me a couple of weeks ago which I want to share with others suffering from depression. It is this:
 
Negative, painful feelings are NOT “evidence” that one is a worthless person, NOR are they “predictors” that one’s future will be a miserable failure. They are not realiable measures of “reality.” They are just feelings!
 
What evidence do I have for this claim? Think about the last time you had an AMAZINGLY fun day. How did it make you feel? Did you feel positively about yourself? Did your good mood make you feel hopeful and enthusiastic about your life? Now imagine hypothetically that the very next day you ended up in a very sad, dark place in your mind. Imagine that it made you very self-critical. Let’s assume that it made you feel that there was NOTHING to look forward to but a lifetime of depression.
 
Now ask yourself these questions: Did something fundamentally change about your self worth (your value as a unique living, breathing human being) from day one to day two?  NO!  Did your ACTUAL future suddenly become dark from one day to the next?  No!  Your future remained wide open.  What happened then?  Your mood changed–that is all!  NOT your worth, and NOT your future!

Let’s remember this next time we’re hurting:  “It’s just a feeling.  This, too, shall pass.”

About Shaunalei

"Peace by Piece" is a storehouse for my exploratory journey of discovery and healing. Feel free to reach me at: shaunalei@codepoet.org.
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