“Tight itchy sweater”
Ever experience walking into a super hot room carrying multiple bags and having the extreme urge to relieve yourself from the discomfort to take off that sweater? Sometimes that experience can exist in different ways or through moments when we experience negative emotions. The only difference is that there is no sweater that can be removed to experience relief. The relief in this experience does not depend on removing the sweater but rather creating a change in your physical being or behavior. It may be hard to do anything other than sit in the moment of feeling uncomfortable and paralyzed. However, recognize that you are in a moment of time that can be altered by a behavioral change. The moment you recognize you feel stuck in the moment try to change your activity for just 5 minutes and give yourself the option of continuing for another 5 minutes.
Some ways to remove that imaginary sweater can be to participate in activities such as exercising, breathing techniques, meditation, writing down things you’re grateful for, listening to some music, and/or fantasizing that you are somewhere else–a pleasant memory. After you participate in one or more of those activities you will experience a temporary change in your perception or a feeling as though that tight itchy sweater no longer exists. I say temporary because all feelings are conditions of the mind (sadness, happiness, boredom, anger, etc) or temporary moments that exist throughout time at an ever changing rate.
