Which Tools Do You Use?

I wanted to share a little story with you that happened while I was in Italy with my family. And it all started with an ego bruise. 

“I don’t want to hang out with you, Aunty BrinnB,” my 4-year-old nephew declared to me the 7th day of the trip.

OUCH. That hurt. 

In my head, I was sticking my tongue out at him and telling him he couldn't come to my birthday party. 😡

 Then another thought kicked in, “Why doesn't he want to hang out with his Aunty BrinnB?" 🥺

Was I not fun enough? 

Not creative enough? 

Not cool enough?

Was I not a good aunt? 

Was I not doing enough to foster a relationship with him? 

My Inner Critic knew all the answers, of course.  HECK NO I WASN’T ENOUGH!  And my Inner Child felt it. 😭

I started off by numbing and isolating in my room, scrolling on my phone. 

Then, I became mopey. And tired. Then irritated and annoyed. Even angry. 

I felt all the feelings without actually MOVING THROUGH any of them. 

I was stuck. 

I needed to DO SOMETHING with all these emotions and since a 4-year-old was the trigger point, I couldn’t exactly take it out on him.

Disappointing, I know 🙄

Luckily, we were in the countryside at this time so I took myself outside under the shade of a tree where no one could see or hear me. 

And there, I TAPPED.

If you’re not familiar with tapping, it’s an awesome healing method in which I am trained. It helps move stuck emotions and energy, similarly to acupuncture. But instead of needles, you use your fingers to gently tap on your body. 

It sounds hokey, but I swear it works. EVERY. TIME.

Anyway, I tapped about my sadness, my anger, my frustration, my irritation and my desire to be a good aunt and sister. 

As I tapped the tears started and I felt a major emotional release happen. This is what I NEEDED. 

I started identifying other stressors that had built up and realized it wasn’t just my nephew that was on my mind. It hardly ever is. 

Tapping allowed time and space to reflect and process all the feelings that were inside and move through them EFFICIENTLY and EFFECTIVELY.  

20 minutes and a good cry later, I was refreshed and ready to go!

I walked back in to find the little cutie pie playing with dominoes so I joined in the fun with ENERGY and IMAGINATION. 

As we played I made him laugh, a lot, and I am pretty sure it was the best hang out session we've had in a long time. 😁

So, I am curious, what do you do when you're feeling strong emotions? WHAT TOOLS ARE IN YOUR TOOL BELT to help you move through your feelings in a healthy way?

Also, interested in doing a little tapping yourself? Well, then I highly recommend checking out my dear friend and teacher’s YouTube channel, Tapping with Steph.

You can also listen to me interview her in episode 1 of the Wholisitic Approach to Healing podcast.