Working with Difficult Emotions - Navigating the Collective Grief

The world feels heavy right now. Between the ongoing wars, devastating hurricanes, and the divisive political climate, It's no surprise that many of us are experiencing a range of difficult emotions, anxiety, overwhelm, sadness, anger and even numbness. These events, experienced directly or vicariously through news and social media, create a shared sense of grief and loss that we are all left to navigate.

I live in Asheville, North Carolina and my city has been decimated by hurricane Helene. Although I have been able to fare quite well staying with friends and family while services are being restored, the emotional overhead is still there waiting for me. Not only my own difficult emotions, but also those of the collective.

Collective grief and difficult emotions will wait for you. Often during a particularly difficult time we are able to put difficult emotions on the back burner, because taking action is the most important thing at hand. Or we may try to push them away, but they often resurface in unexpected ways. This is where the power of mindfulness and compassion practices comes in.

Mindfulness is a powerful tool for navigating difficult emotions by helping us to pay attention to them in the present moment, in our bodies, without judgment. By gently being with our thoughts and feelings without attaching to them, we can create space for them to shift and change and maybe even pass through. This doesn't mean ignoring our pain, but rather accepting it as a part of the human experience.

As a practitioner of Mindful Self-Compassion, I always bring compassion into my mindfulness practices. Compassion helps us recognize our own pain and also our shared humanity, allowing us to remember that we all suffer with grief and difficult emotions from time to time. When we practice this type of compassion, we extend kindness and understanding to ourselves and others, acknowledging our common struggles. We are more gentle and accepting of our own pain, without the need to suppress it or run from it. 

In this upcoming event series, we'll use the power of community to gather in a supportive environment to explore these practices together. We'll engage in guided mindfulness and compassion exercises, and then create a space for sharing, allowing ourselves to witness and honor each other.

By sharing our inner experiences, we're not seeking to fix or solve anything. We're simply acknowledging that we're not alone in our struggles. This process of shared vulnerability can be incredibly healing, allowing us to feel seen and understood. It reminds us that we're part of a larger web of interconnectedness, a community that supports and lifts each other up.

Whether you've experienced a personal trauma or are simply feeling overwhelmed by the weight of the world, this event series is for you. No prior experience with mindfulness or compassion practices is necessary. Just come with an open heart and a willingness to heal together. Let's gather, breathe, and find our way back to peace and resilience, one mindful breath and compassionate heart at a time.

Join the Free Friday Series - Working With Difficult Emotions to heal in community: https://WorkingwithDifficultEmotions.eventbrite.com

About Cynthia Phelps

Dr. Phelps is a Stanford Ambassador of Compassion, International Speaker, Certified Mindfulness Instructor, and Founder of InnerAlly, a trauma-Informed company building tools, courses, and mobile apps to improve mental wellness based on the science of self-compassion. She has extensive experience in learning and behavior change and has been developing mental health tools since 2009. Her expertise is in helping people to use their inner voice as their superpower to help manage difficult emotions and get what they want out of life. Her background in pharmacology and neuroscience helps her create programs and products for effective health behavior change. Cynthia started InnerAlly after having a profound recovery experience with implementing self-compassion in her own life, and now she facilitates live and online trainings and private programs to help others to make their own breakthroughs. InnerAlly celebrates the power of creating a kind and supportive inner voice to change your life for the better.