Don’t Let Your Feelings Overstay Their Welcome

Flow like water.

Your emotions will flow like water, crash like waves, and ebb like the tide. The things you feel are expressions of moments. Joyous moments, challenging moments, heartbreaking moments—moments of all kinds. Feeling your emotions is healthy, and crucial even if you want to heal. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase: “You have to feel to heal” from your counselor or a wise friend before.

But a big part of it, of healing and knowing peace, is not letting the feelings overstay their welcome.

Just as a river flows downstream, just as a wave builds only to hit the shore and eventually disperse, and just as the tide is pulled and pushed by the gravity of the moon, our emotions come and go. Allow them to do just that. Ride the wave. Float down the river. Reach the shore with the tide. And whenever you need a little help staying afloat, don’t hesitate to ask for or look for and receive that help.

Emotions are special—they tell a story that guides us along with the current. But they are not permanent. They can surface for a few days, a week, or a month, or they may just require a handful of minutes. They come and they go. They ask to be acknowledged and felt. They might not need more than that or they may be teachers who inspire change and growth and action. That’s for you to decide and decipher. Either way, as you muster up the courage to feel your emotions, remember to not let them consume you or take up permanent residency.

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People need other people. You are not weak for wanting or needing support. If you’re seeking professional help, we encourage you to use TWLOHA’s FIND HELP Tool. If you reside outside of the US, please browse our growing International Resources database. You can also text TWLOHA to 741741 to be connected for free, 24/7 to a trained Crisis Text Line counselor. If it’s encouragement or a listening ear that you need, email our team at [email protected].