Anonymous #1 13h

I avoid it because I know the emotion well enough as is, I have no desire to seek it out

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Anonymous OP 13h

So ur are avoidant with ur emotions?? How’s that working out so far?

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Anonymous #1 13h

Not really, I just don’t see the point of introducing negative ones like anger or sadness without reason. If they occur naturally I deal with them as they come. I try to optimize my life for peace

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Anonymous OP 13h

but that's the thing tho dodging negative emotions until they force their way in isn't peace it's just a fragile bubble. engaging with those deeper/darker emotions on ur own terms (like through art, music, horror, whatever) is literally emotional weight training. Therefore u are being avoidant and u aren’t training ur amygdala to tolerate those difficult emotions and situations

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Anonymous #1 13h

So really, is it peace, or numbing and avoiding feelings to keep urself “safe”

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Anonymous #1 13h

Wouldn’t “training yourself to tolerate those difficult emotions” also just be trying to keep yourself “safe?”

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Anonymous #1 13h

Bc exposure therapy is the actual numbing in terms of the neurobiology, those neural pathways will get unnecessarily permanently altered and you won’t feel the raw emotional response in the same way again as a conscious decision. What I normalize to myself is what I mirror and internalize

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Anonymous OP 13h

It’s training urself to be able to keep urself safe and make smart decisions when difficult situations and emotions arise, then there’s just hiding away from things to keep urself safe, there’s a big difference especially in how ppl with those different mindsets react and handle certain situations

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Anonymous #1 12h

I think there are better ways of training for that tbh; deep introspection, spiritual work, and navigating stability day in day out have served me well through a lot. Why expose myself to some concocted media designed to give me new negative experiences when I can find those emotions within myself on my own terms?

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Anonymous OP 12h

See correct, but yk what that's called, it’s called shadow work, bc u have to delve into the dark scary and sad things and expose ur mind to it and art or media is literally just a mirror for that. It doesn't inject new negative emotions into u, it just triggers and pulls out what's already sitting in ur subconscious. If a piece of media destabilizes u, that emotion was already there waiting to be processed. Avoiding the mirror doesn't mean ur face is clean!😬🤷‍♀️

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Anonymous #1 12h

I disagree, I think it heightens those emotions and natural responses within. I'm of the mind that certain things are just better to heighten than others when we have the choice. What we heighten affects our overall normative state. Idk we may just come from very diff places in life, I have a lot of raw emotions of varying intensity & diversity exposed to me every day against my own control, things have been like that my whole life. I'd rather have what I choose be more uplifting & stabilizing

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