Instagram/@demi_not_lovato
Getting real about emotion regulation in instant messaging. The other actor from The Bachelor went on social media to tell her story about how she really tries to avoid those terribly emotion-laced texts that we all have sent and regretted later.
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“I’m a loose game for five years” she sang in the video accompanying the post, “Guess that’s why my feet hurt,” she said to add a serious note to the message.
Burnett went on to say, “When I feel myself about to type out a text based out of emotion, I have to pause. I have to take a beat. I have to GET UP.” She asks herself to do exactly that: Get up physically out of the situation and distract herself. She said her distraction would be “sleep on it,” but she really stressed that “anything you can do to make your brain think about something else for a little bit” would do.
That pause evolves into a processing moment wherein she can finally “pinpoint what emotion I’m actually feeling underneath all the big feelings.” Her followers clearly appreciated the advice, with tons of comments following theirs.
It captures a majority of people’s feelings: “I honestly love this. And really needed to read it because I need it. Great advice. Thank you.” This comment really made it clear that this was an in-the-nick-of-time advice for many struggling with emotional communication.
One follower gave another approach complementary to Burnett’s: “I text the entire paragraph (or page) – then I don’t send it for a couple of hours. I re-read right before I send, and 9 out of 10 times, I cut out half of the unnecessary rants.” The pragmatic approach is illustrative of how varied tactics can operate to better conscious communication.
Another one confesses, “lol I am the opposite and almost always react emotionally,” and that just started a conversation with other admitters who speak of their difficulties trying to change communication habits while encouraging each others’ progress.
Some went to the other extreme, making fun of the post: “But if I send this to them I’ll get an immediate wall of text,” acknowledging one of the many ways these good intentions can go totally wrong.
Responding to Burnett was very cathartic for the emotional group, with one commenter stating joyfully, “We are just girls with big feelings!!!!!!” It was a powerful reminder of how good it can feel actually having an emotional experience validated with a down-to-earth solution.
They repeatedly stated in the commentary how “needed” this advice felt-the implication being that most are in search of better ways of standing up to texting without losing their emotional genuineness. Burnet‘s is really a middle path-an approach that honors emotions yet gives one a choice on when to express them.
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Demi Burnett continues to make mental health solutions go down easy. With her latest musings on emotional texting, she gives a simple yet strong recourse for all who desire to communicate consciously within their relationships.
You can view the original article HERE.
