Lección 1
The Psychology Of (Painful) Emotions
For decades, scientific psychology actually says that it's not our life events that determine our emotions. What is it then?
In our first session we will summarize the basic approach that every psychologist might tell you about emotions. All our painful emotions are in a cycle. We will learn to break this cycle with a new exercise: the Tree. By drawing your own "trees of suffering", we'll get more clarity on our own cycle and empower ourselves to respond instead of reacting. This exercise is a useful tool for a lifetime. It also has a research-based twist, with a proven effect.
Lección 2
What Happens When We Don't Face Painful Emotions
Many of us we were taught to be strong or not to accept emotions that are painful. But what happens when we don't face emotions? We will see that actually, they cover themselves up with 3 main strategies: avoidance, lingering, or criticising.
We'll also approach an important topic: working with the intensity of emotions. We will learn to use the EmotionMeter - a tool to identify when emotions are too intense and to slow them down enough that we become skillful in handling them.
Lección 3
Hands-On Instrument For Dealing With Emotional Pain
We are now ready to dive right in with HINT, an 11-minute guided meditation based on research, that will ease that “OMG!” feeling - and in neuroscience speak - calm the amygdala in the brain. When difficult emotions appear, we might feel overwhelmed by them - some of us by fear, some by shame or sadness, or maybe anger. Are these emotions ‘bad’ or ‘negative’?
Lección 4
Why HINT Might Be Essential In Difficult Moments
In this session, we'll explore and understand the mechanisms of this simple yet powerful tool that you can carry with you all day - HINT - a kind of 'fire alarm' button to push in case of emotional emergency. We will go through the process of an emotion, including how much science shows that it actually stays in the body. Then, we'll identify the relation between emotions, thoughts, and body sensations, going deeper into finding what it actually needs and how we can nurture ourselves.
Lección 5
Where Do Painful Emotions Come From?
We'll now go deeper to the roots of our emotions. We will learn why we seem to have difficulty with the same emotions and why we 'stumble' over and over again into situations that activate the same feelings. We'll talk about the Attachment Theory and dive right into your experiences as a child, with an exercise called "Circle of Security", which has a great impact on us as adults and will give us a sense of understanding of what we are feeling in difficult moments. This is not the only exercise in this session, as we will also learn a new tool - "Circle in the hand" - that is based on a very insightful story.
Lección 6
Creating New Pathways In The Brain
Now, we are ready to work on the neuroplasticity of our brain. We will create new pathways to not only deal with the difficult but also to discover the path to well-being, so that in every moment, the mind will be able to choose its way for any experience. Adriana will guide you through a new meditation - Taking in the Good - so that we can put the theory into practice and develop a new pathway in the brain. I will guide you through a new meditation - Taking in the Good - so that we can put the theory into practice and develop a new pathway in the brain.
Lección 7
Self-Compassion In Painful Times
Recent psychological research reveals the power of self-compassion when dealing with the difficult. But for most of us, self-compassion doesn't come easy. It needs to be trained. In this session, we'll do exactly that. We will train our self-compassion muscle with a practice called "filling the cup". Just as our body needs a cup of coffee, tea, or water in the morning, our mind needs its cup of kindness.
Lección 8
Painful Emotions In Relationships
Painful emotions usually get triggered by a person, and usually the ones we care for the most are the ones who prove to be more challenging. Did you notice that? In this session, we'll explore how you can express your difficult emotions and how we can relate with somebody who is experiencing difficult emotions that you feel you can't handle. When someone triggers difficult emotions in us, we can take it as a sign of information. “I hear how angry/ sad/ frustrated you are. This must be very important to you.” If there’s an emotion, then something matters. We will do a practice that will help us connect with anyone in a new and fulfilling way. Then, the pièce de résistance: Adriana shares one of the most important rules for any kind of relationships; a rule that is so valuable but only a few clearly talk about.
Lección 9
Seeing The Bigger Picture & Empowering Ourselves In The Face Of Difficulty
We practiced recognising the difficult and the painful, then we learned that the way we relate to it - the quality of relationship with the difficult - is important. Then, we practiced kindness and compassion. We will also start this session with a model of listening and expressing difficult emotions. But still, is there something missing? Today we will work on this missing puzzle: what's REALLY important to you. We'll go through an exercise that will reveal the true core values that are uplifting for you. They go deeper than emotions, thoughts, and reactions. This special exercise has the power to bring them upfront.
Lección 10
Difficult Emotions, Here I Come: Setting The Next Steps
This final session is an exploration of what's next. We'll review each practice and focus on the why, when, and how of using each of them from now on as growing tools for resilience. This course was meant to be practical. There are enough books written in this world and enough information. But real change starts when we really put it into practice. This is not a panaceum. But if you do the practice, rest assured that difficult emotions will feel less difficult.
