Last Wednesday night was a fun girls night out for me. I gave two friends a ride, and then we met one more lady at the mall to do some pottery painting. It was so fun! And I painted this beauty:
But as the night passed, I started to lose steam and by the time we were done painting and were driving home, I was feeling pretty down. I wasn’t very talkative; I just focused on driving and listening. The conversation never got heavy or depressing, but I started feeling that way.
PROBLEM: I was feeling depressed.
As I dropped the last friend off, I almost burst into tears! I was feeling so sad! I didn’t know why. I was very confused.
I got home and started telling my husband about how fun the evening was. And then I went quiet. I was feeling very down. It was very much at the front of my mind, like someone was right in my face, bringing it to my attention.
And because it was that blatant, I finally stopped myself and asked, “Why am I depressed?” I wondered, was it something they said? Was it something I did? But guess what popped into my head . . . ? ? ? An image of me picking up one of my friends’ depression and overwhelm! Aha! I quickly gave the feelings back like I usually do when I recognize I’m carrying emotions. (Carrying someone’s depression or any other emotion does not lighten their load—it only weighs us down unnecessarily.) I instantly felt so much better! The heavy, low, weight was not there anymore. I felt lifted.
SOLUTION: I discovered whether it was my own emotions or someone else’s, and then returned those emotions to the donor.
Have you ever felt down or depressed out of the blue after you were around other people? Have you ever noticed you were carrying someone’s emotions? How do you give those emotions back? Here’s how I do it. Try it out!
P.S. Still confused about how to work through your emotions? Click here to download my free flowchart giving easy steps to guide you until you are comfortable on your own!