4 Ways You Can Express Discomfort

Dear Beautiful Souls,

Do you ever find yourself stuck? And all your tried and tested way of expressing yourself falls a little short? In exploring expression, I found that movement is something that’s second nature to me.

Maybe its because of the years of daily habits I built up, or maybe I’m just comfortable with using my body as an extension of how I express myself. But what if you’re not comfortable with movement?

There are other means to communicate; I make music, I paint, I talk. All very different ways to bring out facets of my personality, and little bubbles of thoughts that needed to be freed from the confines of my brain.

So let’s see if any of these will resonate with you;

1. Put a name to what is making you uncomfortable or unhappy.

Easier said than done, figuring out the right combination of words to figure out exactly why you’re not feeling great is the first step to figuring out what to do next.

When we’re down in the dumps, things blend together. One problem becomes two, becomes three, becomes a monster that seems too big to conquer. Figuring out the root cause of it all is the start of eventually dealing with how you’re feeling.

2. Say out loud what’s been weighing on your mind.

Vocally expressing discomfort is different to just acknowledging it in your head. There’s something about saying things out loud that makes things real for us.

It’s why there’s so much fiction and old wives’ tales that revolve around being careful of what you say. Because words matter, and our voice matters. When it comes to facing the things that hurt us in our lives, vocalizing it can be cathartic.

If you’re not ready to say it out loud to someone yet, you don’t have to. A whisper, a conversation in an empty room, a frustrated yell in the confines of your car. Sometimes you have to acknowledge it to yourself first.

You already know that I sometimes need to find motivation to keep moving. It’s one of the ways I’m reminded to do homework on myself everyday.

3. Unravel your worries slowly with the written word.

Sometimes, when a whisper seems too loud, quiet words unfurling on paper can help. It’s still a way of confronting yourself with your own discomfort, a physical representation of the issues that has you tied up in knots.

Taking the time to write out something will also force you to slow down. Have you noticed that you speak faster than you write?

Those precious extra seconds and minutes that you need to write down your thoughts gives you space to breathe, so you can unravel your worries, one by one. It might help you settle some of your discomfort, helping you find little bits you can break apart and resolve.

4. Tiptoe around your discomfort and get creative.

Tiptoeing around something that’s too big for you to confront heads on, isn’t always avoidance. You’re not running away; you’re just figuring out the best way to approach your discomfort and to deal with it bit by bit.

The act of creation is something that takes you out of your own head and forces you to interact with the world with as many as your senses as you can offer. Your thoughts are focused on the task in front of you, while your body engages with it in a physical way. When you’re in the zone, your feelings leak out and intertwines itself with your creation. Making it the perfect outlet for when you’re unable to confront things head on.

There’s also a sense of achievement when you’re met with the thing that you’ve made. A melody that could turn into a song, a snippet of a story that makes you smile, splashes of color on canvas that spilt over onto your hands. That feeling of achievement will also give you the internal encouragement that you need to take bigger steps.

Getting my hands dirty is one way I can anchor myself in the present. Or in this case, turning my Wild Jasmine Leggings into an extension of my art!

Small steps and big leaps, navigating your own self and finding ways to express your discomfort may be a journey that will be unique to you – but as Mimi so kindly reminded us, we’re never truly alone with our negative feelings.

So Lovely Humans, how do you deal with your discomfort? Do we share coping mechanisms? Let me know in the comment below! 

If you resonate with what I shared, I would love to share more on this platform. Make sure you subscribe to Isabelle Moon's newsletter so you won't miss any of my future writings!

Always ready to listen,

Meghan Currie