I love analogies, metaphors, and similes. I use them constantly and perhaps annoyingly so with my clients. Sometimes they come to me like word pictures while a client is talking and sometimes, I’m a little embarrassed to say them. I’m especially embarrassed by this one. But dang-it, it works really well. So without further preamble…My very worst analogy.
Trigger warner: potty humor.
Feelings are like poops. Everyone gets them, it’s a part of being human. You have to let them out regularly or face some pretty dire consequences. The desire to let them out can come over you at any moment, and sometimes we aren’t in the best place to do it. It’s okay to hold it in briefly until you get to a place where you can let it out. But be careful of holding it in too long or it could get stuck. Sometimes they come out easy, and sometimes it’s more difficult. And you always feel so much better once you get them out.
Oh, I’m not done.
Occasionally, it comes out too fast or feels uncontrollable. Sometimes it’s a consequence of a bad choice we made (like negative self-talk, or nachos respectively) and sometimes it’s because of a bad choice someone else made, (like being mean to you, or getting in the pool when they had diarrhea, respectively) It can be embarrassing to have them come out uncontrollably, but it doesn’t make you a bad person. It just means you have to think about what caused it and try to not do that thing again if you can help it. There’s no shame in them coming out uncontrollably, it’s just that whatever caused it for you could be passed on to another person if you get it all over them. So you want to learn how to be more careful.
When we are letting them out, we have to be considerate of others. Give a little warning. Allow them to leave the area if they are sensitive. If you accidentally get it on people who didn’t do anything wrong, you should apologize to them. But if you get in a mess and it gets everywhere, you might need a friend to help you clean up.
Regular exercise, healthy diet, water and good sleep can help ease your experience. They become more controllable and predictable. Too much stress can have a huge impact on them. If you experience problems with them, you might need professional help to make the whole process easier, enjoyable even. Sometimes you might even need medication to make it more tolerable.
Finally, it’s totally natural. You shouldn’t have any shame or embarrassment when you have them, but most of us still do get a little embarrassed. We don’t want them to be noticed by others or make them uncomfortable, but the closer the relationship, the more of this part of us they are going to experience.
Also there should be more bidets in America, but that’s for a different blog.
Stay regular, my friends.