The Emotion Bucket - mental health matters - January 2025

Emotions mount like drips of water in a bucket. When they are not dealt with appropriately, they continue to fill the bucket until it overflows with anger, anxiety, depression or some variation of these three emotions. One person casts their anger upon loved ones while another holds it inside, breeding resentment and bitterness. Your friend feels anxious and has panic attacks, while another friend's anxiety manifests as obsessive cleaning and organizing. Depression might look like compulsive television binging, increased alcohol use or isolation. Why do different people express different emotions? The emotions that spill depend on the unique design of the person's bucket, shaped by their personality and life experiences.

Many of us feel shame around our emotional reactions, especially if we react differently than those around us. Instead of adding shame - yet another negative emotion - to the Emotion Bucket, we can recognize the bucket overflow as a sign that something needs to change in our lives. Whether we need to keep drips from entering the bucket (change our schedules, habits or activities), manage the water splashing out of the bucket (learn coping skills), or address the boulders that keep the bucket full before the day even begins (deal with unresolved hurts or trauma), we can all improve our methods of handling the stuff both inside and out of the bucket. We'll learn more about these emotions and changes in the coming months, but let's start with some awareness of our unique emotion buckets.

January's practice: Pay attention to your emotion bucket. Look for times when you are stressed. How do you react? Do you experience anxiety, anger, sadness, or some combination? Are there any past hurt or trauma boulders that keep the full before the day even begins? Take note of your emotional reactions as we address different ways to manage them in the coming months of Mental Health Matters.