Reconnecting with the heart - Anne Dickson

Reconnecting with the Heart offers a new theoretical and practical approach to understanding and managing feelings. We categorise feelings as either negative or positive, which means that we censor the expression of some while insisting on others.Learning to understand the whole range of emotions - what they are, where they come from, why we have them - helps us learn when and how to communicate them effectively. Feelings are not only mental events, but occur in our bodies as well. Reconnecting with the Heart helps the reader to become more conscious of the mind-body link, both in terms of how to recognise emotions and also in their connection to various physical symptoms. Although we are accustomed to blaming others for causing our feelings, the reality is that our responses have a lot to do with our perceptions. Once we stop blaming others, we can learn how to communicate clearly, even in the most difficult situations. Specific suggestions and exercises enable the reader to use this as a workbook for individual and personal exploration. The book also demonstrates how to be less uncomfortable or anxious when someone bursts into tears or is angry:we can learn to be less anxious and more comfortable when problems arise in our relationships even when strong emotions are present. This book is intended as an initial guide to our feelings, charting the currents and movements of the heart, and makes it clear that emotion is part of everyday life and need not be seen as a problem. The theoretical input is balanced by many illustrations from Anne's working experience, which allow the reader to relate the theory to their own life experiences. Reconnecting with theHeart will help anyone who struggles to make sense of their feelings within the increasingly impersonal context of everyday life.