Can difficult feelings come up in therapy, will I feel worse?
Sometimes, while in therapy, we can go through periods where unpleasant emotions increase. This can happen when we start moving towards and connecting to parts of our experience which we find difficult or unpleasant. Staying disconnected with these parts has a cost as we tend to spend energy trying to control and manage our experience. Sometimes this can lead to us restricting our lives and, possibly, depression and anxiety. Admitting more parts of ourselves into consciousness necessarily entails facing, accepting, and learning new ways of being. Usually we are able to be in therapy and address these issues without making any major changes to our day-to-day lives.
