The Emotional Cutoff Analysis
Escaping the Pressure Cooker
Like the author of “The Emotional Cutoff” I have on occasion felt that I too was “Sick of it. Done” The author adds: “In many ways, my story is not unique. Many of the folks in our Unitarian Universality congregations come out of similar experiences, and carry similar wounds”
Upon arrival in the US and meandering through the challenges of the new world, my grandmother said about a University diploma I was awarded that had dating errors in it, “ Don't let anyone define who you are. Don't accept a diploma that they say is yours, but has information that does not pertain to you.” My father said: “We have been fighting white people since you were a child in the Apartheid and there you are again....don't let them crucify you for their sins. Jesus has already done that.”
Coupled with my families' counsel and diverse insights from others, I read a book on moral injury written by Reverends Brock and Rebekah Ann Parker: Proverbs of Ashes. Following this reading I would cease letting anyone dictate how I feel, what I feel, how and when and if to forgive. …show more content…
Similar to the author of “The Emotional Cutoff”, I learned from the stories of those with PTSD that it was when we” bottle it up, wall it off, [that] it can build up and cause stress in unrelated parts of a person’s life, even physical illness.”
In my perspective, the article cements the idea that it is more healthy to strife for interaction with those around me than to detach myself. In overwhelming situations, it is typical for me to cut myself off emotionally, but then I remember to return and face the issues. In the return, I familiarized with the process of sorting out why and how to return to my emotions.
In retrospect, much earlier on in my life, I had to address complex issues with my joining the Mormon Church.
I discovered that moral injury was the appropriate description of my experience. I felt like I had insulted myself and I felt uncertain of myself for having been involved in the anti-apartheid movement in Southern Africa, where I joined the church ,which I found upon arrival in the US that it had at one time in history prohibited black priesthood. As I went through this process I requested the then Mormon prophet to come up with ways of letting blacks know before they join the Mormon Church their place in history of the church. I was afraid to come out in public to face people I had recruited for the Mormon Church, but I was “done” with covering my moral injuries and have since met most of my challenges bluntly before they cut new Mormon wounds that I worked hard to
reveal.
In the end, I believe that in taking care of the souls as Unitarian ministers, it will be important for me take the time to identify with areas of life my congregation is “done” with and help them in the direction that best facilitates their healing.
Like the author of “The Emotional Cutoff” I have on occasion felt that I too was “Sick of it. Done” The author adds: “In many ways, my story is not unique. Many of the folks in our Unitarian Universality congregations come out of similar experiences, and carry similar wounds”
Upon arrival in the US and meandering through the challenges of the new world, my grandmother said about a University diploma I was awarded that had dating errors in it, “ Don't let anyone define who you are. Don't accept a diploma that they say is yours, but has information that does not pertain to you.” My father said: “We have been fighting white people since you were a child in the Apartheid and there you are again....don't let them crucify you for their sins. Jesus has already done that.”
Coupled with my families' counsel and diverse insights from others, I read a book on moral injury written by Reverends Brock and Rebekah Ann Parker: Proverbs of Ashes. Following this reading I would cease letting anyone dictate how I feel, what I feel, how and when and if to forgive. …show more content…
Similar to the author of “The Emotional Cutoff”, I learned from the stories of those with PTSD that it was when we” bottle it up, wall it off, [that] it can build up and cause stress in unrelated parts of a person’s life, even physical illness.”
In my perspective, the article cements the idea that it is more healthy to strife for interaction with those around me than to detach myself. In overwhelming situations, it is typical for me to cut myself off emotionally, but then I remember to return and face the issues. In the return, I familiarized with the process of sorting out why and how to return to my emotions.
In retrospect, much earlier on in my life, I had to address complex issues with my joining the Mormon Church.
I discovered that moral injury was the appropriate description of my experience. I felt like I had insulted myself and I felt uncertain of myself for having been involved in the anti-apartheid movement in Southern Africa, where I joined the church ,which I found upon arrival in the US that it had at one time in history prohibited black priesthood. As I went through this process I requested the then Mormon prophet to come up with ways of letting blacks know before they join the Mormon Church their place in history of the church. I was afraid to come out in public to face people I had recruited for the Mormon Church, but I was “done” with covering my moral injuries and have since met most of my challenges bluntly before they cut new Mormon wounds that I worked hard to
reveal.
In the end, I believe that in taking care of the souls as Unitarian ministers, it will be important for me take the time to identify with areas of life my congregation is “done” with and help them in the direction that best facilitates their healing.