Dear Girija:

I am amazed by your recent replies to other members, you are very good at this, thank you!

“My only problem is I don’t think I realize my emotional state when I am in the moment. I will work on this” – working on what needs to be worked on is the best you can do. The same awkwardness and other uncomfortable emotions will continue while you practice emotion regulation. Key is to not give up on the practice just because you keep feeling these uncomfortable emotions. It is similar in a way to taking a psychiatric medication: the recommendation is to keep taking it even when there is no improvement, because it takes time.

The practice we are talking about though, will eventually yield lifetime results that are not dependent on a medication.

“I do realize I can work on my appearance. There is some resistance there…” – you wrote that you left this part in your post so to come back to it later. Take your time and be back when you are ready. The best time to contemplate topics like this is when you happen to be calm. We think best when we are calm.

“I will gladly continue communicating with you, it helps me a lot. Thank you” – you are welcome, and same here: I will gladly continue to communicate with you!

anita