Tinyzebra, I’m so happy you’ve come to realize that feeling your feelings is essential, and not rally against any that are unpleasant. I, too, have fell into that trap where I’d feel sad, then be mad at myself for feeling sad and do you think that made me feel any better? I suffered through my relationship when I would tell my partner a negative feeling I had about our relationship and instead of him allowing me to express myself, he would explain how my feeling was “wrong” because it was based on “inaccurate assumptions” or things like that. If I really understood how things were, I wouldn’t feel the way I did, was his perspective. It can be so defeating to have a loved one invalidate you like that. But I digress, the point is you are going to feel sad and that’s ok. There are a lot of articles on Tiny Buddha about feeling your bad feelings as a path to healing, but I found this one especially meaningful:

Why Letting Ourselves Feel Bad Is the Key to Feeling Better