KARDIA 101
Do you experience the sensation of being overwhelmed, confused, or anxious? Do you have trouble being “present”? Does your mind race with things that need to get done or the fear you have forgotten something important? Do you feel scatterbrained or forgetful? Do people experience you as distracted? Do you wonder if you are the only one who feels this way and everyone else has it all together? Does your solution to addressing these challenges sound something like “try harder”, “get better”, “do more”, or “give up”?
None of these experiences are uncommon to humans, but the root cause of many of these human experiences may surprise you.
Whether you realize it or not, more often than not your brain processes emotionally before it processes rationally. However, for most, we view our emotional process and the feelings that result as inconvenient at best and flat wrong at worst. We are often judged and judge ourselves harshly for being impacted emotionally by life. We apologize for our tears, downplay our excitement, fight with our fear, ignore our loneliness, and depress our anger. The general message is that our feelings are what is wrong with us and need to be overcome. We treat our feelings as weakness. We compare our situation to others to determine if it is safe or appropriate to have a feeling. We believe that only in extreme cases is it appropriate to feel and even then we aren’t so sure. We are committed to looking at the bright side or finding the silver lining.
We convince ourselves that it’s not possible to simultaneously be hopeful for the future and sad about our present. Instead of allowing ourselves to experience life as it unfolds we twist ourselves in knots while trying to manage and minimize our emotional responses to a world that is bigger and more powerful than we are. All the while we can’t quite figure out why we are so exhausted, confused, overwhelmed, and anxious.
The truth, however, is that your emotional process is a part of being alive. Your ability to feel is what is exactly right about you, not what is wrong with you. To not feel would make you something other than human. Your ability to recognize, experience, and express what you are feeling is the first step toward the relationship with self and others you are made to have.
Confronting Denial
Denial is a powerful and tempting force that says “Do not see the truth, do not feel the truth, do not tell the truth.” The effectiveness of denial is that it gives us the false hope that we can think ourselves into a better, more fulfilling life by creating our own reality. Unfortunately, we aren’t that powerful and we don’t have that kind of control. Alternatively, we have the ability to respond to the world around us in responsible and relational ways so that regardless of our circumstances we can still experience deep connection with ourselves, others, and God.
Though we were born with the ability to feel feelings, many of us have been conditioned to ignore and suppress them. Which means we have been trained to lose a part of ourselves. In some cases that part of us was taken as a result of traumatic experiences and losses that haven’t been acknowledged and healed. It takes a lot of work, time, guidance, and care to recover that part of ourselves that has been lost. It takes practice.
That is why Kardia Groups exist. These groups offer a safe place under professional direction and care for you to practice seeing the truth, feeling the truth, and telling the truth in a confidential setting so you can regain clarity and courage.
Kardia Groups are easily accessible, don’t require prior counseling experience, and are affordable. They are educational and experiential. You will learn more clearly how the emotional part of your brain functions and how it is designed to benefit you. You will also experience the security of realizing you are not alone on your journey to recovering your heart as many of us have been operating in an impaired state for a very long time.
See. Feel. Own.
Kardia Groups are designed to help you see the truth of your life, what has happened to you, what you have done, and what you hope for.
They are designed to help you actually feel and experience your life as opposed to escaping it and fixing it on your own. attempting to escape it and fix it on your own.
Kardia Groups guide you toward taking ownership of your experience and story. Your facilitator will support you in defining responsible and realistic steps toward courageously participating in your life and your future.
Kardia Groups will help you see and know yourself so you can better connect and relate to others so you can grow your hope and courage.
Kardia Groups are:
Confidential
Economical
Safe
Structured
Professionally Led
Highly relational
Virtual or in person
For those who are experiencing:
Feeling numb, like you aren’t living connected
Only feel one thing - anger
Feel stuck
Anxious or unclear about the future
Trouble making decisions
Relational conflict
Waves of discouragement and depression
Overwhelmed
Second guessing yourself
Negative self talk
Unwanted behaviors
Feeling paralyzed or trapped
Comparison to others
Irritable
Down
Low
Discouraged
Frustrated
Overlooked/Unseen
Unappreciated
Discontent
No one listens to me
Can’t keep up
Overwhelmed
There is a proven way to help you exactly where you are.
Kardia Groups can serve you on your journey to reconnecting with yourself and growing your ability to process your emotions and thoughts in an integrated, productive, and responsible way. If you are interested in learning more about how a Kardia Group can support you we would love to talk with you today.
Key Details
Kardia Groups meet at various times throughout the week. Groups last for 90 minutes and are either virtual or meet at one of our two locations in Memphis, TN.
You do not have to live in Memphis to participate in a group.