What You're Feeling
Disappointed
Disappointment shows up when reality falls short of a hope you'd let yourself have. The more you let yourself hope, the more room there is to feel this when it doesn't land.
Common thoughts
- “I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.”
- “This always happens to me.”
- “Maybe I expected too much.”
Body sensations
- A heaviness in the chest
- A sudden drop in energy
- A tightness behind the eyes
What helps
- Naming specifically what you hoped for, out loud
- Letting yourself actually feel the letdown instead of rushing past it
- Separating the disappointment from your worth
What makes it worse
- Deciding you'll never hope for anything again
- Minimizing it because "it's not that big a deal"