04/20/2026
What if the feelings you try hardest to avoid are actually trying to help you?
In my work as a therapist, I often meet people who feel frustrated, ashamed, or overwhelmed by emotions they wish they could “get rid of”—anger, envy, despair, regret, or just a persistent sense of unease. We live in a culture that encourages us to manage emotions quickly or push them aside, rather than sit with them.
I wrote this book review as an invitation to pause and consider a different perspective: that our hardest feelings aren’t signs of failure, but signals. They can point us toward unmet needs, unresolved grief, or parts of ourselves asking to be understood rather than silenced.
In this blog, I explore why these emotions show up, what they might be trying to communicate, and how learning to listen—often with support—can lead to deeper self‑understanding and healing.
You can read the full post here:
👉 https://summitfamilytherapy.com/summit-family-therapy-peoria-illinois-blog/2026/4/17/what-if-your-hardest-feelings-are-trying-to-help-you?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com
If this resonates, I hope it reminds you that feeling deeply doesn’t mean something is wrong—it may mean something important is happening.
— Robin Hayles, MA, LCPC
In his newest book, Hard Feelings: Finding the Wisdom in Our Darkest Emotions , psychotherapist and author Daniel Smith invites us to reconsider something most of us have spent years trying to avoid: our so‑called negative emotions. Rather than treating anger, shame, envy, regret, jealousy, a
