Disgust helps us to avoid potential dangers sometimes physically repulsive things but I guess also repulsive life situations too. For me, I have often held myself back from doing what might be seen as a social norm violations! Although, I might expand on this point a bit further in another post and although I agree that some social ‘norms’ should be upheld for a good reason, I have tried to move away from this sometimes restrictive way of thinking because I don’t think there is always a ‘norm’ way of doing life that everyone can fit into.

Protecting ourselves from things that seem dangerous always has its benefits e.g. food that by looking at it, you know that it will be a mistake to eat! However, referring back to points that I made in What are the Other Animals that We Can Be and Fear & Giraffeness, taking risks can lead to learning opportunities although it may seem scary and uncomfortable initially. I have a hard time believing this recently but I’m trying to have faith that this will come true for me with time.

Another point to mention here is the disgust or negativity that we feel towards ourselves. As I referred to in Why We Struggle to Proclaim Our Giraffeness, I have struggled to feel confident in my appearance. Although, I am now beginning to have more confidence in this area. One of the questions that I have to answer every time I have been to my counselling sessions is if I trust my reactions to situations and I would answer not really as I don’t always trust my instincts and I think that I sometimes let things get to me too much. I haven’t got much of an answer for how to overcome that yet but as I mentioned previously, I am trying to move away from what I would be expected to do and stick to what feels right for me and embrace my giraffeness. I have sometimes even struggled to believe that I am a good person to be writing this blog. This is why I am so glad that what I have been saying has had an impact on some of you and although I am not promising to be an expert on how to deal with these issues, I will continue to write honestly and share what I have learnt so far about overcoming these issues in the hope that they are helpful for you in some way.

Thank you for taking the time to read this instalment and I hope you find it helpful. As always, feel free to get in touch with me with any questions or feedback, I always love to hear it. The next instalment will be the last in the inside out series looking at joy so stay tuned for that.

Until next time

Kathryn