Beverly and Paolo start by talking about why they started their podcast, Authentic Feelings. They briefly share the history of their storied friendship. Then they discuss the effect of emotions on our lives, and why it is so important to learn strategies for dealing with them.

According to Beverly and Paolo, it starts with self-awareness, acknowledging that we have negative emotions, and then making a decision to work on our emotional selves. According to Beverly this involves work, including a willingness to ask for help.

We discuss why so many people have difficulty reaching out to others for help and opening up about their emotions. According to Paolo this stems from shame, so in order to talk openly and honestly about our feelings, we have to first detach ourselves from shame.

We then discuss ways of identifying people to talk to and how to ask for help when needed. We also talk about how to respond when a loved one comes to you and wants to talk about their feelings or an emotional situation. Paolo and Beverly give us their tips for engaging in difficult, emotional conversations with our friends and family.

They talk about the benefits of being more open and honest about our feelings, how to confront and accept negative emotions, and how to cultivate our positive emotions, what Beverly refers to as our higher and lower selves.

Paolo and Beverly point out that it is not always incumbent on us to fix how we are feeling about a particular situation. Sometimes, external factors can play an outsized role in influencing our emotions.

They end with some great advice for young people on how to deal with difficult emotions.