I Shouldn't Feel This Way

Outline

I Shouldn't Feel This Way (2024) offers a practical method for understanding difficult and conflicting emotions without responding with shame, guilt, or self-criticism. Alison Cook teaches readers to name what they are experiencing, regulate the emotions creating confusion, and transform those feelings into clear and courageous action. Combining psychology, personal stories, practical exercises, and faith-based insights, the book helps readers address false guilt, emotional avoidance, self-sabotage, and decisions that keep them trapped in unhealthy patterns.

• Difficult and conflicting emotions can be understood without answering them with shame, guilt, or self-criticism.
• The first step is to name accurately what you are feeling.
• Emotions that create confusion can be calmed and regulated before you decide what to do.
• Understood feelings can be turned into clear and courageous action.
• False guilt, emotional avoidance, and self-sabotage can keep a person stuck in unhealthy patterns and poor decisions.

Alison Cook is an American psychologist, author, podcast host, and educator who specialises in emotional healing, healthy boundaries, self-understanding, and the integration of psychology and Christian faith. For more than twenty years, she has worked with individuals, couples, families, and faith leaders. Through her books and The Best of You podcast, she provides practical tools for developing emotional clarity, confidence, and healthier relationships.