We all have access to 7 core emotions: fear, anger, grief, joy, excitement, disgust and sexual excitement says Hilary Jacobs Hendel. Some of us learn at an early age the freedom to express them, others learn to bottle them up to keep the homeostasis in our families growing up. The more access we have to these emotions the more fluid our wellbeing will be. Everyone has 3 inhibitory emotions; anxiety, shame and guilt. These feelings are way too much to bear so we instinctively create defenses to avoid them at all costs. Our defenses are our creative protection that helps us avoid fully feeling overwhelmed and the intolerable. They also create walls between ourselves and others which prevent intimacy, loving and healthy communication. The more we have access to expressing all of our feelings safely, the more connected, compassionate, confident and loving we can be to ourselves and others.