Untangle Your Emotions by Jennie Allen
Week 6: Chapter 5 — Feel
Read Chapter 5 of Untangle Your Emotions. This is Step 3 of Jennie's five-step framework.
Previewing Week 6 of Untangle Your Emotions
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 14-week guide when you’re ready.
Notice and Name are preparation — this is where it gets real: actually allowing yourself to feel what you've identified, without immediately trying to fix or flee it.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.Jennie's central thesis arrives most forcefully in this step: "Feelings aren't something to fix; they are something to feel." Why is this so countercultural — both in the secular world and in Christian culture specifically?
2.She describes the discomfort of sitting with a hard emotion without immediately jumping to solutions, Scripture verses (used as emotional bypass), or distraction. Have you ever used a spiritual practice — prayer, Bible reading, serving — as a way to avoid feeling something rather than bringing it to God? What did that look like?
3.The chapter explores the idea that unprocessed emotions don't disappear — they compound. Jennie uses the image of a beach ball held underwater: eventually the pressure forces it to the surface with more force than it would have had naturally. Where in your life is there a "beach ball" you've been holding down?