Sorry for your recent struggle, EW...
I read your posts for the week, and even before reading the latest, concerning your focus on thoughts and emotions, I wanted to offer my perspective if it may help your own self-understanding:
Our soul (psychological aspect) is made up of mind, will and emotions. The mind (or intellect) is directly controlled by the will, whereas our emotions are indirectly controlled by the will.
This means that we can choose what to think or to not think about. Of course for many if there's an obsessiveness about this, they'll find it harder to control their thoughts, but nonetheless. Our emotional states come and go based on our focus. Focus is a matter of will. What is focused on (initially) is thought, or the subject of thought, whatever that may be.
To control our thoughts is (more or less) easy, change focus. To control our emotions is (seemingly) not so easy, as we cannot directly change our emotional states. But, and here's the good news, if we wish to change (or prevent) our negative or unpleasant emotional states, change what we're thinking about. Change your mind's focus, and your emotions will (eventually, yet invariably) follow.
If I'm experiencing a negative emotional state (say, I'm sad), if I trace it back, it all started with a (negative) thought. So, is this thought a momentary cognition? Or is it rooted in an entrenched (universal) belief? Either way, we can correct that thought, if correction is needed, reevaluate our belief system it may be attached to, or simply change focus.
Some emotional states simply need to be experienced, sat with, as the inittial thoughts needed to be 'said'- as perhaps we were analyzing some negative reality that needed solving, resolving. But to know ourselves, when catharsis is needed, is helpful here.
Hope this helps somewhat, even if it ends up contrasting with your own perspective.
Blessings!
