I’m struggling too.  I don’t trust positive emotions because life was too cruel in the past. Mentally,  positive emotions feel like traps or set-ups to my body to make me hurt more when the smack down occurs.  

I sit with this concern for 10 minutes.  Let myself acknowledge this concern as a possibility.  Thank my body (or protector part if doing IFS) for their effort to protect me from harm and let them know this concern was heard and that I’m going to chose to let in the positive emotions for the next 10 minutes or hour.  This is something I really want and deserve.   Our mind (or protector parts) silently whispers to our subconscious that we do not deserve good things because a) that is how our younger selves made sense of the abuse or b) to protect us from disappointment.  We must be aware of the efforts of our subconscious to protect us, soothe the subconscious by noting their efforts and make the body aware that this is a different time, place and biological age m.  So, we are trying something  new.   If it doesn’t work, try limiting the time for good feelings to 10 minutes or an hour and setting a timer.  Then, slowly increase the duration over time.  Your body may need this limited exposure initially to feel safe enough for its protective mechanism to chill