As we spend less and less quality time with ourselves and risk burning out all our energy working, envying other people’s lives on social media and fulfilling responsibilities, our emotional and mental health is the first to take a hit, followed by our physical well being.
Not taking the time to evaluate and resolve negative emotions can lead to greater problems later. If life’s pressures are getting to you, here are nine tips to preserve your emotional wellness.
Learn to understand your feelings and emotions
Whether it’s a negative emotion or an unpleasant encounter that’s keeping you down, learn to address and confront your feelings rather than being lost in the effect they have on your life.
Accept that negative experiences are a part of life and the best way to beat them is to train your mind to take them in your stride, deal with them in a mature way, and move on to experience the good things life has in store for you.
Develop your interests
Whether or not you want to develop an interest into a profession, find ways to master your craft through, for instance, an online course or a local hobby class. If you’re good at something, offer to teach it for free in your community.
Engaging your mind in creative work and cultivating a desire to get better at it through constant learning will give you something to focus on and care about, and an outlet to express yourself. Teaching it to others will make you feel like you’re making a difference, helping you cope better with your emotional lows.
Take care of your body
Your mental wellbeing is intrinsically linked to your physical health, and there is no better way to boost your emotional wellness than taking care of your body and giving it the time and attention it deserves. Eat healthy, sleep well, find the time to exercise, and steer clear of addictive substances—keeping a healthy body will easily become a habit when you realize that it’s your only true asset.
For more guidance on self-care , check out this post from Nature Moms that lists insightful tips for women to live a healthy and fulfilling life.
Make me-time a priority
You may have heard this before from friends or family who care about your wellbeing. But taking time out for yourself requires conscious effort and the ability to say no. With never-ending chores and responsibilities weighing all of us down, it’s natural to feel drained, frustrated and too tired to unwind.
Learn strategies to handle the pressures of life, and one of them is to switch off and spend time with your own self, doing what you love.
Nurture and value your relationships
While personal time is essential to rejuvenate and recharge your body and mind, it is equally important to nurture your close relationships with genuine attention and support. Make the time to organize a family event or get out for coffee with someone you haven’t met in a long time. Do what you can without feeling stressed.
Giving time to your relationships will tell the people in your life that you care about them, and will motivate and inspire them to do the same for you. In addition, it will serve as a great example for young children in your family.
Learn to stand up after a failure pulls you down
Everyone experiences failure and disappointment at some point in their lives, but not everyone is cut out to deal with a traumatic or demoralizing experience head on and start afresh on a positive note. In a nutshell, self-motivation does not come naturally to everyone, but it sure can be cultivated with conscious effort.
When failure strikes, it’s natural for anyone to feel defeated or demoralized, but what differentiates emotionally empowered people from others is their will and ability to look at what went right rather than all that didn’t.
Start focusing on what you learned and gained from your life experiences and you will soon find yourself better prepared to face setbacks. As they say, your mindset plays a pivotal role in how you react to any situation.
Seek positive company
More and more, spend time with people who make you feel positive and happy, and avoid being in the company of those who sap your energy. Negative people can derail the emotional wellness of even the most balanced person, simply with the vibes and energy they give off.
Recognize the people and situations that bring you stress, make you anxious, or make you feel belittled, unworthy or unloved. Take charge of the situation and proactively work to remove such influences from your life.
Reassess your professional life
Oftentimes, the cause of our unhappiness is so obvious that it becomes hard for us to notice it. You spend a considerable part of your day at work and if that’s what’s making you unhappy, it’s time to face the situation and brainstorm what you can do about it.
Leaving your job does not have to be the only solution to your professional woes; sometimes a change in mindset is all that’s needed. If it is time, however, to call it quits, take stock of your finances, take a leap of faith, and start on a new journey that will bring you joy.
Get physically active and spend time outdoors
Did you know that spending a lot of time alone, watching web series, drinking yourself to sleep, or pondering past events can actually cause a person to feel even more depressed? Getting out may seem like a humongous task when you’re feeling down and out, but once you do it, you will realize how something as simple as a walk around the block can uplift your spirits.
Spend more time outdoors—no matter how busy you are, and start doing some form of physical activity. Combine the two and you’ll have a reason to get out every other day and escape the prison you’ve built yourself thinking it’s your sanctuary.
