Prioritizing Emotional Wellbeing

“Emotional well-being is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going.”

As the boundaries between work life and personal life are getting blurred day by day, people need to become more attentive to emotional wellbeing.

Emotional health should not be confused with mental health. While the two terms are often used interchangeably, emotional health “focuses on being in tune with our emotions, their vulnerability and authenticity.

Having sound emotional health is a fundamental aspect of fostering resilience, self-awareness, and overall contentment in life.

Being emotionally healthy doesn’t pertain to being happy all the time. It essentially refers to being aware of our emotions. Research shows that emotionally healthy people feel stress, anger, and sadness but they know how to manage their negative feelings very well. They are also aware of when to seek professional help.

There are numerous ways to improve or maintain good emotional health. As you go through the following tips, remember that emotional health isn’t about always being in a good mood. It’s more about equipping yourself to deal with the good, the bad, and everything that occurs in between.

• Be aware of your emotions:  It is crucial to understand your emotions and observe your reactions towards them. Notice what in life makes you sad, frustrated, or angry and how you address them.

• Express your feelings appropriately: Let people close to you know when something is bothering you. Accumulating feelings of sadness or anger can create a mountain of stress. It may hamper both your physical as well as mental health.

• Practice emotional regulation: Emotions can lend you to weird situations. To have control of your emotions, develop some coping strategies. Some of them include journaling, meditation, listening to music, etc.

• Strengthen social connections: Your relationships with others can highly influence your emotional and physical health. Staying connected with loved ones can provide a buffer when you’re going through rough times. Also, an unhealthy or toxic relationship can lead up you to more anxiety and stress.

• Manage stress: If something is worrying you at work or home, take a break and indulge in healthy habits. Taking out time for physical activity can nourish both your emotional and your physical health. Try to set aside half an hour a day for some kind of exercise.

• Get quality sleep: Sacrificing sleep makes you more vulnerable to stress and anxiety. Sleep deprivation causes repetitive negative thoughts. It also makes you feel tired and irritated, leading to emotional over-reactivity. This impacts performance as well as relationships. Try to optimize your bedroom environment to get enough rest.

• Stay optimistic: Learn to focus on the good things in life. Ensure that you have a company of good and positive people. Find purpose and meaning in life. This will help you focus on the aim and do something meaningful.

Besides the above cues, try not to avoid your emotions. Don’t abuse drugs or alcohol to escape from reality. Learn to be mindful. Focus on one thing at a time, try social media detox, and take regular breaks.

Emotional well-being is crucial to your overall well-being. If the above methods don’t work, don’t shy away from consulting a therapist or mental health professional.

Remember,

“Anything human is mentionable, and anything mentionable can be more manageable.”