by Kathy Best, Intuitive Living Coach, February 9, 2022
Sometimes, to stay positive and focused on life, it is essential to find ways to manage your emotions. As humans, we are hardwired for emotional expression, but avoiding, stuffing down or spending too much time in an emotional state can cause many stress-related health challenges in our lives.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed today. Like many, you might need to juggle family responsibilities with work and other commitments. That juggling act could cause you to feel a ton of stress as you struggle to produce results in every area.
What can help you manage your emotions and remain stress-free through it all?
These tips can help:
- Focus on the present. This can bring awareness to your experiences and help you recognize when you need to address your stress.
- Avoid trying to change your feelings or push away memories. Instead, you can acknowledge these feelings and process stressful situations as they occur. It’s a good practice to identify how you feel, and ask yourself why you feel the way you do, instead of just reacting based on habit or impulse.
- Most people try to manage their emotions by escaping from them. Avoiding your feelings can lead to addictive behaviors, superficial relationships, depression and repeating unbeneficial patterns. Ignoring your feelings can also cause them to be expressed in a more painful way like illness or chronic physical pain and prevent you from experiencing the beauty in your life. So, take the time to pause, breathe deeply, and notice how you feel.
- Block some time off for yourself. Taking time off or finding a way to say no, can provide a sense of control and allow you to renew your physical and mental cup.
- Taking some time off could mean taking a weekend away. It could mean saying no to a work function or activity you don’t really want to attend, asking that one particular person from your life not contact you for the next day or two (and plan around it), or even scheduling some down time from daily chores, responsibility, and to-do lists.
- These breaks will help you practice taking better care of yourself after putting others first for so long. Journaling is a great way to record your thoughts and feelings, so it’s a good idea to find the time to incorporate this practice into your self-care routine regularly.
- Develop physical exercise routine. It’s easy to get caught up in other things, but it’s crucial to find time to move your body each day. Although this might seem like a challenge for some, the benefits are great.
- Regular exercise can help you overcome stress and anxiety by helping you feel stronger, more energetic, and reducing blood pressure levels. You’ll also have fewer health issues.
- It’s essential to plan your exercise routine around your current physical condition. Exercise does not need to be strenuous.
- If you haven’t exercised in ages, it might be best to start slowly. If you have a physical condition that requires special equipment or equipment you can’t lift, you will want to check with your physician before starting an exercise routine.
- Fuel your body with the right foods. Your diet is another essential part of your self-care routine. It can be easy to skip meals or snack on junk when you feel stressed or super busy, this could lead to low blood sugar, metabolic disorders and make you feel more anxious.
- It is a good idea to keep healthy snacks on hand. Some ideas include kiwis, bananas, apples, oranges, nuts, plain coconut yogurt with honey and berries, or celery and almond butter. Healthy food choices can help you reduce stress byproviding more energy and optimizing your body functions.
- Set aside time for your hobbies. It’s essential to set aside time for activities that make you happy. Hobbies can be inexpensive and straightforward. Making time for your hobbies is vital for reducing stress and helping you feel more joy in life.
In the end, you have to find what works for you. Engaging in self-care might seem overwhelming, but implementing new, positive habits in steps is the most effective way to ensure they become permanent. Make it a game or a 90-day challenge to see how much you can reduce your stress by implementing one or two strategies that help you renew and relax your mind and body.
This may seem difficult at first, but the longer you persist the more benefits you will experience in every area of your life. You’ll also learn a lot about yourself in the process!
