Emotional Awareness
October is emotional wellness month. Hard to believe we now have a designated month to draw attention to this increasing issue, isn’t it? But with all that is going on in the world, I have noticed that people are emotionally drained right now. Nearly everyone I speak with shares feelings of discontent, stress, or frustration with everything from covid, vaccines/mandates, masks, to the many other crazy things happening in the world which are out of their control. So now more than ever attention needs to be focused on emotional wellness. Why is emotional awareness important? Because how you feel impacts every aspect of life. It affects your work, your home life, your relationships, even your physical health.
You may be somebody who can completely tune out negativity and just move on with your day, but if you aren’t, it is all that much more important that you practice good self-care. And being able to tune it out doesn’t necessarily mean you have emotional wellness. What emotional wellness refers to is your attitude, behavior, and mindset. It means having appropriate ways of handling the stress in your life, acknowledging and accepting how you are feeling about something whether it is negative or positive, and ultimately adapting.
The last few weeks we’ve been discussing the Growth Mindset. A growth mindset is important when it comes to self-care, especially emotional self-care. Many people are not used to, or even open to taking care of themselves. They fear it may show weakness or selfishness. Or maybe they just don’t think they have the time to take care of themselves, or truly just don’t know how. They may even think that by tuning it out, it won’t have the impact. I urge you to open your mind and do the best thing you can do for yourself. Focus on your emotional wellbeing and if you have been ignoring it, for any reason, take a deeper look.
There are many ways for you to focus on your emotional wellness. Being mindful and trying to better understand what it is that causes you stress or gets you out of sorts. Often our emotions get caught up in things which we have zero control over. We may start feeling defeated, angry, or hopeless. There are many things in life which we can’t control so remember, it is your choice as to how you let those things affect you. It is especially important to be mindful in these situations and learn to let go of those things. This takes practice and commitment. You might start by taking some deep breaths when you feel the anxiety or negative feelings coming up. Get yourself centered and sit with whatever you are feeling. Then work towards acknowledging that whatever it is, is out of your control, but how you react is totally up to you. Then let go and accept that what happens, is meant to happen. Remember, what you do have control of is yourself!
Resilience comes from emotional wellness which is why people who are mindful and emotionally healthy tend to bounce back more quickly from difficult situations. Maintaining a positive outlook, showing gratitude, making time to do the things that make you happy, laughing, forgiving and doing good deeds for others are all ways to build upon your emotional health. When you are able to be resilient in the face of adversity, you will feel like you are in control.
Once you are aware of what is causing you stress, reducing it is another important way to take care of yourself emotionally. While stress can give us a boost of energy and adrenaline at the right time, eventually it can take its toll on us if it becomes chronic. At that point its critical that you learn ways to cope with your stress. Getting a good night’s sleep, meditating, eating well, setting priorities, seeking out support, and exercising are all great ways to help reduce stress.