Emotional Wellness

According to PositivePsychology.com emotional health is "a person’s ability to accept and manage feelings through challenge and change.  Someone who is emotionally healthy can allow their emotions to be digestible.  The mundane hassles of daily life offer opportunities to practice responses, rather than reactions to allow emotional health to flourish."

There is often judgement surrounding emotions, by self and by others. Maybe you’ve heard that crying shows weakness, anger is a lack of self control, fear is frailty, outward expression of stress points to poor mental wellness, falling in love is a sign of naivety, etc. Over the years I’ve had clients tell me that they wish to avoid certain emotions, believing these judgements. To be emotionally healthy is to be able to experience the full range of emotions w/ out being held at their mercy.   Every emotion has its place and its purpose.  

The path to emotional health requires us first to connect with what it is we are feeling and to then allow ourselves to feel it. This can be quite the struggle since often times ones initial reaction is masking a deeper feeling or insecurity. Seeking out and understanding the root often leads us to an older wound or belief system that’s been playing in the background of our lives and setting us up for inner chaos. Once the underlying belief or feeling triggering an emotional outbreak is identified you will be able to address the root of the issue and heal the wound which leads to a calmer approach to life’s little impositions.

So, how do you build such resiliency? Here are a few suggestion:

~ Take time to tune into thoughts and feelings.

~ Cultivate an optimistic, positive attitude.

~ Seek and provide support from/ to your community.

~ Seek out objective professional support.

~ Identify and practice stress management.

~ Practice non-judgement and forgiveness for yourself and others.

~ Get adequate sleep.

~ Practice self-care.

Another tip: when you find yourself having an extreme emotional reaction to a scenario do your best to gain more of an 'eagle eye’ perspective. It’s very difficult to see the forest for the trees so trying to back up, take a breath or two then see how a kind, objective outsider might lend you a bit of clarity.

Practicing these suggested steps will offer up the opportunity to become better adept at coping effectively with conflict without the discomfort of an emotional roller coaster. It’s easy to keep our whits about us during the calm but holding it together during the storm is the true test of emotional health & wellness.

How does one measure their emotional health? In a Psychology Today article it’s suggested you consider the following:

~ How do you treat others, personally & professionally?

• Are you able to be sensitive and compassionate to the needs of others?

• Does empathy come easily?

~ Do you experience a sense of gratitude?

~ Are you generally happy with the person that you are?

~ Are you able to be open-minded and flexible?

~ Do you have tried and true ways to manage stress?

If any of these had you give pause because you were unable to immediately answer in the affirmative to all, not to worry… This is feedback from you life that points you to an area for growth and evolution. And, then some days are better than others. Acceptance is very much about allowing yourself to be perfectly imperfect.

In Don Miguel Ruiz’s book The Four Agreements he gives four commitments you can make to yourself to assist you in your striving for emotional well-being:

As will all of the components of wellness, emotional wellness is integral to a healthy, balanced engagement with the world. Of course supporting you as you cultivate or improve your emotional well-being is the primary focus of WayFinder Wisdom. As you contemplate the information presented here you might find new information that would be worth discussing in your next session.

With you on the journey,

~ WayFinder Wisdom ~