Emotional Wellness

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Perhaps it’s something big like a feeling of not accomplishing as much in life as you thought you would or something as small as stressing over a to-do list for the coming week. Do commonplace things get the best of you, or are you someone that can recognize the importance of each emotion while continuing to move forward?

These questions and your reactions have to do with emotional wellness, and  your ability to experience emotions in real time while maintaining your day-to-day life. It deals with recognizing, learning from and accepting your feelings. It’s important because it can impact your overall well-being. While emotionally healthy, you’re better equipped to handle daily stressors such as work, relationships, and school. It also makes it easier to cope when the unexpected occurs.

Having a handle on your emotional health doesn’t mean that you’re happy all the time, because that’s not realistic. It has more to do with taking the good with the bad. If this sounds like something you’d like to work on, here are a few tips from an emotional wellness toolkit to get you started.

Brighten Your Outlook: Starting with a positive mindset makes it far easier to continue in that vein than having to overcome negativity at each step. Studies show that those with a more optimistic attitude tend to be more open to trying new things, while those on the pessimistic side can be left stuck on past ideas of failure or anxiety about the future.

• Give yourself credit where it’s due
• Surround yourself with healthy, positive people
• Explore your morals and what guides you in the choices you make

Reduce Stress: At one point or another everyone will face stress in their life. It can pop up for any reason though the most common stressors are money, work related pressure and illness. Trying a few simple techniques to lessen the burden can help more than you know.

• Get enough sleep (only you know how much that is)
• Set priorities for tasks so you can tackle the most important first
• Seek support from family and friends or even a medical professional if need be

Be Mindful: Truly experiencing life as it is has become far more difficult these days. We nod in agreement while scrolling through our social feeds not really grasping all that’s out there. Practicing mindfulness is so important as it can give you more enthusiasm for life and help you be a bit more present and aware of not only those around you but also your own mind and body.

• Deep breath in, deep breath out
• Notice your surroundings
• Enjoy the moments for all that they are

Brian Tracy said, “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” We all go through a series of ups and downs on our journey through life. If we trust in the process, even when we might not feel like a complete success every day, we know there’s always a chance to try again tomorrow.

By Maegan Carrasquillo, Staff Writer

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