Manage Your Emotions in 5 Easy Ways
Manage Your Emotions in 5 Easy Ways
I’ve been thinking a lot about our emotions lately
Our emotions are there in every waking moment. But, they are so much a part of you, do you ever stop to consider how you manage your emotions? Or, do you tend to shrug them off if they don’t suit you?
Our emotions, or our feelings, are our ‘guiding light’ through this life. They warn us when we might be about to get hurt and they excite us when something major is happening for the positive. Although they are super reliable, they are not always convenient. They force us to sit up and pay attention. In a world full of ups and downs this is often not welcome and we tend to close ourselves off from our emotions.
Do you hide from your emotions?
You might have seen a post I put up recently on Instagram asking this question. I think that too often we just ‘don’t want to go there’. We don’t want to discuss the suggestion to move to another city. We avoid making that appointment with the Doctor to check out a niggle. Or, we would rather walk away than have another argument with the kids over who gets to sit in the front seat! Emotions can be overwhelming and exhausting and sometimes we’d rather just walk away.
Is walking away the best way to manage the situation?
In some situations it might be the best thing to do, to walk away. It could be the difference between letting something blow over and having things go so far that there’s no coming back. Sometimes walking away is the right thing to do. But, what you need to avoid is letting your emotions stew inside you. That is unhealthy. That turns to bitterness, resentment and anger and can start to work like a poison on your heart and soul. There is a fine line that we need to learn to recognize. We need to learn to assess our emotional state and reel ourselves in when necessary. Let’s look at some ways to manage our emotions.
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How do we manage our emotions?
There are a few ways that we can learn to manage our emotions better. There is no ‘one-size-fit-all’ and it is definitely not an overnight fix but if we work towards a goal we can improve our emotional well-being. Some good ways to help manage your emotions are:
1. Meditation
I talk about this A LOT. It has literally changed my life and the way I manage myself and my emotions. It helps you to centre yourself and find a sense of calm. Once you have discovered that place it is easier to find your way back to it in emotional situations. If this is new to you, take your time and ease into a routine and before long you will notice a difference in the way you manage your emotions (and your life!). Read my blog Top 10 Meditation Tips for Beginners if this is your first time.
2. Mindfulness
Mindfulness is all about being more aware of yourself and your surroundings. It is great for putting things into perspective and learning appreciation for what you have. Also, it is great for helping you to pull yourself back when you recognize a negative emotion. It can help you stop mid-fight and change course. Work on being more aware instead of letting the emotion take over.
3. Breathing
Breathing deep, slow breaths is a great way to calm your body. It can help you get yourself back to centre. It gives you a chance to stop and re-assess. Once you have calmed your body you will approach the situation in a calmer way. And, it works like magic! You will be amazed how quickly you calm down if you stop and focus on your breathing. You immediately take your mind off what is bothering you and give yourself the ‘mental space’ to put things into perspective. Works like a charm.
4. Connect with Nature
This one is perfect to use when you’re in the ‘walk away’ stage. Get out, get some fresh air and reconnect with nature. Nature works absolute wonders when it comes to de-stressing. Be alone with your thoughts for a while and when you go back to face the conflict you will be in a calmer, hopefully more reasonable mindset. There is nothing worse than letting an argument spiral out of control. It leaves your emotions in a worse state than they were to start off with. Know when to walk away!
5. Journaling
Journaling is a great way to work through your emotions on a daily basis so that they don’t become overwhelming. Read more on my blog Journaling: A Path to Self-Discovery (plus, sign up for my FREE 5 Day Journaling Challenge)
Our emotions are everything, without them we would be empty. We need them to love and to thrive and to know our true selves, our true desires. They ‘heat things up’. It is essential for our happiness that we embrace the good and manage the bad emotions. Take some time to think about whether or not you have emotions that you are not dealing with. Most of us do, it’s kind of a human thing. Try to acknowledge the emotion (sadness, heartbreak, anger etc.) and then work through it. Decide what it is that you need to do with this emotion. Do you need to forgive someone for something? Do you need to stand up for yourself? It could be something you have been doing to to upset yourself. Negative self talk brings with it loads of negative emotions. Recognize the emotion and then take small steps in managing it.
None of us like to feel like we have no control and this can be the reason we shy away from our emotions. But, we are more in control when we come to terms with how we are feeling, why we are feeling these emotions and how we can manage them better. Take your first step in the right direction today by acknowledging them instead of hiding from them.
I hope you enjoyed my blog, I’d love it if you would leave a comment!
Be Beautifully Emotional!
Steph x
If you enjoyed this head over and read Mindsets that Hold Us Back
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A very good chat, I,ll take it all on board, Thanks ?
A very good chat. I’ ll take it all on board. Thanks?
These are useful tips to manage your emotions, will pin on Pinterest.
So glad you liked them, thanks Shay!
Great article. Emotions are our part and we must love them for they show us who we are! Great post!
Exactly, they are the clues to what is going on inside and we need to listen to what they are trying to tell us. Thanks for your comment!
Helpful tips to manage our emotions as emotional awareness and control are key to great a positive communication!
I agree, when we manage our emotions we are able to see both side of the story more clearly.
Lovely post! Love all your ideas about managing our emotions and follow most of them. Thanks for this post
You are so welcome, Nishtha! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
So much yes!!!!! Loved all of these, meditation especially! Great job!!
Great article!!! We must optimize our emotions and use them more effectively!!!
I agree, we need to understand that even the negative has a place, we just need to learn the lessons they are trying to teach us.
I needed this. Handling emotions is something I really need to work on. Thank you so much for sharing <3
Thanks for reading, Jess! I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Well said. We’re not our emotions. Emotion is a state of feeling in a specific time that we don’t need to grasp and hold on it. It comes and goes. We can try to imagine the negative emotion is a dark bad cloud and we see it changes into a white angel with little wings coming out. This little angel is a gift who tries to tell us and warn us something to learn or what we should re-examine our expectations on ourselves and on others.
Agree breathing is a great way to feel better from negative emotions. I do it this way:
Exhaling the negative energy with self-talk: let go of my anxiety (any of my negative emotions, repeat four times), and then inhaling the positive energy with self-talk: accept my abundance and happiness (also repeat four times). Repeat four times because it manifests physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
While I was reading your post I was relating all of these emotion techniques to my way of parenting and how I deal with my children. I vow to use your techniques to respond with calmer emotions. So that I can teach my own children how to regulate their emotions too. Thanks so much for making this available. Love it!
Thanks for your lovely comment Jenna, it means so much to me that you found this useful! Kids are our greatest test of patience and a great place to practice managing our emotions.
This is a wonderful read, emotions are so hard to contain or control sometimes. They can truly get the better of us if we allow it.
Yes great suggestions – my favorite that works every time is on your list… connect with nature. Put your bare feet on the ground, look at green things, or blue.. calms me right away and lasts for the day!
I agree, Sue, nature is an instant reset button for a negative mindset!
I’m having a little bit of a rough time right now and since I cannot change the circumstances, I need to find a way to handle the situation – and myself. This post is very helpful guiding me into the right direction.
Thank you for this useful post. Actually we should manage our emotions for some time. This guide will obviously help.