How to Manage Emotions

To set the stage for holistic whole being wellness, we must learn to manage our day-to-dayemotions. In fact, it’s essential for maintaining optimum mental and physical wellbeing.

We can engage in all the wellbeing in the world, but if we can’t keep our emotions in check, we may still find ourselves struggling with stress, poor relationships and overall dissatisfaction in life.

Some people tend to avoid investing the time it takes to build the skills to manage emotions, instead resorting to less effective tactics like drinking, recreational drugs, gaming or mindless scrolling of media, to block negative emotions out. Whilst easily accessible and often feel like a solution because of their instant dopamine release, these methods are counter-productive and can lead to health problems, as well as intensified negative emotions.

To manage emotions effectively and build long-term resilience to emotional lows, the wellbeing experts at Kamalaya Connect suggest several tactics to boost emotional management. In the short term, smiling, even if forced, can make us feel better. Using these muscles sends signals to the brain to say that you are happy, so smiling for at least 30 seconds improves your mood. Smiling at others creates a connection and triggers happy emotions.

Physical activity also helps to release ‘happy hormones’ and reduce tension, making regular breaks from the desk and daily physical activity even more important. Check in with your body, perform a body scan to identify where you are holding tension and understand what emotions are triggering it. Deep breathing can also help alleviate this tension, so take six deep breaths to calm you and flood your body and brain with oxygen. This helps to immediately reduce feelings of anger and anxiety.

For longer-term management of emotions, spend some time working on personal insights by journaling, or speaking to a trusted friend or professional. Assessing the impact, reflecting on how uncontrolled emotions affect your life, and recognising problem areas will help you track progress and manage emotions better.

Practice regulation, not repression. Recognise when it’s appropriate to express intense emotions and when to sit with them. Suppressing certain emotions can lead to health problems, so find healthy ways to express your emotions. Pause to identify your emotionswhen overwhelmed, understanding what you feel and why helps to manage reactions better.

It’s important to give yourself space. Physical or mental distance can help manage intense feelings, so spend time with yourself by engaging in healthy distractions like taking a walk or meditation, which is renowned for building emotional strength and regulation. Consider keeping a mood journal and writing down your feelings and their triggers to help identify patterns and manage emotions more effectively.

For more in-depth support, consider Kamalaya Connect’s Online Life Enhancing Mentoring sessions. In a focused 60-minute session, an experienced Life Enhancement Mentor will guide you through proven techniques and practices designed to help you manage your emotions more effectively. By healing past emotions and embracing a more balanced state, you will gain the tools to improve your mental and physical wellbeing and take the step towards a more resilient and emotionally balanced life.