How are you feeling today? How does it feel? People tend to have different emotions and ways to express them. But, do you know that we can “explain” our emotions very well once we acknowledge them? Our emotions are valid, but it will be better if we can restrain and manage our emotions. In some cases, people choose to suppress or ignore their emotions, or maybe they will just like “oh, I feel this, that, and that, without looking further at what makes them feel that way.
Restraining our emotions can be said as an essential skill to improve our well-being and relationship. Some tips that seem easy but need a long process or thought to do it. Here there are:
1. Identify your emotions. It’s kinda easy-difficult to identify our emotions. Let’s try labeling your emotions as accurately as possible. What do you feel? How is your feeling? Happy, sad, angry, anxious, frustrated, exhausted, etc.
2. Once you label your emotions, try to look for the trigger. What triggers your emotions? By knowing the trigger hopefully, in the future, you can manage the situations that trigger you.
3. Practice mindfulness. Being present at the moment and observing your thoughts, it will help you to be more aware of emotions and how to regulate them. Some problems that may arise from being mindful are not being judgemental and truly being present at the moment. Indeed, it needs a lot of practice. You can start being mindful when you are eating the food you like.
4. Taking a deep breath or doing some relaxation methods also help you not to be overwhelmed by emotions.
5. Talk to “your person”. Family, best friend, and even a therapist are other ways that help you to process your emotions and coping strategies.
6. Develop your healthy coping mechanism. Rather than being drowned in your thoughts, do journaling, exercising, and having a small trip, can reduce the negative things a little bit.
7. Setting the boundaries. Well I should put this on step number 3. Once you found what triggers you, you can start to set boundaries, from the people or situations that trigger intense emotions. By setting clear boundaries, you can create a sense of safety and control in your life.
8. Practice cognitive restructuring: Cognitive restructuring involves replacing negative or distorted thoughts with more positive and realistic ones. By practicing cognitive restructuring, you can develop a more balanced and healthy perspective on challenging situations.
Remember that restraining your emotions does not mean ignoring them or suppressing them. Instead, it means acknowledging and processing them in a healthy way. With time and practice, you can learn to manage and regulate your emotions effectively.
That’s all I can write for today. Hopefully, this writing can reach you and help you a little bit.
