10 Tips To Improve Your Emotional Health

woman relaxing outside in a hammock
Emotional health is all about how effectively you regulate your emotions and respond appropriately for the situation at hand. It is one very important component of overall mental health.

Today, we’ll look at various ways to improve your emotional health so that you can maintain an overall mental wellbeing.

1. Maintain a good sleep routine

You know how it feels when you haven’t had enough sleep. You’re irritable and everything bothers you.

Keep the same wake up time and bedtime each day. Start to relax about thirty minutes before bed.

This means no caffeine, sugar, electronics, bright lights, or loud noises. Try to limit noise and light whenever possible while you sleep.

2. Stay physically active

Getting at least thirty minutes of physical activity each day keeps your stress levels to a minimum and allows you to regulate your mood more easily.

You can also get a quick exercise in whenever you’re feeling stressed.

Take a quick walk or even engage in a short dance break. Movement is a great way to get out the excess emotional energy.

3. Maintain positive social connections

Spend time with the people that you care about. Express your emotions to them and take the time to listen to how they’re feeling.

This will bring you closer and also allow you to get a better understanding of human emotions from varying perspectives.

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You can engage in various activities with one another or simply sit down to talk. In person socialization is better but, at the very least, talk to someone over the phone each day.

4. Allow yourself to feel your feelings

Don’t ever hide from your feelings, as uncomfortable as they may be sometimes.

Cry if you’re sad. Hit your pillow if you’re angry. You can also scream and use self-talk.

As long as you’re not placing yourself or anyone else at risk with your emotional reactions, let them out. Keeping them bottled up will only last so long before you completely explode.

5. Practice mindfulness techniques

Mindfulness is a great tool for emotional health. Although there are many different ways to practice mindfulness, some of the more popular techniques for emotional regulation include:

Journaling

Meditation

Thought and feeling observation

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

Self-acceptance

6. Spend time in nature

Being in nature is a relaxing experience that takes no effort on your part once you’re there.

In addition, you can also practice other emotional health skills while spending time in nature.

You can hike on a trail or even just sit beside a body of water for a while.

You can also introduce nature into your home environment with house plants, aquariums, and decorations colored green and blue.

7. Be grateful for the things in your life

Before you wrap up your day, take note of at least one thing you’re grateful for.

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This doesn’t have to be a major insight. It could be as simple as having had a relaxing evening at home.

You can express gratitude through self-talk, journaling, and a number of other ways.

You can also express your gratitude toward others to build stronger relationships.

8. Check in with your emotions throughout the day

This is one technique used in mindfulness. As you go about your day, take time to observe how you’re feeling in the present moment.

This helps to keep you grounded. It also teaches you to identify your emotions and track the events leading up to them.

You might want to keep a journal or chart to document these factors.

9. Make time for self-care

Wind down each day with a self-care activity to relax and release the stressors of the day. Self-care activities are diverse.

Pick something that takes minimal effort and brings you comfort and joy. This can include personal care routines, recreational activities, snacks, and more.

This can also be a way to take care of your physical health as well as your emotional wellbeing.

10. Participate in recreational activities

Even outside of your self-care routine, you should spend time engaging in recreational activities throughout your day.

Take 5-10 minutes a couple times throughout your day to play a game, watch an entertaining video, read a book, do an art project, etc.

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You can also incorporate structured recreational activities into your week by joining teams and hobby clubs.

Source Links:

https://psychcentral.com/health/mindfulness-of-emotions

https://www.cdc.gov/howrightnow/wellbeing/index.html

https://www.nih.gov/health-information/emotional-wellness-toolkit

 

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