Balancing Emotions

As human we operate on emotions and most of the decisions we take is influenced by our emotion, while we justify it logically. Emotions like anger, love, hate, sadness, fear, joy have some triggers to excite those specific emotions. Some horror movie scene triggers the fear in us, seeing someone we have crush triggers the love feeling in us and so on.

There are three parts to an emotion:

1.    A subjective component (how you experience the emotion)

2.   A physiological component (how your bodies react to the emotion)

3.   An expressive component (how you behave in response to the emotion).

These different elements can play a role in the function and purpose of your emotional responses.

Emotions can be short-lived, such as a flash of annoyance at a co-worker, or long-lasting, such as enduring sadness over the loss of a relationship. But why exactly do we experience emotions? What role do they serve?

Being out of balance emotionally usually involves either not allowing yourself to experience your feelings as they evolve by avoiding or suppressing them or being so attached to and identified with them that your feelings are all-consuming. Emotional balance occurs when we allow ourselves to feel whatever comes up, without stifling or being overwhelmed by it, and learn to accept our feelings without judgment.

There are some tips to help you build and maintain emotional balance;

• Identify the emotion: Focus on what you exactly feel and how it affects your body. It could be helpful to close your eyes and try to figure out which body part you feel the tension.

• Describe the emotion with words: Be ready to say “I’m anxious.”, “I’m feeling sad.” This helps you to take a step back from your automatic reaction and respond more consciously.

• Practice gratitude: Find one thing that you are thankful for. This could be difficult especially if you are experiencing sadness or anxiety. However, try to find at least one thing, even if it seems small, to be thankful for. It helps you to be aware that life is not just composed of bad and unfortunate events and it encourages you to look at the bright side.

• Remove yourself from the situation: We know it is not easy but it is worth a shot! When you feel intense emotion you try to press the pause button, go and splash some water on your face and think about protecting emotional distance as much as you can. It could be helpful in making you think more objectively!

• Start moving: Physical movement always helps! You don’t have to run a marathon, sometimes only a stretching exercise or taking a little walk is all you need. The important part is that you should make movement a part of your daily routine; along with various health benefits, it also increases your energy and concentration levels.

Emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills help people to promote emotional balance. Emotion regulation means to identify and realize the emotion without and take the necessary actions to deal with the situation. For example, lessen the tension of emotion by engaging in activities like meditation, yoga and breathing exercises, etc.

Life does not just consist of happy and joyful moments, there are also some sad, fearful and painful situations. The important part is to know how you can handle these negative events and how not to allow them to affect your emotions. Using the techniques outlined above will really help support and protect your mental wellness.

EMOTIONAL STABILITY

1. Adjust your perspective by focusing on the positive opportunities introduced by negative events. Also, consider the foundational blessings in your life to get a broader view. We’re most vulnerable to emotional turmoil when we focus solely on negative things.

2. Check your expectations. Are you expecting a smooth, linear, predictable life of goodness? Well, it won’t ever happen to anyone. The next time something bad happens to you, think of it as a challenge instead of a huge problem. Be ready for challenges, and they won’t catch you off guard.

3. Create an action plan. This is the counterattack. We can’t merely take punches and expect to win. We have to punch back! Going on the offensive is the way to show life that you aren’t scared or weak. Even if you feel scared or weak — as we all do sometimes — taking action will simultaneously build your confidence back and create exciting new opportunities.

In order to affect behavioural change, we must first become attuned to our emotions, and the ways in which they positively and negatively inform our lives.