When you get a cut, you put a bandage on it or when you get an infection, you take antibiotics, right?
So why wouldn’t we try to take care of ourselves in times of emotional distress due to unexpected life changes, including frequent arguments with loved ones, unsatisfied relationships, unresolved childhood trauma, or other emotionally related stresses in our life?
We frequently attempt to suppress the emotional pain down, and are expected to just “get over” emotional deep wounds.
In fact, unhealed emotional wounds can powerfully impact your daily life including relationships; therefore, it is important that you begin to learn “emotional first aid” on a daily basis.
Here are five self-care tips that can help you reestablish your emotional recovery.
1. Pay attention to your emotional “pain-don’t – avoid the pain”. The body has evolved through discomfort and pain that there is something not right and needs to be addressed. The same is true with emotional pain. If we have psychological wounds, you need to address this pain when it impacts on your daily life.
2. Redirect your gut reaction when you feel like you have failed. Sometimes “failure” can cause you focus on what you cannot do or change, instead of focusing on other available options that you can use to reduce feelings of helplessness or hopelessness.
3. Monitor and protect your self-esteem. Self-esteem is like a booster for your emotional immune system that helps you recover from psychological wounds and regain your emotional empowerment. As a result, it is very essential to monitor it and avoid putting yourself down. One of the effective ways to heal damaged self-esteem is to consistently practice self-compassion. Dr. Kristin Neff highlights: “Self-compassion entails being warm and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, rather than ignoring our pain or flagellating ourselves with self-criticism.”
4. When irrational (negative) thoughts are taking over your mind, try to disrupt them with rational (positive) distraction. When you are ruminating distressful experiences or events in your mind without trying to resolve a problem, your emotions can become “stuck” on self blame and your hurtful emotions are not resolved. a more progressive emotional wound. The best way to manage unhealthy thoughts is to distract yourself by engaging in a task that requires your attention/concentration (e.g., notice small details around you at the present moment, or try to recall the positive events in your life).
5. Explore and learn what appropriate treatments for your emotional wounds works for you. Pay attention to yourself and learn how you can help yourself address psychological wounds that interfere with your daily functioning. Use your observation and analysis to help yourself understand which emotional “first aide” treatment works best for you just as you would decide of the many pain mediation on the shelves work best for you).
A healing process is a new journey for emotional resiliency and self-confidence and if you find that your daily emotional struggles are impacting on your life, I would be more than happy to guide you through exploring effective ways toward emotional recovering.
“Yes, practice emotional hygiene takes a little time and effort, but it will seriously elevate your entire quality of life.”
See Guy Winch’s TED Talk. Why we all need to practice emotional first aid.
Resources:
Self-Compassion retrieved from https://self-compassion.org/
Hi, I’m Nadia Padurets, therapist for individuals and couples at Love Heal Grow Counseling.
I help hard-working and stressed-out couples and individuals cope with the chaos of life so they can have more joy, fulfillment, and love.
You can read more about me or schedule an appointment here: About Nadia
