Self-care, the ability to promote health, prevent disease and cope with illness without the support of a healthcare provider, can come in many forms. One of these forms is emotional self-care, when you manage your emotional needs by identifying and nurturing your feelings, your conscious inner state and your intellect.
You can best do this by engaging in activities that help you connect process and reflect on emotional needs. Research shows it takes the brain only half a second to identify an emotional trigger and to release chemicals that form an emotional reaction. To regulate your emotions, experts suggest you treat them as states not traits. Here’s another helpful fact: Individuals with higher emotional intelligence have been found to report lower levels of stress and higher levels of happiness, indicating the ability to regulate perceived stress directly impacts satisfaction.
So what can you do to regulate your emotions? Try these activities:
1. Talk to someone. This can be a psychologist, counselor, therapist or digital community mental health platform like 7 Cups. Whichever support you chose, know that benefits of therapy continue to grow even after treatment ends.
2. Breathe. Intentional focus on your breathing can ease stress and the effects of negative emotions. In fact, when practiced regularly, mindful breathing through your abdomen has been proved to promote a sense of calm. And you can do it anywhere!
3. Write it down. A 5-minute daily gratitude journal can increase long-term well-being by 10 percent. Not sure what to write? Start with something small; jot down three things about which you are grateful today.
4. Say it out loud. Pick a positive affirmation and speak it. Some examples include: “I am strong,” “I can do this,” “I am unafraid; I am bold,” or “I am exactly where I am meant to be.”
5. Create. Whether your creativity is as a photographer or an artist, studies show 45 minutes of making something artistic significantly lowers levels of cortisol, a stress-related hormone.
6. Listen. Music increases our dopamine—the feel-good hormone—levels. Make a playlist of songs that have a positive meaning for you. Choose slow-tempo music (think: 60 to 80 beats per minute).
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