Emotional Wellness Is an Integral Part of Health 

Emotional wellness is often overlooked when it comes to daily life, but it’s an essential component of your overall health. If you’re not in a good mindset, everything else can unravel. You’ll start losing sleep, giving up hope, and feeling as if nothing will ever get better for you. That’s a dangerous place to be.

Some people have no difficulty with their emotional health. They may be naturally optimistic or have a team in place to rely on when they need support. But for others, it’s a struggle. 

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What Does Having Emotional Wellness Mean?

Emotional wellness means being aware of the emotions you’re feeling, as well as understanding them and accepting them. It’s having the emotional intelligence to understand that feelings are temporary, not permanent states. Emotional wellness is being able to survive and even thrive during periods of hardships and changes. 

It doesn’t mean every minute you have will be filled with joy, but that you’re able to cope when you’re having a bad day. It’s about having the maturity and self-awareness to know that you shouldn’t make a permanent life decision based on a temporary or fleeting feeling. It’s about having control over your behavior, even when you’re feeling more fragile than usual.

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Gauging Your Emotional Wellness

Not sure if you’re doing well emotionally? It’s okay to wonder about that. It’s not something that’s taught in school, so many people are uncomfortable thinking about their emotional health or even trying to take stock of it to see how it’s holding up. 

It’s smart of you to assess how you’re doing emotionally now. Some people don’t address it until it’s too late – when they’re already in a downward spiral because of stress or adversity. It’s better to help yourself reach a better mindset before you find yourself at rock bottom. If you wait that long, it can lead to feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and bad decisions. 

Here are some things you can ask yourself to see how your emotional health is doing:

• Do you feel on edge a lot of the time?
• Are you less kind, compassionate, or patient with people than you used to be?
• Have you been thinking about what you lack in life rather than what you have?
• Do you dislike who you see when you look in the mirror?
• Are you dissatisfied with your life?
• Are you neglecting taking care of yourself physically, financially, and spiritually?
• Are you close-minded or seen as rigid or having no self-awareness by others?
• Are you neglecting to take the steps you need to in order to reach your top priorities? 
• Do you feel unsettled with your life and its direction?
• Do you frequently feel highly stressed?
• Are you doing unhealthy things – like abusing drugs or alcohol – to deal with your stress?

If you answered yes to some of these questions, you should try to improve upon your emotional health.

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Ways to Shore Up Your Emotional Well-Being

It’s courageous to admit your emotional well-being could use a little work. So, if that’s where you’re at in life, you should be proud of yourself. Here are some strategies to help you.

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Find a Team

Everyone needs support from other people at some point. There’s no shame in recognizing that it’s healthy to talk to others about your problems or to make yourself feel better. 

Think of your people you turn to as your squad, much like The Avengers. Even superheroes call in for assistance sometimes. Your team may not include The Hulk, but it can be comprised of a therapist, a friend, family, a coworker, or any other trusted confidante in your life. 

Don’t be afraid to reach out whenever you need a little assistance. 

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Incorporate Exercise

Stress management can be hard work, but one of your best tools in fighting stress is regular exercise. You don’t need to go overboard. Even 20 or 30 minutes of a workout can help take the edge off so you can get in a better mindset. 

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Spend Time Outside

So much of our lives are spent indoors, but being outside is great for your emotional health. Even 20 minutes a day can help to lower your stress, but if you can do more, you should. 

While your top choice might be heading to the beach or the mountains, that’s not feasible for everyone, depending upon their geographic location. If you don’t live near the type of scenery you wish you did, don’t worry. You can still head to your local park or a nearby forest and reap the benefits of being in a green space. 

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Increase Your Sleep

Nothing can sap a positive attitude faster than being sleep deprived. Make the amount and quality of sleep you get a high priority. It will protect your physical health as well as your emotional well-being. After a good night’s sleep, you won’t be as short-tempered with loved ones and coworkers. You’ll have a sunnier outlook when challenges do occur. 

Shoot for 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to keep your emotions in check.

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Make a List of Goals

Sometimes, people get into poor emotional states because they aren’t where they thought they would be in life. That can be frustrating or make them doubt their own self-worth. But by making more concentrated efforts to get the life you want by setting goals, you’ll start to feel better emotionally. 

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Pencil In a Few Minutes of Relaxation Each Day

Feeling overworked can be your emotional state’s worst enemy. No one likes to feel like they are all work and no play. Make sure you protect your emotional health by scheduling some downtime. Protect that time viciously and make no apologies for it.

Whether it’s a long bath, laughing at your favorite sitcom, or meditating for a few minutes before bed, some time to yourself can calm you down enough so you can refocus. 

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Guard Your Emotional Health and Watch It Pay Off

When you are more in touch with your emotions, you don’t suppress them and realize they flow and ebb like the tides. You’ll be in a much healthier state of mind if you put in the work to monitor your emotional health. Make sure to put yourself first sometimes and to surround yourself with good people, and the rest will fall into place.