EMOTIONAL WELLNESS
Which stressors are playing with your mind – causing emotional distress!
Major Life Changes
•Major sickness
•Death of a loved one
•Divorce of parents
•Marital separation
•Dismissal from work/no job
•Encounter with the legal system
•imprisonment
•Retirement
•Relationship problems with spouse/friend/workmate
•Begining a new job/school
•Sexual concerns
•Excessive alcohol and drug use
•Multiple injury or fatality accidents
•Infertility
•Pregnancy/Birth of a child
•New leadership roles
•Children leaving home
Minor day to day aggravations
•Work load
•Change in sleeping habits
•Change in work hours and conditions
•homework/exams
•Lost or misplaced items
•Financial Problems
•Dissatisfaction with one’s physical appearance
•Raising children
•Family/peer pressure
•Information overload
•Working more than one job
•Social isolation
•Relationship with in-laws
•Raising children/housekeeping
•Car breakdown
•Missed deadlines
•Change in eating habits
•Bullying
•Job dissatisfaction
Personality related stressors
•Feelings of hate, envy, fear or jealousy
•Low Self esteem
•Impatience
•Inability to set realistic goals
•Over dependence
•Poor communication skills
Environmental stressors
•War/Famine
•Excessive, loud or continuous noise
•Blinding lights
•Extreme heat or cold
•x-rays and other forms of radiation
•Exposure to toxic substances
•Fires/Floods/Earthquakes
•Inadequate ventilation
•Pollution
•Overcrowding
How to overcome Emotional Wellness
Recognise early warning signs; Insomnia, moodiness, fatigue, withdrawal, helplessness, anxiety…….
Identify what stresses you and deal with it!
Monitor Your Stress Levels; keep a journal with your daily stress log that provides before and after check on your progress
•What caused your stress (make a guess if you’re unsure)?
•How you felt, both physically and emotionally?
•How you acted in response?
•What you did to make yourself feel better?
Write down feelings of sadness, frustration or anger to get a clearer perspective of your emotions.
Always prepare for anticipated stressful eventslike; new job, exams, pregnancy, workload, retirement…..
Positive thinking; When stress is getting you down, take a moment to reflect on all the things you appreciate in your life, including your own positive qualities and gifts. This simple strategy can help you keep things in perspective. Identify your goals, prioritize, accomplish the tasks, Learn to accept what cannot be changed….
Look at the big picture; Take perspective of the stressful situation. Ask yourself how important it will be in the long run. Will it matter in a month? A year? Is it really worth getting upset over? If the answer is no, focus your time and energy elsewhere. Learn to Relax
•Take a walk
•Play a game – solve a puzzle
•listen to soothing music
•take a bath
•meditate
•work-life balance,
•Spend time in nature.
•Write in your journal.
•Light scented candles.
•Take a warm cup of coffee or tea.
•Work in your garden.
•Get a massage.
•Curl up with a good book.
•Watch a comedy
Physical health; good nutrition, 30 minutes exercise, 8 hours sleep, drink water, self-care
Don’t keep anxiety and anger bottled up; talk about your problems to someone you trust who cares, decrease negative self-talk;friend, parent, teacher, relative. Learn to say no to requests you cannot reasonably handle. Compromise once in a while, even if you think you are right. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground.
Avoid people who stress you out; if someone consistently causes stress in your life and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely.
Take control of your environment; if the evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.
Avoid hot-button topics; if you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion.
Be more assertive; Don’t take a backseat in your own life. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got an exam to study for and your chatty roommate just got home, say up front that you only have five minutes to talk.
Improve your time management; Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. Time managed well can help reduce stress resulting from too much to do in too little time. Set up realistic time limits for yourself and others. Learn new coping skills like patience, rehearse and practice situations, don’t be a perfectionist
Adjust your standards; Perfectionism is a major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting yourself up for failure by demanding perfection. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others, and learn to be okay with “good enough.”
Don’t try to control the uncontrollable; Many things in life are beyond our control— particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control such as the way you choose to react to problems.
Look for the upside; As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes.
Learn to forgive; accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments.Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on.
Build a network of friends; Go on social outings
Express your feelings instead of bottling them up; If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and the situation will likely remain the same. Let others know you’re feeling overwhelmed and tell them how they can help.
Seek professional help before the situation is completely out of control; family doctor, mental health professionals, counselors, and religious leaders
