6 Healthy Ways to Control Your Emotions (Natasha)
Whether you tend to overthink things or are enduring a traumatizing situation, you probably lose control of your emotions at times. In fact, I have this same problem. But instead of giving up on myself, I find ways to be more positive. Here are some ways you can control your emotions.
Consider What Causes You to Lose Control
When you think about what causes your emotions to go out of control, you might feel confused or frustrated. For example, when my emotions bother me, unpleasant images come to mind of past abuse I’ve suffered. This leads me to try to forget about these traumatizing situations. So I stay stuck in my own emotional turmoil until I find a way out of it. Finally, I give in and write down my feelings with paper and pencil. Writing helps me piece together my thoughts and focus on doing something positive. From writing, I usually end up realizing that the people around me cross boundaries too often and this is what’s making me emotional.
Focus on Taking Better Care of Yourself
After I figure out what’s causing my emotional struggles, I focus on what I can do to take better care of myself. For instance, since I can’t stand people crossing my boundaries, I often do a self-care activity to calm down. This could be lighting a scented candle, spraying essential oils around the room, doing yoga or meditation, or something else for peace of mind. Other self-care ideas you can try include exercising your brain by playing a fun game, eating a healthy homemade breakfast, going for a bike ride, or any other activity that makes you feel better about yourself.
Spend More Time Outside
Sometimes when I become emotional, I feel confined, like I’m stuck in a prison in my body in the house. This means I need to go outside to escape my internal problems. Other times, the problem has nothing to do with me but it’s the people around me who are negative. Once again, I find myself going outside. When I’m outdoors, I take a deep breath of fresh air and take in the refreshing natural landscape around me. There are beautiful, green trees, brightly colored flowers, and birds chirping all around me. Sometimes I’ll read a book on a comfortable chair or I’ll take my sketchbook outside and draw flower petals, leaves on trees, or objects I find lying around such as tools or bicycles.
Do Art to Express Yourself
Becoming emotional means you probably need to express yourself to let your feelings out so you can rest. But this means you can start expressing yourself in unhealthy ways such as harming yourself, breaking things, or hating people who may or may not deserve to be hated. When I feel like I can’t take anymore of my own or other’s negativity, I do art. Art is a great way to express yourself in a healthy way and let go of aggression and inner tension. For one, I enjoy drawing, painting, creative writing, and playing musical instruments. You can also get creative by making crafts such as sewing blankets, making wood furniture, or crafting jewelry.
Create More Meaning in Your Life
Many times when I become emotional, I notice I do this because my life lacks meaning and purpose. I feel empty and unhappy and start to become envious of those around me. Rather than allow myself to dwell on this negative side of my life, I decide to take action to improve things. If you have this same problem, I suggest volunteering for an organization you admire. You can find plenty of opportunities on websites like Volunteermatch.org. Helping those less fortunate can help you see that some people care in this world and sometimes it has to start with you.
Additionally, you can do good deeds for people in your everyday life. I do this whether they deserve it or not, just because my life is meaningless without having something to believe in. For example, a few years ago when I was in college I heard people arguing. This bothered me so I lifted my head and the argument immediately stopped. But I saw that a group of people was ganging up on one guy. The group quit bullying him when I looked up and the guy appeared eternally grateful that someone (me) would ever care at all. To me, this was a good deed because bullies are the bane of my existence. Plus, I felt like a better person for caring about a stranger who needed help. Not to mention the fact I was ready to give the group of bullies a piece of my mind if they didn’t stop.
Find Something to Be Grateful For
Given these points, controlling your emotions more often can have a positive impact on your quality of life. I know doing this helps me a lot. All it takes is commitment, optimism, and a bit of effort. While life won’t always be easy and it can seem as though your struggles will never end, you can overcome them by staying committed to helping yourself. If you feel as though you need help with your problems, you can always contact us here at Letters Against Depression. And if you’d like to request to receive one of our letters of hope and support, go here.