Self Care Sunday- Emotional Self Care

Emotional Self Care is an ongoing, evolving journey that is different for everyone since everybody's experiences, circumstances, relationships and path in life is non-identical. I've been on a mission to take self care earnestly this year, all of it, not just physically. It's definitely been an interesting ride and admittedly, sometimes it's not always smooth sailing. When it comes to emotional self care, I'm no professional, I can only speak on what I've learned through my personal experience and on today's Self Care Sunday I'm sharing that with you guys.

To practice proper emotional self care it is imperative to recognize and validate your emotions. Understand that whatever you feel at any given moment has a root, there is a reason you feel the way you do. By consciously accepting what you feel without resisting, you’re allowing emotions to flow freely through. You can then filter the emotions to differentiate from what doesn't serve you to those that are worth keeping. Resisting emotions can lead to a subconscious resentment to the emotion itself or the situation or person causing the feeling. Without allowing it to flow, you’re placing it in a backup file that is usually brought to the forefront when a person is angry or in a situation where they’re not clearly thinking.

Also, consider an emotional declutter where you first look at yourself with the intent of pointing out your own toxic behaviors that drain you mentally. Ask yourself-What am I procrastinating about? What behaviors do I practice that don’t make me feel good? What type of actions do I display that people constantly try to correct me on? Am I harboring unforgiveness towards a situation or person? I'm sure we can all agree that looking inwards to pinpoint our own flaws is never a comfortable feeling, however, it is necessary. Recognizing your own toxic traits and trying to be a better person is a positive step towards emotional balance.

Take a look at your immediate circle, your friends and family relationships. Who are the people that constantly take from you? Are you happy in your relationship? I've found that asking myself those questions have brought awareness to situations I never thought were toxic at first glance. When I'm in a situation where cutting off toxic people is not an option, such as people I absolutely have to interact with on a daily basis, whether it's family members or co workers I realize that creating boundaries helps to keep me emotionally stable.

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I've found that creating checklists is quite effective and they keep things simple as well as straightforward. Here are two of my checklists for emotional well being:

Emotional Wellness Checklist

• Stop complaining

• Stop being overly critical of yourself

• Let go of toxic feelings

• Express your authentic self

• Learn to say no

• Stop overthinking

• Limit phone calls from energy draining people

• Stop overworking yourself

• Positive coping mechanisms

• Seek help

Emotionally Nourishing Activities

• Practicing gratitude

• Meditation

• Journaling

• Listening to music

• Reading a good book

• Limiting social media screen time

• Treat yourself

• Learn something new

• Dedicating time to simply resting

• Travelling

Emotional Self Care is truly an investment and as time goes by, situations change, people evolve and some approaches to emotional self care will surely have to be tweaked but one thing that remains timeless according to billionaire investor Warren Buffet- "Ultimately there's one investment that supersedes all others: Invest in yourself."

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