Keep Control of Your Emotions

Have you ever had moments in your life where you felt like you were about to lose your mind? Something or several things just on your last nerve? I think everyone has these moments or even spells of time when something or everything seems more extreme, perhaps, than what they may actually be. We can get this way for a lot of reasons from chemical changes in the body to environmental changes and even the emotions of others can lead to your own heightened emotions. So, what can you do to calm yourself when you are at your end? When you feel yourself getting upset, there are actually several things you can do to help deescalate your emotions to bring yourself back to a more neutral state or even a state of relaxation. First thing to do when you feel your ears getting hot with anger, frustration, etc. is to recognize what exactly is getting you all worked up. For example, you are working your behind off at work and a person on your team just doesn’t seem to be pulling his/her weight at all. As a matter of fact, they seem to be stealing company time by constantly being on their phone or doing things that should not be done at work, all while you are working above and beyond to keep things moving. When something like this is happening you must stop and analyze what about this is making you feel the way you are feeling. Is it really the other person making you feel like steam could roll out of your ears at any minute? The answer to that question is, no, it is not that person at all. I’m sure you have heard people say or even yourself say, “They make me feel like I could scream!” It is very common to think that another person is causing you so much anguish, however, the fact is, no-one has the ability to “make you feel” anything. Situations like this actually call for self reflecting. What really is going on with you? Is it that you feel like you are not getting paid enough at work? Or is it that you are doing “everything” and getting no recognition for what you are doing? It also could be as simple as you are having a personality clash with that person and there is nothing else wrong in your work life. If that is the case, never-the-less, it still falls back on you to look at this person in a new light and not allow his/her behavior to make you think negatively, worsen your mood and affect your quality of work.

Let’s take this a step further and say it is not about any one person, but instead, everything seems to be falling apart and you are at your end with it all. If this is the situation, it’s a great time to start considering the possibility of healthy change to get going in a direction you want. This really is a mindset shift to gaining control. At the end of the day, truly the only thing you have control of is your emotions. If you can grab ahold of that thought tightly and contain your emotions toward positive thinking, you will feel more in control and re-harness your power. This in and of itself will make you feel less emotionally charged. The last thing to do would be to focus on self-kindness. When you are at your end emotionally, it is a very good internal indicator alerting you that you need to step back and recharge your mind, body and spirit. Elevated emotions are a sign of not enough rest, fun, laughter and peace. Stepping back to do something nice just for yourself should not only be done when your emotions are running on high but it should also be a routine practice which keeps your emotions from being elevated in the first place. If you don’t take care of you and respect your needs first, it’s very likely no one else will either.