Finding Emotional Balance

With everything that has happened in the past year or so, it is no wonder that mental health issues have skyrocketed. Between the election, racial unrest across America, and the vaccine debate, and the global lockdown measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic the world has been a bit of a mess.

Drug use, domestic violence, and alcoholism have reportedly been rising. 

Government and personally-imposed isolation have been linked to many of these issues. Isolation is one of the worst things that a human being can endure. Extended periods of being alone are known to cause severe emotional and physical effects. These negative effects include depression, anxiety, self-harm, and an increased risk of serious issues like CHD and a lowered immune system.

Under stressors such as these, it is not surprising that more extreme emotions come bubbling to the surface. Personal feelings are expressed by extreme outbursts of anger and sadness in equal measure, both of which can lead to some of the mental health issues mentioned. However, you can find emotional balance. This is true even in the worst of times.

By combining some of the methods of emotional balance below you will be able to maintain a more stable life which can lead to finding emotional balance. On the compassion vs empathy level, for example, you will not only be able to show concern for the suffering of others but actually understand and feel an emotional attachment for people without becoming overwhelmed.

Finding Emotional Balance is Not Becoming a Robot

Any Star Trek fan knows the virtue of Mr. Spock’s seeming lack of emotion, which appears to make him appear like a robot with no emotions at all, but this isn’t true. Vulcans themselves are very emotional people, but they have developed ways to control them. Interestingly, the concepts written in many of the shows and movies are based on real-life techniques for finding emotional balance.

First, it is absolutely vital that you identify and address anything that negatively affects your emotions and accentuates the things that increase positive emotions. Some of the best methods for achieving this includes:

• Reflection through meditation
• Adjusting your diet
• Absolutely staying away from drugs and/or alcohol

A regular meditation practice is an excellent method of addressing the things in your life and how they affect you on an emotional level. Junk and processed foods contain harmful chemicals that can also affect your mood. Drugs and alcohol elevate the mood you are in; if you are angry you will become angrier, for example. But it should be noted that negative emotions are normal and should be experienced when necessary. However, controlling your emotions so that they are  at a level that make sense to the situation is of the utmost importance.

You’ll be Able to Make Better Decisions

Emotions are directly linked to our decision-making. While some can have a positive impact, some are extremely harmful. Deep-rooted trauma can impact your emotions for the rest of your life. Emotional connections are temporary. For example, the catalyst for arachnophobia later in life can be a spider crawling on your foot as a child.

Emotional links to deep seated issues can be difficult to modify without treatment. However, most emotional connections to immediate things can be controlled with the use of emotional balance techniques. When you have practiced emotional balance techniques such as meditation and slowly adjusted your lifestyle by staying away from harmful things, your emotions will begin to become more rational.

Anger, for example, is related to making quick, irrational, and impulsive decisions that could cause negative consequences. Road rage incidents are a clear example of impulsive decisions.  Road rage incidents are the cause of approximately 70% of traffic fatalities each year so this is a prevalent issue. Emotional balance through positive management is absolutely essential if you are a particularly angry person, 

Conversely, feelings of sadness or fear can cause you to take longer to make a decision. Your life can just as easily be negatively impacted by slow decision making. Asking for the help that you need to work through emotional distress can be as simple as speaking to a friend or may include professional care. Either way, the most important thing is taking the first step.

Feel free to send a private message to me at elise @ askdrho . com if you want  some extra support on your journey.

There are Various Mental Health Benefits

Of course, because emotional responses are so directly linked to our mental functioning, getting them in check and balance can have various mental health benefits. Becoming aware of your emotions means that you can manage them effectively. Consequently, just like anything else when managed and organized properly, they become easier. In turn, this can lift any burden placed upon you.

The mental health benefits of balanced emotions not only include stress reduction. Knowing how to handle the emotions that cause these issues can also reduce the effects of depression and anxiety. In addition, once your mental health begins to increase, you will find that you can stay away from the causes of negative emotions. For example, you may no longer be dependent upon drugs and alcohol to feel better. 

Mismanaged negative emotions can cause elevated stress which in turn exhausts the mind and body. Consequences can include depression, fatigue, and sleeplessness. Additionally, physical issues like cardiovascular disease and even rapid aging through shortened telomeres (the end caps of DNA strands) can arise. Therefore it is vital to work on finding emotional balance for long-term mental health.