Our life is a long one. It is impossible to go through all the ups and downs without acquiring some emotional baggage. Emotional or mental healing is all about reaching a state of emotional stability. This article will focus on 10 different ways of healing emotionally.
You may have gone through different manners of emotional distress like anxiety, sadness, addiction, unwanted compulsions, procrastination, unproductive obsession, self-sabotaging behaviors, boredom, confusion, depression et cetera. All of these distresses that you have been through play a role in shaping your mental state. If the negativity is higher, there is more agitation, sadness, and anxiety. If the negativity is less, there is more peace, satisfaction, and zeal to go on.
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Mental healing
Currently, the mental health system focuses on using two different methods to help people achieve a more positive mental state. These methods are: drugs and talk therapy. However, one does not need to restrict themselves to only these two options. There is a myriad of methods that can be employed to boost emotional or mental healing in a person. Here are some tips that you can use to help yourself heal mentally.
12 tips for mental healing
Learn to be yourself
We live in a world that is dictated by desires and expectations. These desires can be of others or they can be your own. However, we are taught from a very young age to be good to others, follow the instructions of elders, etc. Sometimes because of this, we tend to seek approval from others for everything that we do. Eventually, this becomes a habit and we forget who we are because we are always trying to be someone else. The focus shifts from being true to oneself to being someone who is accepted by society. This aim to please everyone can prove to be harmful actually. When you lose yourself in what others want, you forget to be yourself. Constantly being someone that you are not can be very taxing and emotionally exhausting. Therefore, you must learn to be yourself. You must learn to boost your mental health first. if you are surrounded by toxic people, you need a change of people. Focus on yourself and understand who you are. Be the person that you are, not what others want you to be.
Invent yourself
As I mentioned before, we are all shaped by the expectations others have of us. However, once you reach maturity, you need to find out who you are. Focus on becoming a person who is calm, and positive, is ready to stand up for themselves, and knows to say NO when needed. Eventually, you start to truly find yourself underneath all the facades the world has imposed on you.
Learn to say NO
I have an entire blog post on this topic. Unfortunately, we are brought up in a culture where we are taught to constantly say yes to everything. Somewhere along the line, we lose ourselves because we are busy pleasing others. A part of understanding and finding yourself is learning when to say No to others. Not being able to say no has also led to a rise in workplace toxicity. Therefore, this is something that you must pay attention to. While reinventing yourself, you must learn to say no to others. We all have families that can be extremely demanding. Sometimes, family members forget that there are certain boundaries they should not cross. They may want you to do something for them even when you don’t want to or are not comfortable doing it. You still do it because saying NO is hard. Even if you do say NO, you will be expected to answer hundreds of questions after that.
However, you must understand that saying no is not a bad thing No is a way of stating your boundaries. You need to define your boundaries no matter how difficult they may seem. Therefore, you must learn to say no.
Love yourself
The primary problems in mental health arise because of the way we are brought up. We are brought up to be there for others, and to fulfill the needs and wishes of our loved ones. We are not taught to appreciate ourselves. Thus, self-love is another factor you must focus on if you want to undergo mental healing. One part of mental healing is understanding and accepting yourself for who you are. We all have that voice in our heads that’s constantly filling us up with negativity. However, this voice must be squashed. All of us are worthy of love. But, before you expect others to love you, you must learn to love yourself.
In my mental health sessions, I have come across many people who feel that they need love to be able to appreciate themselves. However, this is not true. If you cannot love yourself, how do you expect someone else to love you? You must logically look at yourself, identify the negative and positive factors and try to reduce the negative factors. This does not mean that you go into a spiral of depression thinking of all the negative factors that you have. We all have certain negative factors and certain positive ones. That is what makes us so unique. Instead of feeling sorry for all the negativity, focus on boosting your positive factors and turning your negative factors into positive ones.
Boost your self-confidence
The reason we feel negatively about ourselves is that we lack self-confidence. The moment the self-confidence increases in scale, the negativity towards ourselves will reduce. Therefore, indulging in activities that boost your self-confidence. If you are an artist, indulge in painting, sketching, etc. If you are someone who likes handy crafts, engage in some crocheting or knitting.
No activity is mundane or small. If you don’t have a hobby, it is time to pick a new one. Remind yourself what you are good at. Start journaling every day to track your progress When you journal, remember to write down five good things about yourself. This will go a long way in helping you boost your confidence.
Journal regularly
This is one point that has not been emphasized enough. People mostly see journaling as a very mundane task. However, journaling is far from it. When you journal regularly, it may seem like a bore. However, once you get into the habit of journaling, it can be of immense benefit and help boost your self-confidence. When you journal, you have a best friend with whom you can tell any and everything.
This best friend of yours will never judge you. Thus, you have a safe and secure place where you can put down all your feelings. When you journal, always focus on putting in five factors that you are grateful for and five things about yourself that you are proud of. Over a few months, when you look back, you will notice that you have made a ton of progress without even realizing it. That is the power journaling has. If you are struggling to start on your journaling journey, I have a video and blog post on the same that you can refer to.
Focus on the positive thoughts
The primary reason people need therapy is that their brain is more occupied with negative thoughts instead of positive ones. A crucial part of mental healing is to focus on the thoughts that are fleeting through our minds. Thinking is one process that cannot be stopped. However, what kind of thoughts are fleeting to your mind is something you can analyze and control. Therefore, when you have negative thoughts, focus on the opposite thought. Suppose the voice in your head says, “You are not good enough”. You must think of an opposite thought. Tell yourself, “I am doing my best. I can only get better if I try. I will keep practicing till I become the best in this work.”
Eliminate the past to boost mental healing
There is no one in this world who does not have a checkered past. Some of us have physical scars to show for them, and some of us have emotional ones. This does not mean that just because someone is smiling, they are not suffering. One way to work on mental healing is to not allow your past to control your present or future. We cannot control what we have been through. The past has a way of making its way into our nightmares, and dreams and playing with our subconscious.
However, you can control your present. Stop allowing yourself to wallow in the past. Tell yourself, the bad things are in the past and are going to stay there. Your past cannot hamper your present or future. Put all your energy into focusing on your present, making it the best version, and working towards your future.
Reduce your anxiety
You may not have an anxiety disorder, but this does not mean that you do not have anxiety. Every time you feel that butterfly flutter in your tummy, the need to run away from a situation etcetera, those are the symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety does not only mean having heart palpitations, sweaty palms, panic attacks, etc. Anxiety can manifest itself in a variety of forms. You need to be aware of them. Keep an eye on your body. Whenever something unpleasant happens to you, how does your body react? Once you recognize the signs of anxiety, you must focus on reducing them. For reducing anxiety, you can use relaxing techniques, breathing exercises, etc to physically control your anxiety. Work on finding out the root cause behind the anxiety and work on it permanently removing them.
Sleep patterns can help in mental healing
Sleep is another factor that does not get enough importance when it comes to mental healing. However, it is the bane of many mental health issues. Mental health problems start with negative thoughts, progress to lack of sleep, then insomnia. Insomnia contributes to many mental health problems like depression, severe anxiety, mood disorders, etc. Therefore if you are focusing on mental healing, the first thing you have to focus on is fixing your sleep pattern.
You must get at least 8 hours of sleep every day. Do not distribute these eight hours into two-hour sets throughout the day. These eight hours must be constant 8 hours of sleep. Make a sleep schedule and stick to it every day for at least a month for it to become a habit. If you are suffering from depression, anxiety, grief, etc, you may feel like sleeping in the middle of the day. Try to control that urge. Do not give in to it. Maintaining your sleep schedule can go a long way in helping you boost your mental and emotional health.
Positive affirmations
Sometimes it is hard to see ourselves in a positive light. During such instances, positive affirmations can be very beneficial. The positive affirmation must be tailored to fit your needs and help you be better. Let’s take an example. Suppose you struggle with body positivity. You feel you don’t look good when you look at yourself in the mirror. To change this, look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself, I look amazing in any and everything I wear. Practice doing this every day. Even if they feel like empty words to you, appreciate yourself in front of the mirror. In a few short weeks, you will notice yourself feeling more confident when you look in the mirror and feeling more appreciative of your body.
Manifestations
Manifestations can be an extremely powerful tool in helping you achieve your goal. If you believe in yourself hard enough, you can achieve your goal. However, only thinking about your goal is not enough. The purpose of manifestation is to keep you motivated regularly so that you take proactive steps to achieve your goal. You control your destiny. Manifestations allow you to come one step closer.
What are your thoughts on mental healing?
If you have read till here, you know of the 12 mental healing tips. You may have a ton of workload on your shoulders, and responsibility for your family, friends, and relatives. However, this does not give you an excuse to ignore yourself. It is time to put yourself first and focus on your mental health. If you don’t stay mentally fit, you will be of no use to others in the long run. Therefore, it’s time to be a little selfish. Focus on your mental health before you start helping others.
Have you tried any of the above-mentioned mental healing tips? How much time did it take for you to make it into a habit? How did the addition of a habit help you in the long run? Are you planning to implement any of the above tips? If yes, then which one and why? Please mention your experiences in the common section below. It may seem like a small step for you. However, the courage that it can provide someone else is immeasurable.
Let’s destigmatize mental health. Mental health is not a problem. Mental health is something that we all have an equal responsibility to work on. Taking care of yourself and prioritizing your mental health needs is not a crime. You owe yourself that much.
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I primarily do co-working streams on Twitch every day from 11 AM to 7 PM (Indian standard time). If you are feeling low on motivation, want to boost productivity, or just want to get into a regular habit of studying or working, co-working streams can be a huge help. I also host mental health sessions on Tuesdays and Fridays from 4:30 to 6:30 PM. Thus, in case of any questions, let’s meet up on Twitch.
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1 Comment
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.