Keeping your emotional balance4 min read

Feel happier and more centred by taking care of your emotional balance

Why emotional balance is so important

Maintaining emotional balance is crucial for preventing burnout.

Do you find your mood swinging? One moment feeling one thing, the next another?

Or perhaps you feel an uncomfortable depth of prolonged negative emotions at times?

Maybe you sometimes find it hard to feel anything at all….?

These are all signs of emotional exhaustion.

When we neglect our emotional needs, we can become overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, and negative emotions, leading to physical and mental exhaustion.

By prioritizing self-care, we can improve our emotional resilience and reduce the risk of burnout, reducing the likelihood of becoming emotionally drained or overwhelmed.

By actively working to maintain emotional balance, we can protect ourselves against burnout and promote overall well-being.

Emotions and us

Our emotional well-being is intimately tied to our physical well-being. To feel emotionally at ease with ourselves we need to address the physical aspects of our lives first.

Addressing these puts in place the foundations for emotional well-being and sets the stage for us to be able to bring in and maintain the happiness we want in our lives​

Practical tips for maintaining emotional balance

Here’s a quick rundown of the 5 things we should bear in mind when we think about our emotional balance, our happiness.

I have found that when working with people who are feeling burnt out quite often this list serves not only as great advice but also as a reality check too…

1. Your health

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF WHEN YOU’RE SICK

It’s all too easy to brush off aches and pains, but we all know when something’s not quite right. The temptation can be to just ride it out, you perhaps get trapped thinking along the lines of ‘I’m too busy with work – if I ignore it, it will go away’. There’s always the chance it won’t…

Go to the doctor when you’re sick. Get rest and don’t push yourself too hard. Take your medications as prescribed. Drink enough fluids. Be the patient that I’m sure you wish all your patients were like.

2. Eat a healthy, balanced diet

When we’re busy we cut corners, we snack or come to rely on convenience foods or junk food. A balanced diet is crucial when it comes to our health and also for our emotional well-being too.

3. Avoid too much alcohol

We all have the right to treat ourselves and have a drink or two if we choose to, especially over Christmas! There’s a lot to be said for an occasional drink, it can be a relaxing and mellowing experience.

But as we all know alcohol in excess can lead to problems. In the short term sleeping can be disrupted and concentration dulled. A few too many drinks a few times too often will make you feel less than your best. In the longer term, more serious issues can arise.

If that occasional drink to relax turns into a daily habit, and that one drink into two or more then consider easing off. You will feel so much better about it!

4. Sleep well

I mentioned alcohol disrupting sleep patterns. Other things can also factor in too. ‘Sleep hygiene’ plays a large part in getting a good night’s sleep.

• Try to set a fixed sleeping time. Your body will respond well to the rhythm
• ‘Wind down’ before sleeping. Avoid loud music, overly stimulating TV etc. Ease into your sleeping time.
• Avoid stimulants such as coffee before sleep.
• Avoid having one too many alcoholic drinks (none is best if you can)
• Relax – take time to reflect on the positives from throughout the day, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential.

If you do powernap aim to keep them less than an hour long.

We all know how too little sleep feels. Having a decent 7 to 10 hours of sleep per night gives our bodies the time to recharge and will leave us feeling more ‘balanced’ and happier overall.

5. Exercise regularly

Our bodies have been conditioned by evolution to expect physical exertion in our lives. Modern living doesn’t really supply this so we should take the time to exercise when we can, ideally building it into a routine if possible.

Exercise releases dopamine so not only are we looking after ourselves by keeping fit, but it also feels great too!

Summary – keeping your emotional balance

As I mentioned above if we don’t address the fundamental physical aspects of our lives, we will find it very difficult to achieve mental and emotional balance.

Just by following the simple tips above you will quickly find things starting to settle down and find yourself starting to enjoy an enhanced sense of mental clarity and emotional stability.

Did you find any of these difficult or impossible to follow, if so how many? If it’s any more than one or two then perhaps it is time to seek a change to start re-aligning things.

Further reading – further addressing the mental aspects of our well-being

Of course, even with all of the above, we may find ourselves wishing to address other aspects of our mental well-being. Improving our levels of motivation, stilling our inner critic, and more.

If you’d like to read more feel free to fully explore the blog where you’ll find lots of quick tips to make life simpler, easier, calmer and more rewarding.

If you have any questions or feedback regarding this article, any of the issues it raises, or if you’d just like to get in touch to find out more about fulfilling your true potential I would love to hear from you.