Stay Strong.
Hang in there.
Be resilient.

Difficult periods come with the challenge of going through them.
How many of us have tried to set our emotions aside and ‘rationalize’ our problems?

Somewhere down the road, our emotions will catch up with us, and we will start living on a rollercoaster of ups and downs.

Being the leader of your emotions starts with accepting them and understanding what they want to tell you.
In fact, our emotions are our sensors, a signal to a certain malfunction.

1. Stop, Spot and Accept

Our reactions to certain situations can be blurry. A million thoughts going through our mind and we cannot really understand what we are feeling: anger? sadness? disappointment? fear?

A good method would be to ask yourself: “How do I feel?” “Why do I feel this way?”

Writing the answers to those questions can help you declutter your mind and make your thoughts clearer.

After identifying our emotions and labeling them, it is important to accept feeling this way. As it is normal to feel happy after hearing good news, it is completely normal to feel sad after hearing bad news, or scared after going through something traumatic.

Understanding why we are feeling this way and accepting that we are allowed to express our feelings can help us embrace them, and finally overcome them. Accepting your emotions helps you shift your focus from “I am weak” to “I will overcome this by understanding this”.

2. Assess don’t Analyze!

Assessments are evaluations of the nature, the ability and the quality;

Analysis is the interpretation or the explanation that we place on something.

How are my emotions affecting me? Am I staying in bed all day? Did I stop working out? Am I less productive at work?

How are my emotions affecting my surroundings? Am I always fighting with my brother? Am I being distant from my best friend?

Realizing that our emotions have an impact on our day to day life can be a wake-up call to start taking control and making it a priority to heal. It is important to know that even if it is okay to feel a certain way after going through a difficult situation, it is unhealthy to let this emotion invade all the aspects of your life, especially the ones that give us personal satisfaction, like our health, our relationships or our jobs.

3. Lead!

When you see the engine light sensor go on in your car, you may ignore it and live with it and decide to suffer from the consequences later, or you can choose to fix it and

After realizing the impact of your emotions, it is time to adjust your perspective, and know that you can be the leader of yourself and of your day by reframing your thoughts accordingly.

Start by asking yourself: “What would I tell my friend if he was feeling this way?”. Looking at your situation in an objective way can help you find solutions without being clouded by sadness, anger or grief.

Finally, set daily objectives that revolve around self-care and productivity. Think “how can I make this day better?” and act accordingly. Whether it is going to the gym, cooking yourself a healthy meal or finishing the report you have been postponing for 2 weeks, when you’re done, the feeling of self-satisfaction and productivity will boost you and make you feel motivated to keep going.  

*While these steps are helpful to the majority of the people, individuals with PTSD or any other mental disorders should seek the help of a professional.