How to Be Better at Life (Emotional Health)

If you have high blood pressure, it would not be too difficult to conclude that you need to change your lifestyle starting from regular exercises and a balanced diet. 

On the other hand, wallowing in sadness, despair and anxiety may seem an insoluble problem to most people. How to deviate from the path which makes you dejected? How to regain your confidence and start looking on the bright side of life?

The key is in emotional health. The good news is that there are techniques to help you stay emotionally balanced. Before we inforrm you about what they are, we will provide you with the definition of emotional health to make everything much clearer.

What is emotional health?

Contrary to what many may think, emotional health is not the absence of mental disorders only. It is an umbrella term encompassing the way you feel about yourself and about the people close to you and the way you deal with stressful situations. Pragmatically speaking, emotionally healthy persons are contented, confident and they have a sunny disposition; they build meaningful relationships with others and they are able to maintain them and finally, they have the ability to cope with stress.

Accept yourself

Self-acceptance is not easy to accomplish, but not impossible. To accept yourself who you really are, you need a conscious effort. Celebrate your strengths and virtues, and promise yourself to change so that you can minimize your weakness. Put them both on the paper.

Try not have past regrets by acknowledging your mistake and forgiving yourself. The same applies to your unrealized dreams. Reconcile with the fact that you could not do something you wanted to and start building new dreams you can accomplish right now.

Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness, or present moment awareness is the ability to focus all your thoughts and emotions in the present moment nonjudgementally. The western notion of mindfulness stems from Buddhist psychology and is related to meditation. However, you can look it as a general view on life, as well.

The past and future are always in our thoughts, while the present always lags behind. Mindfulness enables a person to enjoy the present moment and to leave the past and future into the background without thinking whether the past and future decisions are good, or bad. You are less preoccupied, you lead a more satisfying life and your overall emotional wellbeing is increased.

Take care of your physical health

Physical and mental health depend upon each other. As poor mental health can lead to chronic physical illnesses, poor physical health can affect your mental wellbeing, too. When you exercise, the brain produces more endorphine, one of the happy hormones. According to various studies, the level of serotonin, another happy hormone is higher if we are exposed to sunlight. Furthermore, natural sunlight can improve sleep, as well. Finally, make sure you sleep eight hours every day and avoid cigarettes and alcohol.

Pamper yourself

Make yourself a priority. Do things you love, or the ones you have always wanted to do, but you never did. Leisure time is as important as other factors we have mentioned so far. Define what happiness is to you and do everything leading you to it.

Be creative, discover a hobby. If the ultimate happiness for you is reading a book in nature, do it. Do not shy away from making yourself contented every second of your time. Take a spiritual retreat. Recharge your batteries in the environment you enjoy being. Leave worries behind for a little bit of mindfulness. Escape to relaxation.

Maintain healthy relationships

Whether you are an extrovert, or an introvert, one thing is true. Humans are social beings. Our mental health is closely related to the quality of relationships we build throughout life. Try to get into a routine of visiting your friends and family in the real-world, not only in the virtual one. Surround yourself with people you love and people who care for you. Help others by doing something for them you can be proud of. The great example of this is volunteering for non-profit, or charitable organizations, for example. 

Live in the moment, love yourself, do anything that can put you in a good mood, show your loved ones how much you care for them as these strategies lead you to being emotionally healthy and better at life. Finally, “clap along if you know what happiness is to you”.