If nothing can be done about your emotional pain, your only and best choice is simply to accept what is and allow yourself to feel what you feel. It can be helpful to process your feelings with a friend, counsellor or to write them out in a journal.
Don’t torture yourself by fixating on what caused the pain you’re suffering from. What has happened has already been done and cannot be undone. Going over it again and again in your mind will only make things worse for you. Ask yourself, what can you do now?
While suffering from emotional pain you may not even want to get out of bed. Yet, moving when you’re feeling down can give you energy and lift your spirits. Any type of physical movement can help you release the pain from your body. Go for a short walk, try yoga or dance to music.
Try a new hobby, something that you’ve always wanted to try or something that you know you love but haven’t made the time for. Create a vision board and paste images of everything that speaks to you. Use this to help you identify your interests and passions.
Shopping, food, and alcohol aren’t a problem on their own in moderation, but when any of them become your primary coping strategy against emotional pain, it can lead to more stress than relief.
Everyone gets overwhelmed from time to time, but prevention is the key. Think about what things need to be in place on a regular basis for you to perform at your best. Think about what works for you.
When stress is high, it’s important to know what makes you feel calm and relaxed. Otherwise it’s easy to turn to unhelpful coping strategies. What calms you when stressors are high? Take a moment to reflect so you’re ready when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Practice responding to distressing emotional states with grounding techniques and self-soothing strategies. If these are difficult or you need additional help, counselling can help you develop coping strategies, new perspectives and skills for managing difficult emotions.
If your emotions feel particularly intense, try an activity to make you feel better: run around; do 100 jumping jacks; put on the radio and dance; listen to a funny comedian; hold, stroke and hug a pet, pillow or teddy bear.
When engaging in self-soothing strategies for each sense, focus your attention completely on the task – with mindfulness. For each sense, try something comforting (touch: stretch; smell: flowers; taste: sip fruit juice; sight: watch the clouds; sound: sing) and see which works best for you.
