Emotional
Emotional recovery literally means feeling good about yourself and about life. When the going is good, this might be your natural state. But does it still feel this way when you are stressed and under pressure? Consider some of the following tips for helping your body release some ‘feel good’ hormones.
Accept your emotions
This is the ‘Number One’ rule in the book of emotions: all emotions are valid, and they all have their place. You cannot heal a physical wound if you do not recognize it, and the same goes for emotions and feelings. Emotional recovery therefore means accepting that you are feeling emotionally unwell (if that is the case), instead of trying to pretend that you are absolutely fine. Acknowledging and feeling your negative emotions in full will help you process these emotions better.
Leverage your social support
As we said in the Connect block of the program, we humans are social animals. We cannot, nor should we have to deal with everything on our own. Restore your feel-good factor by
- Seeking the company of people you like and enjoy, whether family or friends. Even a video call with a loved one can do wonders.
- Keep away from people who criticize, judge or belittle you. If they make you feel bad about yourself, they are not going to help you keep your spirits up.
- Initiate contact with people who can listen well, and/or make you laugh and appreciate life. Here we stress the point of initiating the contact rather than passively expecting others to do it. If you are in need of a feel-good social hug (live or virtual), make it happen.
Use your body to feel good
As the famous saying goes, “a healthy mind in a healthy body”; a static, rigid, tired body is likely to cause more pain than joy. Kick up some endorphins or serotonin through any physical activity that you like and enjoy. Some suggestions include:-
- Go for a run, cycle or a long walk out in nature.
- Make time for any other physical activity you enjoy and can still practice, such as gardening, cleaning or dog walking.
- Put on your favourite music and ‘shake your groove’ – dance, jump or simply move as if no one is watching (the likelihood is that no one is watching!).
- Sing along with your favourite song (or five).
- Take a long shower or a hot bath. Add magnesium salts to your bath for deep relaxation and a fantastic night’s sleep.
