“You, got me feeling Emotions – higher than I ever dreamed of!”
I am a HUGE Mariah Carey fan. I’ve said it out loud now, there’s no turning back. I admire her in ways that so many people struggle to understand. She writes ALL of her lyrics. She uses her own experiences to pen down those songs and her voice is incredible.
What I find most interesting is the sheer emotion that she expresses through song. I’m not her therapist but it sure does look as though the writing process is cathartic in helping her to cope because she’s always on, in the spotlight and busy being a mum in all this too. [Round of applause].
So how are you managing your emotions? Women of course have it pretty tough as we PMS monthly. Learning to manage our emotions can really help with our mental wellbeing and allows us to see the whole picture, not just the emotion-driven ones.
I must make it clear, I am talking about real emotions. Not the poorly used word that media and (some) men tend to talk about. We all have emotions from fear, love, rage to frustrated, grieving, proud. There are so many. Sometimes we use words to describe our emotions but they may not be the right emotions to use. Emotions live on a kind of spectrum so identifying and understanding which emotions you regularly show is a key factor in determining if anything needs a tweak or two.
Have a go at asking yourself these questions, see what comes up for you. There may be need to adjust your thinking regarding certain emotions or you may want to find new ways of expressing yourself. Knowing your emotions and how to manage your emotions for mental well-being, will ultimately lead to a healthy mind and healthy outlook on life.
- Do you express your feelings and emotions freely (rather than becoming depressed and repressed)?
- Do you feel able to cry with friends and in public?
- Are you able to tell those close to you how you are feeling?
- Are you free from emotions that stop you from thinking clearly or working effectively?
- Are you able to communicate difficult or confrontational feelings to others rather than hiding your feelings to avoid conflict?
An excellent book I recommend to clients that can help with identifying and managing emotions is The Chimp Paradox by Professor Steve Peters. It’s an easy and fun read with some exercises you can do too. Eventually you will understand when it’s you that’s in control of your Chimp and I find it a fun way of working on something more difficult.
Working on your emotions should hopefully lead to taking control of your reactions and feelings and expressing them well so that you can feel like this line in that Mariah song:
“I feel good, I feel nice. I’ve never felt so, satisfied. I’m in love, I’m alive, intoxicated, flying high.”
If you liked this post, then sign up to Coach &GO for weekly coaching tips, insights, news, offers and ask me anything days – here’s the link.