Highly emotional people are those who tend to feel things more intensely than the average person and are particularly responsive to emotional cues.
It is not unusual that they might often feel ashamed and scared of their strong emotions as they don’t know what to do when such emotions suddenly arise, and how to manage them when they don’t seem to ever stop.
But there’s always a way. Here’s how you can thrive as a highly emotional person:
Let yourself feel
As a highly emotional person, your emotions can fluctuate quite easily from one extreme to another. One minute you’re on top of the world, the next you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom. To fit in with the norms, you put a great amount of your energy into suppressing your emotions or lessening the degree to which you feel.
This can work in the short-run but in the long-run, it’s extremely draining and detrimental to your well-being. You can’t deny yourself who you truly are and resist your natural state forever.
Let yourself be. Embrace the emotions no matter how positive or negative. Let them wash over you. If you know your emotions will change anyway, then at least when they’re good, why not indulge yourself till the last minute?
Don’t be guilty of feeling anything too much. “Too much” is relative. “Too much” is being alive. Absorb all the goodness from that “too much” and become stronger.
Give yourself space
When you get emotionally triggered or you realise your emotions are getting overwhelming, it’s important that you give yourself space. It means you immediately physically remove yourself from the provoking situation and let yourself privately deal with the emotions for what they are, without making any judgment and decision.
It’s easy for a highly emotional person to confuse their emotions with their needs and desires, and therefore act hastily on what seemingly feels right in the heat of the moment but is not necessarily right for them in the grand scheme of things. They often regret it immediately after their emotions soften, for emotionally fuelled decisions are made largely to justify the emotional state, which is short-sighted, but not to solve the underlying problem in a well-thought-out manner.
If you know you’re easily emotional and can’t quickly stabilize your emotions, excuse yourself. Tell people you need some time to think first. Don’t respond immediately. Honour the way you feel and let the emotions all out. The intensity will go down after a while and you will be able to see things more clearly.
Focus on rational thoughts
It’s common for a highly emotional person to navigate the world based heavily on their emotions as feeling is their strong suit. However, considering emotional states are not permanent and can cause biases in judgment, it’s advisable that the emotional person learns to focus on their thinking and, if necessary, thinking only.
When you stop using your emotions as the main compass and start relying on rational thoughts consciously regardless of the way you feel, you’re less likely to be overpowered by your changing emotions and will be able to stay relatively calm while making sure your decisions best serve your long-term benefits.
This might not come naturally at first but it could be trained into a habit and therefore requires less and less effort with time.
Keep pushing through
For a highly emotional person, especially one who views their world purely through their emotional lenses, life can feel like a constant battle of ups and downs. When you hit a rough patch and fall into a pit of negativity, it can easily lead you to believe you will never come out of it, which only keeps you there longer.
But this is not true. Since you know your emotions will come and go, you just have to wait it out. You have to trust without question that bad days will pass and good days will arrive soon. You have to fall on your rational thinking and keep on living your life as normal no matter what.
For sure, your intense emotions will easily drag you down and hold you back, but you must not give in. You should experience your emotions to the fullest but not treat them as the only guidance. Keep consciously pushing through based on logical beliefs until you feel awesome again.
Originally published at www.tinglymind.com