What Are You Really Feeling - Taking Care of Yourself When You Feel Out of Sorts
Whether it’s a busy time at work, moving house or being far away from friends or family, there are plenty of things that can cause you to be feeling out of sorts. It’s so important to take care of yourself, especially if you are a bit down, so at Bach headquarters, we have come up with some tips to make sure you’re treating yourself with absolute kindness when you’re full of mixed emotions:
Wheel of emotions
The emotional wheel, or wheel of emotions, invented by American psychologist Dr Robert Plutchik, describes the eight basic emotions. These include anger, anticipation, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise and trust. Of course, we experience far more emotions than just these eight, but it’s a great place to start when you are feeling out of sorts. It can be used to try and pinpoint exactly what you’re feeling so you can decide how to deal with those feelings. It’s also helpful to see how your emotions react with each other. You can find an interactive version of the wheel here. If you are feeling out of sorts you may click on an emotion such as pensiveness, which the wheel suggests might make you feel ‘slow and disconnected’. The wheel can explain a bit more about the emotion and how you can use it for a positive outcome, such as remembering what’s important to you.
Self-care
Self-care has been a real buzzword over the last couple of years. Self-care techniques can help to manage our emotions when we are feeling out of sorts. It doesn’t have to be a week-long retreat; you choose what is self-care for you. Go for walks, cook a wholesome meal, do a face mask; whatever will help you feel better. Now, we know the importance of it, but are we actually doing it? It’s so easy to get consumed by our to do list; especially when so many of us are working from home so much more these days. We recommend adding it to your daily routine just like any other task, at least twice a week. ‘Finish work at 5pm, long bath until 5:30pm’. It will give you something to look forward to at the end of the day!
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is another buzzword we’ve all been hearing over the last few years. Mindfulness simply means paying attention, having an awareness to the present moment: your thoughts, feelings, everything around you. It can help us understand ourselves and our emotions better. It’s a way to connect our mind and body, so we can rebalance our physical and emotional feelings. Try mindfully doing your everyday tasks if you’re interested in giving it a go, like brushing your teeth or making a coffee. Completely focus on the task in front of you and you might find they become relaxation activities. It can take some practice to be good at mindfulness, so don’t worry if you find it difficult to start with.
Reflection
Self-reflection can be a wonderful way to figure out why you’re feeling out of sorts. Taking time to reflect can help us understand ourselves better, how we think, feel and behave. Have you felt this out of sorts before? Was it the same things that triggered it?
Go for walks; they are great time for self-reflection whilst you’re out in the fresh air. Plus, we all know the benefits of exercise for physical and emotional wellbeing. If you go in the morning it can help you prepare yourself for the day ahead, too.
Gratitude
Life hack: practicing gratitude is one of the best ways to balance your emotions and prevent yourself from feeling out of sorts. People who practice gratitude have reported benefits such as more positivity, sleeping better and an ability to express more compassion and kindness. The best part? It’s so simple to put into your daily routine. There are lots of beautiful gratitude journals available to buy online which are also a lovely way to self-reflect. You just need to write down 1-3 things you’re grateful for each day. That’s it!
Be honest
Be honest with yourself. Have you been leaving enough time to give yourself the care you need? Have you been working too hard? Being true to yourself is a sure-fire way to feel more positive and avoid feeling out of sorts. Honesty is always the best policy!
Express yourself
Bottling up your emotions won’t make them go away. Whether it’s positive energy, anger or sadness, expressing yourself is so important for emotional balance. Go back to your basic emotions, use the emotion wheel: what exactly are you feeling? Then, you can find a way to express it. Talk to someone you trust, scream into a pillow, go for a run; there are lots of ways to express yourself. Let the feelings out and you can step towards feeling less out of sorts.
Positive mindset
Having a positive mindset doesn’t just mean being generally cheerful. It’s a whole perspective on life all connected to the power of positive thinking. It involves approaching everything in life with a positive attitude, even making the most of bad situations. Of course, we wouldn’t expect you to have constant positive energy; that would be very difficult to do. Think of some hobbies to take up to help cultivate a positive attitude. Meditating can help you clear your mind ready to start again with a positive mindset and prevent emotional decision making that you might face whilst feeling out of sorts. There are so many other benefits of meditation too, such as reducing stress, improving sleep and increasing focus.
Stay connected
Talking to others can help you overcome fear and emotional imbalance. We all know that being connected to each other is so important for our wellbeing. Ensure you’re making time to talk, virtually if you can’t physically meet anyone. Friendship and laughter are great ways to shift you out of feeling out of sorts.
