TEN STEPS TO YOUR EMOTIONAL SELF CARE

Self-care is an essential part of our being that encourages us to become our most content and grounded selves. It comes in multiple different forms and various steps of self-care may affect each individual in a different manner. Something that is beneficial to one person may have a negative impact on the other. This means that it is extremely important to find the appropriate ways for self-care that are helpful for you.

One of the most vital facets of your self-care is Emotional Self-care. In simple words, emotional self-care means identifying your emotions, understanding that your feelings are valid, and honoring them and yourself in a satisfactory manner. A lack of proper emotional self-care may lead to a feeling of frustration, anxiety, and burn-out.

Following are some ways to address your emotional needs and providing yourself with adequate emotional care: 

1. Be more expressive about your emotions. Do not bottle them up inside yourself for long, in case you end up exploding like a pressure cooker.   

2. Develop a sense of self-interest. It is a subtle key to take care of yourself first before sharing the burdens of others. How can a twig handle a melon’s weight until it nourishes its strength enough to do so? 

3. Build boundaries for yourself and limits for others.  Start avoiding people who do not respect your boundaries. Learn to say “NO!”. In the words of Anna Taylor, “Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You get to choose how to use them. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept”.

4. Ask for help when you require it. Being self-sufficient is good but trying to do everything on your own might become overwhelming. Even an enormous and efficient animal - the elephant - needs help to wash its own feet!

5. Give yourself some grace. Making mistakes is human nature and most times things don’t go as planned. Don’t pressurize yourself. Learn from your mistakes and move on. Wayne Dyer said, “It makes no sense to worry about things you have no control over because there’s nothing you can do about them, and why worry about things you do control? The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized.”

6. Be more appreciative of yourself. Compliment yourself on all the huge achievements and small tasks that you accomplish, even when no one else does. As BTS’s Kim Seokjin sang, “I’m the one I should love, In this world // Shining me, the precious soul of mine // Not so perfect, but so beautiful” – Epiphany

7. Gratitude is a virtue. Try to be more grateful for all the things that you have in life rather than lamenting the things that you don’t. Everyone is blessed in one way or another. Gratitude is a way through which we can give back to Nature for what it has bestowed upon us.

8. Form a balance between giving and receiving. Never receive more than you can give nor give more than you receive. What you have inside you is what you can reciprocate. 

9. Forgiveness is healing. Forgiving others destroys that negative energy that you hold within yourself. Try to forgive yourself for the mistakes you made and the bad things that you did. The fact that you realize your mistakes is enough. And when it comes to forgiving others, do what makes your heart feel at peace. 

10. Learn to embrace your true self. Don’t negate yourself in order to seek validation from others. Create a life that reflects who you are, flaws and all, and live that life authentically.

Taking these baby steps little by little, in the long run, will result in such emotional freedom for you as you have never experienced before. You will find your head clear of intrusive thoughts and confusions. Caring for your emotional self will help you take up every opportunity and fight every obstacle in life with new-found confidence and self-esteem. Always remember that if you have the ability to care, care for yourself first. If you have the ability to love, love yourself first. If you have the ability to forgive, forgive yourself first. Put yourself first. Every time. That’s the first rule to emotional peace. And when you gain that peace, start giving out to others.