Sometimes, we can be so hurt emotionally that we struggle to function in our daily lives. This is when our emotional wellness has been compromised and it effects every area of our lives, including in our mind, body, and spirit.
How you can you improve your emotional wellness and restore your emotional health?
This is Part One in a series about Emotional Healing.
- Part one focuses on 5 steps creating your own emotional wellness and healing in mind, body, and spirit.
- Part two focuses on emotional wellness through Guided Imagery, Aroma Freedom Technique, and Emotional Freedom Technique.
Emotional Healing in the Mind, Body, and Spirit
What does emotional healing have to do with the mind, body, and spirit? We cannot separate who we are, meaning I cannot separate my mind from my body nor my heart from mind. I’m connected to all of me. When I am sad, my sadness effects my body and my mind for example.
So, to find healing in one part, it helps to include other parts of my personhood: my mind, body, and spirit.
My journey continues to include healing in my mind, my body, and my spirit. Relationships are a part of all of our lives, they connect us to each other and they also connect us to ourselves.
Many times, this is where the pain comes from emotionally, when we are hurt in relationships.
How can you heal emotionally and restore your emotional wellness?
What is Emotional Wellness?
The Mental Health Foundation defines emotional health as a positive state of wellbeing which enables an individual to be able to function in society and meet the demands of everyday life.
How do you maintain emotional wellness?
What is Emotional Healing?
My emotional wellness is declining and low when I am not functioning very well in my daily life. This can include when I am not handling relationships well, having multiple miscommunications in one day, and struggling with my emotions.
For me, emotional struggles looks like wanting to cry all the time or at least 3 times in one day, getting quickly angry and/or irritated and may not know the reason why.
How do you get emotional healing?
I was asked to speak at a Healing Strong support group meeting and I want to share a few steps that I use for my own emotional healing. The support group’s general focus was helping people heal from chronic physical pain in natural ways, and at this particular meeting, the focus was emotional healing and de-stressing.
Create Your Own Emotional Wellness
Restoring and building emotional wellness includes 5 vital steps.
5 Steps to Create Your Own Emotional Healing
in Mind, Body and Spirit
1. Practicing Self-Compassion (emotional)
Kirstin Neff has free self-compassion exercises on her website and a really good book on how to love yourself. Before we can find whole healing, we have to be willing to love our whole self.
For me, this takes practice and the more I practice compassion for myself. The better I am at forgiving myself for mistakes and weaknesses and better able to find whole healing.
The more I practice self care and being kind to myself, the more I practice self-compassion. Self care and self-compassion help bring emotional healing.
You can also improve your emotional healing by saying positive and calming affirmations to yourself. Print them out and put them where you’ll see them everyday.
Positive & Encouraging Affirmations
I’ve seen positive affirmations and inspiring quotes on people’s bathroom mirrors, kitchen fridges, front doors, and in planners and bullet journals.
Check out my Pinterest Board: Positive & Encouraging Quotes
Self-compassion may look like taking time to watch a beautiful sunset, good self care, and being kind to yourself.
2. Moving my Body (physical)
A person’s emotions and body are connected to their mind, heart, and spirit. To find emotional healing and physical healing, it’s important to integrate the whole person, including the body.
Moving the body helps reboot the nervous system by sending signals to the brain and regulating the nervous system. The more regulated the nervous system and body, the more regulated the emotions and the spirit.
When I take an evening walk, the tension in my body is released. Walking and stretching, like yoga, give my time to release my energy, and reflect upon the thoughts and emotions inside.
The more I move my body on a daily basis, the better able I am able to be in the present moment. Movement helps me not get stuck thinking about the past or stuck worried about the future. Movement helps bring emotional healing.
Read more about calming the body:
- grounding
- body scan
- deep breathing
3. Being Real & Honest (mental)
The more I am real and honest with myself about who I am as a person, the more real and honest I can be with people around me. This is being authentic and authenticity helps with emotional healing.
Being authentic brings me freedom and relief from trying to be perfect. Being authentic helps me from trying to please other people, and from be fake to meet other’s expectations.
Now I’m not saying that sometimes I’m always real and honest, sometimes I slip. I love when things turn out perfect, or seem to be close to perfect. And I like it when other people are happy with me, so pleasing others can also be hard to balance with being true to my own self.
4. Connecting to God, Love, Hope (spiritual)
The times in my life when I feel the driest in my soul are the times I feel the farthest away from God and love. Those hopeless times were dark seasons in my life, as well as birthing times of deep joy and contentment.
From connecting with God during dark seasons, there begins a glimmer of hope that pervades my soul. I am filled with a light, a hope, a glimpse into what can be and what is. And I am filled with such peace that flows throughout my whole life.
This hope and peace stay with me during hard times and joyous occasions, sometimes in small doses and sometimes in waves carrying me. Hope, love, peace bring you closer to emotional healing.
I find God in my time in nature, grounding myself in meditations, guided imagery of healing, listening to a friend, watching babies and children play, and being with my loved ones.
5. Building a support of trusted friends (relational)
Oh how do I explain the deep need for support that we all have for needing our own tribe, our own people, our own circle of trusted friends. Emotional healing usually entails reconnecting with loved ones, trusted friends, and relational support.
If you do not have anyone you consider a trusted friend, maybe this would be a good place to start investing your energy and time.
Good trusted friends are there for you when you need them, and you want to be there for them as well. They are not perfect, they’ll make mistakes, and that’s when you learn how to forgive each other and love each other.
That’s what living on this earth is all about, building relationships and making meaningful connections. We need each other to thrive and live a full life, building a support system of trusted friends sure does make living more fun and joyous.
Series on Emotional Healing
This is Part One in a series about Emotional Healing.
- Part One focuses on creating your own emotional wellness and healing in mind, body, and spirit.
- Part Two focuses on finding wellness through Guided Imagery, Aroma Freedom Technique, and Emotional Freedom Technique.
Read more about calming emotions in 4 Ways of Calming Anxiety: 12 steps to calm mind, body, and spirit:
- Name It Tame It
- Basic Emotions
Whole Healing in Mind, Body, and Spirit
Whether you’ve experienced stress or trauma, chronic illness or a one-time illness, we all need healing. Healing the mind, body, and spirit brings emotional healing to stressful experiences, traumatic memories, physical illness, and mental illnesses.
I hope you begin to find emotional healing in your whole person with the 5 steps helping you create your own emotional healing and wellness.
I’d love to hear from you, please leave me a comment, or join me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. . What helps you heal your emotional stress?
Blessings,
Beth
Disclaimer: This information is not meant to take the place of counseling or therapy. This article has resources about restoring wellness, and is based on my journey and my experiences. If at any time you feel uncomfortable or need to talk to someone, wellness resources can help you find a counselor and other resources that might be helpful.