Tolerate Your Emotions

Emotions are not logical. Emotions do not control your behavior. For example, your can feel nervous and dreadful about giving a presentation in front of others but continue on and deliver the presentation anyway. Think of it as you are sky and your emotions are the weather. Sometimes it is sunny, cloudy, raining, windy, etc. Emotions change for subconscious and unconscious reasons but they are always changing. Learn to tolerate the painful emotions. If you are emotional, it is not the best time to make a decision. Here are some tips for tolerating upsetting emotions.

-Take deep breathes (calm your body down)

-Remember that this emotion will not last forever (cognitive intervention)

-Think about happy memories (distract to solicit a different emotional state)

-Watch your favorite movie (distract to solicit a different emotional state)

-Go for a walk (calm your body down)

-Recall other times that you have felt like this and recovered (cognitive intervention)

-Call a friend (distract to solicit a different emotional state)

-Honor the emotion. Allow yourself to express the emotion via tears, yelling into a pillow, etc. (calm your body down)

-Journal what you are feeling (calm your body down)