Do you pay attention to your physical health but ignore your emotional health?
We’re quick to see a doctor for a nagging pain or some simple flu-like symptoms, but even though we suffer more psychological injuries, we skillfully ignore our emotional pains. We dress warmly when we feel cold, we apply antibacterial ointments and bandages to cuts and scrapes, and at the first sign of the dreaded chest pain we’re in the ER in record time……. happened to me recently. But we “tough it out” for injuries like failures, rejection, guilt, loss, and loneliness. We need to be more diligent about our emotional health and apply the same care we do to our physical health.
Left untreated, emotional pain can get worse and impact our lives in dramatic ways. Loneliness creates deep psychological wounds that can scramble our thinking and distort our perception, however, there are proven techniques available to treat these injuries. The first step is to become aware that our psychological injuries are as important as our physical injuries.
Don’t get crushed by failure. We lose focus and motivation when we feel that there’s little we can do to succeed. We all have a set of default feeling and beliefs that are triggered whenever we suffer setbacks or feel frustrated. Get to know your default settings and don’t let them stop you from trying.
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” ― Mary Anne Radmacher
Nurture your self-esteem. Our self-esteem fluctuates. We’ll feel better about ourselves some days than we do others. Low self-esteem makes you more vulnerable to stress and anxiety. Failures and rejections will hurt more and your recovery will take longer. Instead of being overly self-critical when you feel bad and kick yourself when you’re already down, find ways to nurture your self-esteem back to good health.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Loneliness will mislead you. Loneliness a complex and unique experience to each individual and is much more common than we realize. It makes us believe that those around us care much less than they actually do. It makes you afraid to reach out. It will negatively affect your physical health and sabotage opportunities to make new social connections or deepen existing ones. Even if you’re always surrounded by people, you’ll feel emotionally and socially disconnected from them. Practice self-compassion and gratefulness. Become more accepting of your emotions and find ways to give back.
“The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for.” – Mother Teresa
It’s time to close the gap between your physical health and your psychological health. We need to find our emotional “first aid kit” and nurse ourselves back to emotional health. Take action when you’re lonely, change your responses to failure, protect your self-esteem, battle negative thinking, and heal your emotional wounds. You’ll build emotional resilience and you’ll thrive.
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To Your Success,
Althea
Althea A. McLeish Wilson, RN, MSN
Promoting inner health & outer beauty!
Helping you thrive, not just survive!!
PS. Inner Health & Outer Beauty Store: Health & Wellness with Althea♦
PPS. Did You Find This Helpful? If so, please feel free to share!! Leave a comment or contact me at althea@altheamcleish.com.
Reference:
The 7 Habits of Highly Emotionally Healthy People – Psychology Today♦
