Emotional Care

Season 6 of the Cultivation Podcast is dedicated to self-care. This episode dives into the sticky subject of emotions. Keeping emotions pent up is a terrible idea because it means they will explode. So, you need to process what we're dealing with in order to avoid a hurricane of emotions.   Emotional care is about allowing yourself to experience your full range of emotions, embrace that, and process it maturely.   My household uses the phrase "Stop, challenge and choose". I do that to identify why I am experiencing that emotion.    Below are some ways you can promote emotional care in your life:   Experience — None of us are immune to emotions, so the key is to conquer those emotions by experiencing them. But that doesn't mean letting them control you. Part of that includes having a group you can vent to in a healthy, honest, and clear way.  Identify Emotions — Assign an emotion to a task, adventure, or workload. If you aren't intentional, you're allowing yourself to be controlled by your emotions. For example: Avoid building stress at work by celebrating successes.  Have an Outlet — Find something you can enjoy, use music to put you in a positive headspace, or find a quiet place to pause and gain control over your emotions.  Have an Accountability Partner — You need someone who will call you on your junk. When you're blinded by your emotions, it's important to have that person who will check you. Or when you hit a high stress point, communicate that to select people and give them the ability to call you on it. Let It Go — If you're dealing with bitterness or anger towards someone, it will cause your emotions to rule you. Part of emotional self care is to let some things go so that your emotions toward a person/situation/past experience won't hold you captive to your emotions.