Sometimes we feel extra emotional or hypersensitive without any explanation.
Why you have all these emotions.
Humans have emotions for a reason.
Emotions are important, normal signals that help us identify internal or external needs.
Being emotional can be healthy.
What can push emotions into unhealthy territory is a lack of understanding about how to cope with them.
In other words, having a lot of emotions is healthy and normal.
Lacking healthy ways to cope with your emotions is what can get you into trouble.
Why you might be feeling emotional:
1.
Research has shownsleep deprivation can affect emotional processing1.
That means what you eat affects how you feel, which canaffect your overall well-being4.
For example, a high-qualitymediterranean diet has been associated with emotional wellness5, especially for women.
What can you change?
For starters, here are somesuperfoods for better moodandfoods that help with anxiety.
Grief and trauma
When a tragic event happens in your life, your emotional well-being can suffer.
Both of these responses are normal.
Depression and other mental health conditions
Conditions likedepression and anxiety are linked with difficulty regulating emotions12.
Other conditions like ADHD and personality disorders can also affect mood and emotional processing.
If you’re concerned, you might benefit from speaking with a trained mental health professional.
People raised as boys and men, especially, are discouraged from engaging with their emotions.
Some people areby nature more sensitivethan others.
These people are sometimes referred to ashighly sensitive people(HSPs).
As much as20% of the populationmay be HSPs, according to some research.
Healthy ways to process your emotions.
Sometimes it can feel like your emotions are getting the best of you.
“This is when emotions can feel difficult to work through,” Carpenter says.
“But with practice, we can feel less overwhelmed.”
Processing your emotions in a healthy way is all about paying attention.
:
Accept your emotions.
Ignoring your emotionscan lead to an explosion later on.
Instead, have a go at identify your emotions by noticing where they live in your physical body.
You might feel an emotion as a stomachache or jaw tension.
Name your emotions.
You are not your emotion.
Hendel also notes there are two categories of emotions to watch for: core emotions and inhibitory emotions.
Core emotions tell us about our environments.
“Core emotions are brilliant,” she says.
“Their innate programming tells us important information to help us thrive.”
Inhibitory emotions, on the other hand, are emotions that often prevent you from experiencing those core emotions.
These include shame, anxiety, and guilt.
Recognize the impermanence of your emotion.
You won’t feel this way forever.
Emotions are fleeting, like waves passing through your body.
Investigate the origin.
Take a moment to think about what has happened to cause that negative emotion.
Ask yourself:Why do I feel this way?
Let go of control.
Emotions may be out of your control, but how you respond to themiswithin your control.
Meditate with a mantra.
Consider meditating with a phrase in your mind.
This can help you control your anxiety, check in with yourself, and increase happiness.
Dowling suggests using the phrase, “Breathe in peace, love, forgiveness.
Breathe out anything that no longer serves me.”
When to seek help.
Sometimes emotions can be tough to handle alone.
If you feel deeply distressed or out of control, seek help from a qualified therapist.
