How to Take Care of Yourself Emotionally and Avoid Falling Apart

When we’re feeling overwhelmed, people tell us to take care of ourselves. But what does this even mean? How do you take care of yourself emotionally?

People may tell you to take care of yourself emotionally. In reality, most of us don’t take care of ourselves because we don’t even know what that means. For most of us, taking care of ourselves emotionally is basically a foreign concept especially nowadays with work, children, shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc. When are you supposed to take care of yourself?

But here’s the thing, in order for you to do all these things contentedly, you must take care of yourself. [Read: How to master positive self talk and banish negativity]

How to take care of yourself emotionally

If you’re not taking care of yourself, you probably experience anxiety and/or depression. This is because you’ve lost the connection with yourself and what matters. Yes, you’re busy running around and checking tasks off of your list. However, you’re not spending time on building connections and self-love. I know, it sounds like a lot, but it’s not.

The thing is, it’s always easier to take care of others than it is to take care of yourself. Sad, isn’t it? So, it’s time to go back to yourself. At the end of the day, you only have yourself. So learn how to take care of yourself emotionally. You deserve it.

#1 Emotions are the key. If you want to feel happiness, which, by the way, you’re not going to feel every day, you’re going to have to focus on your emotions. Makes sense since you want to take care of yourself emotionally.

If you want truly take care of yourself and your emotional state, well, your emotions are what you’re going to have to focus on. I know you’re thinking okay, great, doesn’t sound too hard, but it’s definitely not easy. [Read: Get on the path to self-love and discover happiness]

#2 You will never fill the void. Well, not by shopping, that’s for sure. People tend to avoid taking care of themselves because it means you need to address personal issues that you’ve been avoiding. In order to take care of yourself, you need to accept the fact that you won’t be able to fill the void with materialistic goods or by spending your time on others. The only way to fill the void is to process your emotions and ask yourself why you have it. [Read: How to improve yourself – 16 powerful secrets to self-improvement] 

#3 Understand your emotions. This is where you’re going to need to be honest with yourself and really examine your emotions: all of them. Look at your emotions, your reactions, and why you emotionally act the way you do. Because at the end of the days, there’s a reason why you react emotionally.

What do you feel? How do you express emotional dissatisfaction and are they genuine? By knowing your emotions, you’ll be able to find the real root of why you behave the way you do.

#4 Write your emotions down. Whenever you’re feeling upset, angry, uncomfortable, etc, write about the situation and the emotion. In addition, write why you’re feeling like this. By writing these things down, you’ll have a better understanding of how you respond to situations and if the response is appropriate or not.

#5 You need to nurture yourself. Your heart needs to be loved and the best person to nurture it is yourself. When you’re feeling upset or uncomfortable, you need to give yourself the attention needed rather than pushing or suppressing your feelings. They need your attention by creating a loving relationship with yourself. Don’t ignore your feelings. [Read: Feeling unlovable? 12 life changing truths you need to know]

#6 Ask yourself what you need. Your friends and family aren’t the only ones with needs. You have emotional needs as well. Just because you have needs doesn’t make you needy, we all have needs. That’s the reason why people refrain from focusing on their own needs, they don’t want to look clingy and needy. That’s messed up. How can you expect to take care of others when you can’t take care of yourself? So, you need to ask yourself what you need in your life.

#7 Build healthy boundaries. No one likes the sound of boundaries, but, we all need boundaries in our lives. But you don’t have to think of it as a wall around you, instead, it’s a healthy space. Whether it’s a physical, emotional, or mental space, that’s up to you. By placing these boundaries around you, you’re able to put yourself as a priority instead of others.

#8 Have the right support around you. You’re not going to be able to do this on your own. If you want to take care of yourself emotionally, this means getting rid of all the toxic people in your life. Now, you certainly don’t need to completely cut them out, but you do need to place boundaries between you and them. And instead, bring positive and encouraging people closer to you that don’t have a private agenda. [Read: 13 traits of toxic people that can hurt and emotionally damage you]

#9 Practice self-care daily. I know that life can become busy and that’s what is preventing you from taking care of yourself. But you need to leave at least 10 to 30 minutes to yourself every day. These 10-30 minutes can be used to meditate, take a bath, write in your journal, or go for a walk. You need this time to reconnect with yourself and go through your emotions and thoughts.

#10 Have your own coping skills with you. Life is unpredictable, and it’s going to throw you curveballs. So, you need to have your own coping skills in the back of your pocket. These are essential strategies that you have which are effective in helping you go through personal challenges and help you improve your emotional well-being. [Read: Learn how to detach yourself a little for a better life]

#11 It’s a process. Giving yourself self-care one day and thinking that’ll be enough isn’t going to cut it. You and I both know that. This is a long-term process that you’re going to have to practice on a daily basis. Of course, you may skip a day here and there, but if you really want to take care of yourself, you’re going to have to be disciplined.

We tend to forget about ourselves, but it’s time to put yourself first. Use these steps to take care of yourself emotionally.