Do you stretch?

Stretch, bounce or crash?

Regular muscle stretching is a good habit for preventing muscle injury not just in athletes but also for everyone to maintain good mobility. Have you ever marvelled at how children seem to “bounce” when they have a fall? Supple bodies seem to have the capacity to recover much more easily.

Just as we try to take care of our bodies and avoid injury, like not lifting things that are too heavy to manage, can we say the same for how we care for our emotions? Can our emotions be stretched comfortably without over reacting, or do we over stretch them to the point of not being able to “bounce back” as quickly as we would like; perhaps we leave ourselves vulnerable to “crashing” emotionally.

Emotions are valid expressions of ourselves and how we feel about what we are experiencing. Emotions have an effect on our physiology and our behaviour. There are so many different words that can be used to describe our emotions. Plutchik came up with a Wheel of Emotions which may help you identify how you are feeling. (Attach link/picture) Emotions can vary from happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust and surprise. Emoji’s can be a fun tool to use to identify how you are feeling as our facial expressions often mirror our mood.

How do we care for our emotions? Being able to express our emotions is important. Doing this safely and without intending to hurt the feelings of others can be tricky. We can learn how to express ourselves by using a type of formula:

I feel……(angry, confused etc)

when …..(say what happened)

because (say why it made it feel that way)

I would like….. (what you would like to happen or change).

When we express ourselves clearly other people can understand us better and this helps build stronger relationships.

So expressing ourselves clearly is an important way of taking care of our emotions. Other things that can help is:

· to give ourselves time to reflect,

· to slow the pace down rather than rushing,

· to focus on one task rather than multi-tasking,

· to feel the silence or stillness by reducing the noise,

· to find companionship or spend time alone, depending on your needs at the time.

· To find time to relax physically.

For further reading and support on managing your emotions take a look at this self help guide.

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/emotional-intelligence-toolkit.htm

Remember that you can also talk to a Counsellor who can help you express your emotions in a safe and non-judgemental environment. The Emotional Wellbeing Group offers a free confidential space online via text chat to talk about whatever is on your mind. https://emotionalwellbeinggroup.uk/

Diane, MBACP, EWG Counsellor