Contagious Emotions: 4 Ways to Help Manage Moods
Imagine this: You are on your way home and your mind is being occupied with thoughts about your day at work. Thoughts of mistakes, worries, and irritations well up within you. These thoughts can feel like anchors weighing you down. You get home, exhausted from today’s work, and are greeted by loved ones. Even though you are home you can’t shake the negative feelings. The people around you notice and give you space, leading to a strained atmosphere flowing in the moment. It is possible that the feelings from work have now traveled to your home.
The people around you can feel the state you are in. Whether you are with your partner, your family, among close friends, or any other social interactions, you can unconsciously give off subtle emotions that can set the mood. By creating these moods you can affect peoples’ behaviors. They might think, “He looks upset right now so I should stay away from him” or “She was pretty snappy right now, what did I do?”
Like a cold, the emotions you carry can spread to other people.
Let’s get one thing straight, it’s okay to not feel okay. You have this wide range of emotions that have kept you alive and made you who you are today. You can spread positive emotions as you elevate the mood around you. Consequently, just as we can spread the good vibes, we can also unconsciously spread adverse temperaments as well. If you notice you are feeling less okay, that you are finding yourself down in the dumps or even having unnerving emotional discomfort,then maybe it is time to take a step back to refocus on what’s currently going on with you. During these times of many unknowns, especially during Covid-19, it is a good reminder to slow yourself down.
Here are 4 things you can start doing to help manage your mood:
Give Yourself Time To Breathe
Life can get hectic - sometimes to the point where we can barely keep up with what’s going on within our own lives. Take a brief moment of the day to collect yourself. Whether that’s taking five minutes to sit somewhere comfortable, be still in nature, or just taking a few deep breaths creating small habits to relax can go a long way in managing your emotions.
2. Practice Self Check-ins
In taking a moment out of your day to relax a step further. Give yourself time to recount what happened during the day. In a form of mindfulness: explore the range of emotions you encountered. We can get lost in our head with all the different experiences that went on. To help in sorting the chaos, consider writing things down in a journal as a start. It doesn’t have to be a long diary entry for each day. It is only what you want to put on the page. The key thing to remember is to practice recounting your feelings and perspectives that day. Keep in mind you are self-reflecting, practicing to have a better understanding of how you feel and brainstorm ways to manage them.
3. Identify Needs
With the rush of a scheduled week, we can easily neglect ourselves of basic necessities. If you lack sleep that can certainly result in messing with your mood throughout the day as you are tired. Forgoing eating when you are hungry can make you irritable. Not making time for pleasurable activities can drain you emotionally leading to burnout. Identifying what is lacking can help you set up steps in meeting those needs. By fulfilling your needs it can help regulate your mood.
4. Talk With Others
Keeping in social contact with others can help you understand and regulate your own emotions. It’s surprising how validating it can be when you talk to people you trust. Examples of this can be; talking to coworkers about how stressful life is, sharing your day with family members, and confiding in your partner. At times it can feel as though you are alone in this shaky world. Talking with others can help with these rough feelings and you will find that others may be going through the same things you are.
You are a human being with different needs and emotions. Sometimes we forget that we are able to take a step back and reflect on what’s going. We will have those hard days where the weight of responsibilities is on our shoulders. That weight we carry can be projected from our mood to others around us. Before entering that door to your home, take that deep breathe and give yourself time to collect yourself. If you need fifteen minutes to cool down, give yourself that precious time to decompress.
Remember, you are able to manage how you respond to your emotions. You are capable of stopping the spread of negative emotions. You are worthy of taking the time to build on yourself as much as anyone else.
Mindfulness: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/mindfulness
Journaling: The Power of Journaling
Roubicek & Thacker Counseling is Fresno’s premier provider of individual, couples, family, and group therapy. We offer in-person and online remote therapy sessions. Contact us today to change the way you feel.