7 Tips To Improve Emotional Wellness

When you hear the words “emotional wellness,” what do you think of?

We all define emotional wellness a little differently, but for the most part, we can all agree that people who with emotional wellness are happy, content, optimistic, and grounded. These people don’t feel the need to turn to food, alcohol, drugs, or relationships to fill a void in their lives, because they have found the joy of self-fulfillment. 

Sounds rather idyllic, doesn’t it? The good news is that you can achieve this awesome state of emotional wellness. We call can. We just simply have to be willing to work for it.

In my years as a mental health counselor in Michigan, I have identified several effective ways to boost emotional wellness. In honor of Emotional Wellness Month, I want to take the opportunity to share them with you this week. I hope you find them helpful!

7 Tips To Improve Emotional Wellness

1. Don’t Let Yourself Stew Over Negative Thoughts
Dwelling on the negative aspects of your life is guaranteed to bring you down. If you catch yourself spinning on a particular negative thought, make a concentrated effort to focus on something positive. You’ll be amazed what a difference it makes.

2. Pay Attention To Your Physical Health
If we are happy with ourselves physically, we tend to have a much more positive self-image overall. Not only that, but exercising releases endorphins (which are hormones that make you happy). Make it a point to spend some time running, walking, or jogging in the coming weeks.

3. Set Realistic Expectations For Yourself (And Others)
Constant disappointment is a fast track to poor emotional health. You can help prevent disappointment by setting realistic (or even low) expectations for yourself and those around you. This way, you can enjoy the constant success of meeting and/or succeeding your expectations.

4. Do Things You Enjoy
When are you happiest? If you’re like most people, the answer to that question is “when you’re doing something you enjoy.” A great way to improve your emotional wellness, then, is to spend time doing activities or being with people who make you happy. It’s that simple!

5. Set Measurable Goals For Yourself
“I’m going to get fit” isn’t a bad goal, but when how do you know when you’ve achieved your standards of “fit”? You could always be “more fit,” so how do you know when you’ve met your goal? I recommend setting yourself up for success by setting quantitative, measurable goals.

6. Find The Silver Lining
We’ve all heard the saying “every cloud has a silver lining”, but how many of us live the saying? Try taking every situation and searching for the positive aspect. Even if it’s subtle, focusing on the parts we can be grateful for will work wonders for our emotional health.

7. Surround Yourself With Uplifting People
As much as we might try to convince ourselves otherwise, we are very easily influenced by the people around us. One of the best ways to improve your emotional wellness, then, is to surround yourself with positive, uplifting people. There’s no reason you should let negative people drag you down!