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Emotional First Aid! How To Improve Your Mental Health?

Why do we need Emotional First Aid?

Most of us are aware of what is first aid and use it as soon as required to nurse even the smallest bruise. But when we are hurt emotionally, do we make an effort to treat ourselves or seek emotional first aid? Does it need to be taken care of? Well, yes!   It does.

We may be shattered emotionally for one or more reasons like loss of a dear one, work-related issues, peer pressures, societal concerns, humiliation, rejection, loneliness and depression, etc. If we are physically fit, but emotionally drained it does, in turn, may affect us physically.

Also Read:  Physical and Mental Signs of Depression

Signs that We Need Emotional First Aid

It may also lead to loss of sleep, irritability, impulsiveness, loss of appetite, which in turn is going to affect your overall health and performance. This may become a vicious cycle worsening your ability to even think of coping with the problem. Most of the time you may end up making inappropriate decisions.

Practice Emotional First Aid

Rather than letting yourself pass through such an avoidable mental and subsequent physical harm, you can practice emotional first aid like you may be using home remedies to treat trivial ailments. Emotional first aid is simply a method of helping yourself to cope up emotionally to handle the situation positively instead of getting bogged down by it.

So how do you practice emotional first aid? Since each being has a different personality and temperament, the method would be highly individualistic. However, there are certain general means that may help you at some of the other time.

Read more to Debunk myths on mental health.

Tips to Practice Emotional First Aid

  1. Firstly, be kind to yourself even if you are at fault.
  2. If the problem seems too much to handle, leave it now. Go out, enjoy a movie, play a match of your favorite game possible, read your favorite book. But if you can’t take it out of your mind then talk to someone who you feel would understand your problem. If you do have someone appropriate to talk to pen it down the way you would talk to someone.
  3. Assume the same problem was with your friend and list down the advice you would offer to him or her. Check if you feel you are in a better position to tackle the problem now.
  4. Sometimes you feel everyone is being unfair and you do not deserve certain things that you may have faced on a day or sometimes in life. This unknowingly may lead you to negativity which in some ways may reflect in your behavior. If you have identified it yourself or a well-wisher has pointed it out, give it a thought. It can be related to anything personal or professional. You might be fighting in building confidence in the workplace. If this is the situation, don’t get disheartened, give it a thought and work upon it.
  5. Perform an analysis of a few situations that you have reacted or overreacted. Find out if you could have responded in a better and more positive way. If yes, then you need to check the probable reason for your ill-behavior and treat the cause. If it is something irreparable, learn to adapt to the current situation and convert your negative energies into positive ones, if you presently cannot move out of it. Include meditation to reduce stress and process your mind toward a positive direction.
  6. Spare some time for yourself and join a hobby class or learn a new sport.
  7. Visit a place that will make you happy. Spend time in nature to boost your overall health.
  8. Open an album from olden time for instance school and relive those memories. Sometimes even reading an appropriate quote changes your perception about something and works almost like magic.
  9. If some guilt is bothering you, say sorry and get over it. We need to learn this from children who keep quarreling and again play together, simply by saying sorry, sometimes even without it.
  10. We all know but do not accept the fact that living in denial of a situation is not a long-term solution to the problem. So instead of brooding over it, it is best to accept it and find out how best we can deal with it.
  11. A clear objective will help you to plan, execute and implement your decision. To think clearly you must accept the situation first, remove all the cobwebs of helplessness and fear of failure. Take the problem as a lesson or a challenge and move ahead. Keep your spirits high and make a sincere effort.

Thus, emotional resilience is a must and it needs to be practiced as soon as required to live life to the fullest.

Also Read: Pregnancy Fatigue: Unraveling Causes and Research-Backed Solutions

Disclaimer: The above information has been prepared by a qualified medical professional and may not represent the practices followed universally. The suggestions listed in this article constitute relatively common advice given to patients, and since every patient is different, you are advised to consult your physician, if in doubt, before acting upon this information. Lupin Limited has only facilitated the distribution of this information to you in the interest of patient education and welfare.

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