Emotionally exhausted?
Life is typically a mixture of ups and downs, however, sometimes it can feel like there are more downs than ups leaving us feeling emotionally exhausted.
Those of us who are more inclined to be empathic, caring and want to help others (more than ourselves) can often be more inclined to experience emotional exhaustion.
Some of the signs that could alert you to being emotionally exhausted are:
Feeling physically tired without just cause.
Losing your sense of humour
Feeling short-tempered or easily irritated
Not feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep.
Not finding joy in the things that you used to.
Consistently feeling drained.
Feeling like your emotions don’t belong to you.
Confused about your own emotional state (I should feel great but I don’t)
Easily upset or brought to tears.
Random bouts of emotions welling up.
For some of us, it is more about carrying around the weight of the world, other people’s problems as well as our own that exhausts us. For some of us it is about not being able to ‘shake it off’ therefore we are ever-increasingly carrying around baggage that we should have left behind. It can also be a mixture. It may even be that you just don’t give yourself time to process life’s downs and each event adds to the ‘to do list’.
However emotional exhaustion is created, the key thing is to learn how to let go of anything that isn’t relevant for you to keep and recharge your internal batteries.
As someone who is empathic and a helper, I can, if I don’t manage me appropriately, get emotionally exhausted. Over the years I have learnt many skills to be able to effectively manage my own emotional levels so that I now consistently have a good level most of the time.
Here are some of the things that I have done and many I continue to do on a regular basis. Try them out for yourself, keep the ones that give you the sense of being recharged or ‘bouncing back’ for they will become your regular key strategies to maintaining your emotional state and sense of energy.
Have your first cuppa of the day in quiet, watching whatever is going on outside, whether it be the dawn rising, the clouds, or the birds.
Stand outside or in front of a window that faces the sun, breathe in deeply and exhale completely. Spend at least 5 minutes just doing this.
Have a hot bath or immerse yourself in warmth and imagine all the emotional turmoil or baggage melting away.
Have a cold shower and watch the negative emotions wash away (start with 10 seconds and build up, this is also excellent for anxiety).
Allow yourself 15-20 minutes at the end of the day to process the days events, writing them down if this helps.
Do regular physical exercise of any description, preferably some outside in nature.
Imagine that any negative emotions or exhaustion is like a cloud on a breezy day and allow it float gently away.
Create an imaginary balloon, then blow it up, filling it with those emotions and let it go, then take a deep energizing breath in. Repeat often.
Use my replenishing graph to know what depletes and you and what energises you and plan these things into your day or week.
Apply the Serenity Prayer, only give your energy to those things that you can change.
Noticing the signs of possible emotional exhaustion before it becomes overwhleming is the key to self-mastery. Prioritising yourself sufficiently enough to take action will be the difference between success and exhaustion.
I’d love to know how you get on using the above strategies. Drop a comment below or send me a message.
