Emotional suffering is real and is born as a consequence of living some situation or experience that causes pain, anguish or despair. It manifests itself in different ways and can even become a pathological condition if not handled properly. Suffering is a very unpleasant emotional reaction and just as painful as a physical ailment, with the simple difference that the wounds cannot be seen.
We cannot avoid suffering, since it is one of the most common experiences in life, but we can overcome it through understanding and action. Learning to get out of emotional suffering is a path that requires a series of steps. If you want to know how to get out of emotional suffering, in this Psychology-Online article, we will give you the keys to overcome it, in such a way that, with self-control and the right orientation, you can recover your balance and feel much better.
Index
- accept the pain
- Don't suppress your feelings
- Avoid the thoughts that lead you to suffering
- Practice mindfulness
- Take care and pamper yourself
- learn to love your pain
- find a hobby
- Lean on your loved ones
- Don't torture yourself and stop telling the story
- seek professional help
Accept the pain.
The first step out of emotional distress is to accept the fact that you cannot change what has already happened. The only thing you can do is try to adapt to your new situation to seek any benefit it can offer you. At first it can be very complicated, especially due to the fact of changing your mental schemes. However, with acceptance also comes calm and comfort. Live the process and accept what you cannot change.
Don't suppress your feelings.
Allow yourself to feel, live your pain or your mourning and do not repress your emotions. Emotional pain is different for each person, so it is likely that you will experience tightness in the chest, in the stomach, a lump in the throat and it may be difficult for you to breathe. Let your body drain those sensations to purify your body.
If you focus on a fight or flight response to emotional pain, what you will get is that your body will tense up and you may even experience a state of panic that is not beneficial at all. Therefore, it is advisable to find a quiet place to cry, scream or whatever you need. Likewise, think that emotions only affect you as far as you allow them to, so take a deep breath and be grateful for life and the new opportunities you will have from now on.
Avoid the thoughts that lead you to suffering.
Perhaps this is the most complicated strategy to apply to get out of emotional suffering, but it is the most effective and the one that will give you the results that will last in the long term. Keep in mind that the negative thoughts that trigger emotional distress are the ones that feed your state of negativity.
Remember that 95% of the time these are thoughts about generalizations or hypotheses that are almost never true. For example, ideas like I will never be happy again are valid thoughts, but they do not have any evidence that they will be so. Therefore, they are hypothetical scenarios that you do not know if they will happen, consequently, you should not give them the power to direct your life.
Practice mindfulness.
Another key to get out of emotional suffering is to practice attention and concentration techniques such as mindfulness, which helps you to be present in "the here and now" and let go of the past and the anguish of the future.
Different studies on the human mind, such as the one carried out by the American psychologist Steven Sultanoff, affirm that there is a correlation between cultivating mindfulness and achieving a good emotional state. Also, this will help you to recognize the thoughts that hurt you so that you can accept them, learn from them and let them go.
Take care and pamper yourself.
In the face of pain and suffering, many times we forget to take care of our physical, mental and spiritual health. Taking care of yourself and giving you love is a technique that will help you gain confidence and self-control What do you need to deal with your problems?
Accept your weaknesses and give yourself time to heal your inner wounds without questioning or holding back. It is good that you take some time to go out and distract yourself, take a walk in the fresh air or perhaps watch your favorite movie. This way you will clear your mind a little to recover your spirits and emotional strength little by little.
Learn to love your pain.
Learning to love pain serves to get out of emotional suffering because it helps to recognize what hurts you and what will give you more strength to move forward. Suffering is part of life and you cannot ignore it. Therefore, the best weapon you have to fight against it is to learn to love your pain, thank it for the learning it left you and say goodbye to continue moving forward in life.
Find a hobby.
Do you want another key to get out of emotional suffering? Think of something you've wanted to do but never dared to start. For example, take painting classes, take music classes, or just start a collection of magazine clippings to occupy your time. When you have a hobby that entertains you, your mind naturally relaxes and walks away from negative thoughts. Also, it is possible that with this you discover a new interest or one of your hidden passions.
Lean on your loved ones.
Many people may not understand what you are going through. However, there is always someone willing to help you, listen to you and give you a hand to get out of your state. Emotional suffering is a good way to identify those who really value you and they accept you as you are.
Of course, it is not about overloading others with an endless dialogue about your problems. Instead, strike up a different conversation that will snap you out of your emotional state and help you calm down.
Don't torture yourself and stop telling the story.
If you want to get out of your emotional suffering, ask yourself what you can do from now on. Do not be ashamed or blame yourself for what happened, if there is nothing you can change, the best thing to do is accept everything and process your feelings.
You need to tell a friend or loved one about what happened to you, but don't focus on repeating it over and over again. Express your emotions in a timely manner and let go of the feeling as soon as you can.
Seek professional help.
If you have a lot of difficulty overcoming emotional suffering, seek help from someone. specialist in psychology or with a therapist that guides you assertively. The experts are the most suitable to help you, since they will give you the correct strategies according to your case and they will tell you which path you should follow to achieve your own well-being again. If you have doubts, in this article, we tell you how to know when to go to the psychologist.
Remember that, despite the suffering, there are many things to give thanks for each day, take refuge in that and in the fact that each day is full of new opportunities.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to get out of emotional suffering, we recommend that you enter our category of Personal growth and self-help.
Bibliography
- Steven Sultanoff. (2022). Practice mindfulness. Available in: https://gsep.pepperdine.edu/about/our-people/faculty/steven-sultanoff/
- Ventura Elias, C. d (2013). Suffering: concept analysis. Approach. Scientific Journal of Nursing., 14(9), 24-34. http://up-rid.up.ac.pa/458/
