Emotional Ups And Downs: 7 Tips On What To Do To Manage Them
Know how to manage emotional ups and downs It is one of the key skills that we must work on, regardless of whether we regularly go to the psychologist’s office or not.
On the other hand, assuming that we cannot modulate our emotions is limiting ourselves in an unnecessary way, especially when they tend to change quickly and we become very sensitive to what happens to us.
In this article we will see a series of tips to know what to do when faced with emotional ups and downs, adopt strategies against instability of this type and adapt in the best way possible to the environment and life in general.
The existence of emotions makes sense, among other things, because they do not arise through our conscious control. Thanks to them, we do not have to go through a long period of reflection to know how to position ourselves regarding an idea or event; We simply adopt an attitude automatically, and sometimes in a matter of fractions of a second.
However, in some cases the dynamic nature of emotions It can turn into emotional ups and downs, which appear when minimal changes cause the mood to change completely.
This emotional instability can not only generate discomfort in the person who experiences it firsthand; It can also negatively affect your way of socializing, since it facilitates the appearance of misunderstandings and failures in communication. Thus, it is normal to look for solutions either looking for a psychologist (for cases in which the quality of life is worn out) or changing certain day-to-day routines.
How to manage emotional instability
Below we will see several key ideas to apply in case you are not attending psychological treatment, although reading them and trying to follow them yourself cannot replace the work of a mental health professional.
1. Notice what situations fuel emotional ups and downs
Does this emotional instability appear in any situation, or does it remain linked to a specific context or area? The answer to this question can give you clues about to what extent the ups and downs are facilitated by elements of your environment.
2. Learn about Bipolar Disorder
As with any type of psychological disorder, Bipolar Disorder can only be diagnosed by mental health professionals through personalized evaluations. However, the simple act of reading about it can help us understand what is happening to us, comparing your associated symptoms with what happens in that case.
Specifically, Bipolar Disorder is characterized by stages of mania, in which euphoria and extreme optimism and motivation prevail, with another depressive type. These stages are usually long (several days in a row, or weeks), and the symptoms are very extreme and relatively independent of what happens to us.
Thus, if the emotional ups and downs are not extreme and do not last more than a day, there is no reason to think that this could be the phenomenon that affects us, while in the opposite case it is advisable to attend a psychological evaluation, even if keep in mind that It doesn’t have to be Bipolar Disorder. Also, keep in mind that there is a tendency to identify with the symptoms of mental disorders, even though this relationship does not really exist or is exaggerated.
3. Sleep well and eat properly
In many cases, emotional instability is due to frustration enhanced by poor physical condition. People who cannot bear the energy costs that their daily life requires They tend to have higher levels of anxiety which makes them react in a more extreme way to negative stimuli.
Therefore, getting enough sleep and taking care of your diet will help prevent this energy deficit from occurring, which is reflected in your emotional state.
4. Learn to surround yourself with the right people
There are times when emotional ups and downs arise from flawed relational dynamics, perhaps because of conflicts with another person, due to memories associated with someone that we would prefer to forget, or simply because the predominant attitudes in a group do us no good.
That is why it is important to be clear that if a relationship does not make us feel good, it is totally legitimate to end it, even if it is temporarily until we recover.
5. Don’t force other emotions to appear
If you try to “force” yourself to feel another way, that will only cause frustration since it won’t work. Instead, it is much more useful to indirectly influence how you feel exposing yourself to environments that convey the way you want to feel.
In any case, in the case of emotional ups and downs, this cannot be the definitive solution either, since it can only be effective when the sudden change that you want to prevent from being constantly repeated has already appeared.
6. Give yourself time to disconnect
Entering a phase in which the ideas that obsess us and the environments that bombard us with reasons to worry no longer matter is very positive, since it allows us to regain strength and return to those daily challenges with renewed energy.
If possible, change location so that your physical environment does not remind you of what makes you experience stress.
7. Go to the psychologist
If you can’t properly manage emotional instability, don’t blame yourself; The area of emotions works through processes that do not depend on our voluntary control, and we can only influence it indirectly, modifying our way of relating to the context. In the latter, psychological therapy works very well.
Therefore, it is important to look for a psychologist or team of psychologists and get advice and help. Working from the consultation sessions and through the routines indicated by the professional, we will be doing what is necessary to improve significantly in a matter of weeks.
