Everyone has good days and bad days. The most even-tempered people eventually have a difficult day, week or month and have to deal with feelings of anger, betrayal, pain or depression. Anyone who has made a significant life change, such as quitting smoking or losing weight, should know that strong emotions -- especially negative ones -- are a top risk factor for relapse. To protect your healthy new habit, it’s important to learn how emotions can trip you up and what to do to stay on track when life gets a little rocky.
You Can Run but You Can’t Hide
Why do intense feelings make it hard to stick with healthy habits? For one thing, it’s impossible to avoid your feelings the way you can avoid a fast food restaurant or favorite bar. You may think you’ve handled your anger at your boss because you managed to keep your cool, but having a stiff drink at the end of the day to wind down is not a healthy way to manage anger. Also, it’s common for people to cope with painful feelings in unhealthy ways, such as by drinking or eating, because many of us never learned better ways to cope.
Facing the Enemy
The first step toward dealing with difficult emotions is learning to recognize them. Which emotions trip you up? You can find out by keeping a log to track your slipups and the feelings related to them. For example, on a day that you overeat, consider your state of mind before you indulged. Were you upset about something? Over time, you should begin to recognize certain emotions that lead to unhealthy behaviors.
Once you have identified feelings or attitudes that trip you up, it’s important to develop healthier coping strategies. Countering techniques such as exercise, relaxation and positive self-talk are effective ways to deal with your emotions. Regular exercise can help you release pent-up anger, relaxation can help ease stress and anxiety and saying nice things to yourself can help give your self-esteem a needed boost.
Be patient with yourself. Handling strong emotions in a more positive way takes time. Before self-defeating emotions stop you cold, make a plan to deal with them. Small but significant steps can help you feel like a winner.
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