Five Signs You Might Need to Focus on Emotional Healing

What is emotional healing? It’s the process by which you recover emotionally and mentally from a negative life experience. You can’t keep tough times from appearing in your life. When you are emotionally healthy and balanced, you deal with those difficult situations that inevitably pop up, and you can move on with your life.

This isn’t always the case when your emotions are out of whack.

Sometimes, we don’t understand we need emotional healing. That’s the problem. If you suffer some injury and have a broken bone, you can see it. You can certainly feel it. You know you have to get it fixed.

You might think your emotional responses to your experiences are correct and healthy. They may be anything but. Here are five signs you could use some emotional healing to live a more complete and fulfilling life.

You Don’t Experience a Wide Range of Emotions

You have access to 34,000 different and unique emotions. That’s what psychologist Robert Plutchik believed. He stated that most of us only experience eight primary emotions most of the time. These are anger, sadness, disgust, trust, fear, joy, surprise and anticipation.

If only a couple of those are usually present, you probably need more emotional balance. This could indicate that you aren’t properly processing situations and human interactions.

Low Self-Esteem and a Poor Self-Image

This is an offshoot of what we just talked about. You constantly look down on yourself. Everyone has times when they doubt their abilities. That’s only normal. We recover and move on. The emotionally unhealthy person usually has a low sense of self-worth, even when there is evidence this isn’t the case.

You Have Difficulty Trusting Others

A lack of trust can come from emotional imbalance. You must love yourself and truly believe you can overcome a bad relationship experience, or you’ll never trust others.

You Can’t Move Past a Negative Experience

Life can be difficult, at times seemingly impossible. It might look like you’ll never recover in the middle of the most trying hardship. You will. Don’t embrace and hold onto negative emotions. Practice gratitude for the great things in your life. Lean on your support network and get whatever help you need if you can’t seem to let go of negative emotions.

Constant Anxiety and Stress

Chronic stress is a killer and has been directly linked to many common causes of death. A constant display of stress and anxiety could mean you’re not always responding to life correctly where your emotions are concerned.

There is no miracle pill you can pop to always enjoy perfect emotional balance. You will have ups and downs, experiencing difficult times that hurt you emotionally.

For you to live your best life and for those that you love, you need to learn to recognize a negative life experience, give it its due, and then move on. Consider seeking help if you often display these signs of poor emotional health.

Children’s Book: A Step and a Half to Success

Written by Aya Steiner

Illustrated by Taranggana

Ten-year-old Eric is a natural basketball player. Eric has been sinking baskets since the age of four and he is used to his mother bragging about his talent. He has just learned that he has been named to the All City Basketball Team. When he meets Coach Teddy, Eric promises to do his part when the coach urges the team to pass the ball to make defensive points. But soon Eric loses his confidence and initiative in taking shots and relies on the other team members because he is afraid to fail. Eric’s mom urges him to practice on his own until he masters his technique. Eric learns that any team sport requires lots of patience, practice, and persistence. Natural talent needs to be nurtured to achieve continued success.

This is a good book for late elementary school and middle-school readers who are interested in sports or need to revitalize their self-esteem. Perfect individual or read aloud discussion book choice for children ages seven through twelve. Colorful illustrations will also attract reluctant readers.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper right-hand corner of this page.

Self-Esteem For Kids: Every Parent’s Greatest Gift: How to Raise Kids to Have Confidence in Themselves and Their Own Abilities

Written by Simeon Lindstrom

The book will aid parents in building and developing a healthy sense of self-esteem in children ranging in age from toddlers to teens. Parents are the primary influence on a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence without which he will not be successful in school, work and everyday life. Although every child is different, the strategies and tips apply to all of them.

Lindstrom goes on to explain why self-esteem is important, how it develops in different stages of child development, and the do’s and don’ts for parents in facilitating the process. Then the author identifies the warning signs of low self-esteem that might come from within the child like self-critical comments and refusing to make decisions. Outside factors like bullying and negative reactions from teachers and peers could also be triggers. Perhaps the most important part of the book is the chapter on proven strategies for raising self-esteem giving parents access to the tools they need to address the problem and help their children cope with negative feelings.

I agree with the author that spending just fifteen minutes a day conversing with a child without distractions can have a huge impact on their self-esteem and self-confidence as well as provide an opportunity to convey parental love and enhance positive thinking. The author admits that there are times when a child’s low self-esteem are beyond the control of a parent. He presents a path for the parent which includes information on how to seek and find therapeutic options and then convince a child of its importance to his well-being.

This short book is well written and easy to follow. I believe it is a valuable resource for all parents, caregivers, teachers and counselors to keep on their bookshelf.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper right hand corner of this page.