Emotional Health

E m o t i o n a l H e a l t h

Emotional extremely Health simple. at its core is

Chelsea Olson Stress Reduction Coach

Raw. Organic. Natural.

Your emotions make you who you are! Emotions are what make you human, what drive you towards growth, and what keeps you safe, fall in love, and build a business. Your emotions are what give life meaning.

However, the cultural relationship to emotions and personal expression has severed humanity ’s innate connection to emotional intelligence. Finding your way back through all the knots and tangles is easier said than done.

My intention is to make it as simple as possible, so you can reconnect to your well of inner knowledge and power without confusion.

The Benefits of Emotional Wellness

Why does emotional wellness matter?

Imbalanced emotions are destructive. Balanced emotions are constructive.

We all know the aftermath of an emotional hurricane: whether projected onto ourselves as shame, guilt, or self-hatred, or onto another as rage, gossip, or blame. Just as this aftermath can be laborious to clean up, the benefits of emotional wellness can mirror the depth of impact: instead of moving us towards growth.

How is it that balanced emotions can have such a tremendous impact on your life?

Emotions serve to illuminate you to imbalances in your life, to inspire appropriate action to realign to your highest Self and clearest path.

Anger illuminates where justice needs to be served. Sadness shows what we hold dear. Jealousy reveals insecurities, and where we need more love and empowerment. Numbness illuminates unprocessed hurts. Fear warns us of potential danger. Gratitude inspires growth and connection. Excitement guides our passions.

Shall I go on?

When you ignore, shame, and suppress our emotions- you ignore a wealth of information about what shapes your human spirit, relationships, and life path.

When you embrace your emotions, your connection with life ignites! Your relationships are invigorated with new emotional intimacy. You feel clear in your sense of self and eagerly take action, rooted in your spiritual center. Pain reduces and vitality increases.

Obstacles to Emotional Wellness

Every culture and every household has their own rules and regulations as to what is considered acceptable when it comes to an emotional experience. There is no way I can address them all here.

In short: the primary obstacle to emotional wellness is a conditioned judgement or shame around feeling and expressing certain emotions.

For example, it is common for men to be encourage to feel anger- but shamed for feeling sadness or fear.

It is common for women to be allowed sadness, but not anger.

Often culture supports confidence and empowerment- but looks away from shame, guilt, and vulnerability.

As you sever your connection to certain emotions, you sever your connection to certain parts of yourSelf; leaving you feeling fragmented, confused, scattered, and susceptible to emotional overwhelm.

In short: The primary obstacle to emotional wellness is yourself.

If you can allow yourself to feel without judgement, and skillfully express without shame: emotional wellness and freedom will be there for the taking.

1.Identify the Emotion.

A great tool to cultivate this practice is what’s called, “The Feelings Wheel.

” A brief google search will bring you to its doorstep, a systematized visual representation simplifying the complexity of the emotional experience.

Becoming familiar with the six core emotions: anger, sadness, fear, joy, surprise, and love, is helpful in orienting towards the correct emotional experience.

Lastly, familiarizing yourself with the physical sensations of each emotion can serve as a touch point when emotions are difficult to sift through. Does your heart rate increase? Shoulders slumped forward? Is chest open and proud? Your body expresses and holds the emotional experience, and can be used to tap into exactly that.

2. Express the Emotion.

Surrender to your innate knowing and soulful expression by falling into uninhibited emotional expression. Need to scream? Scream. Cry? Cry. Punch? Wiggle? Shake? Make funny sounds? Do it!

This is where the voices of shame and judgment can easily arise and try to stifle the expression. If you can relinquish your own binds, you set yourself free.

The more you practice this, the more easily you can access deep layers of your inner knowing. The more creative you become in your movements and sounds, the more quickly you will observe and identify your emotions.

In order to express the emotion fully- it is important to curate and be in a safe space. A space where you will not hurt anyone or yourself as a byproduct of your processing. This may be your bedroom, a parked car, or in a private spot in nature. Isolation is not required to be emotionally authentic, but it’s important to recognize others may not want to be involved in your processing.

3. Rest.

As previously mentioned, all emotions hold information. Tapping into the emotion and taking appropriate action is the key to actually making a change in your life.

For example, if you feel angry when someone makes a sexist comment but you never set a boundary- expressing the anger privately won’t actually enhance your emotional wellness. In fact, avoiding appropriate action can be a tool to avoid personal responsibility and blame others for our emotions.

Releasing and expressing emotions in a raw, organic, and uninhibited way requires energy. You may feel drained, tired, vulnerable, or tender. This is the time to rest and let your body integrate all of the energy that was moved and released. Without this step, you are unable to access the information and wisdom behind the emotions!

Resting is equivalent to being: taking a bath, sleeping, cuddling, being in nature, or engaging in a creative pursuit. Be careful to be intentional with rest! Often we revert to our unsupportive habits of self-soothing we learned as children, such as television, scrolling on social media, sugar, drugs, overworking, drinking alcohol, etc. These activities are not resting and can perpetuate the emotional dis-ease.

4.Reflect.

After you have thoroughly rested and you feel a renewed sense of energy- it is time to reflect. It is in this stage in which you gain the knowledge and golden wisdom that will direct your life to its fullest expression.

There is no right or wrong way to reflect: simply what works for you. Examples are: journaling, meditation, walking in nature, or engaging in creative pursuits. Talking with a loved one is helpful, but I encourage you to wait until you have already reflected on your own. Relying on others to understand your emotions can create patterns of trusting others’ wisdom over your own.

5.Take Appropriate Action.

All the priceless guidance in the world is worth nothing if it’s not applied.

Get clear on what action needs to be taken in order to honor the emotion at hand, and gather the necessary resources to take the appropriate action.

Sometimes the call to action is easy to pursue, and at others, it's a deep test of your spiritual fervor and personal integrity. I have found that the mind can convince you of anything, but the heart never lies. The deeper you trust the wisdom of your heart, the deeper your confidence lies, and the more vibrant your life becomes.

All of the information you need to thrive lies inside of you. You simply need to get out of your own way.

The paradigm of “suck it up” or “stuff it

down,

” is over. It has played out and exposed its weaknesses. The time for full embodiment and expression is upon us and it is up to you to lead the way. With each streaming tear and each belly laugh, we empower every woman, girl, and child to do the same. When you liberate yourself: you liberate those around you.

Are you willing to embrace your full emotional wellness to empower your life, and generations to come?

Chelsea Olson

www.chelsea-olson.com