IMPROVING ONE’S EMOTIONAL WELLBEING

Emotional wellbeing refers to the awareness of our emotions, how we understand, and accept them as well as our ability to manage them. It refers to the way in which we feel about ourselves, our relationships and our life purpose

It is important that as human beings we keep in mind that our emotions play a significant part in our lives; the nature of life brings us both positive and negative life experiences; the truth is that these experiences will bring along changes in our emotional wellbeing over time. In both experiences, our emotional wellbeing plays a very crucial role in terms of how we navigate these.

The way in which we deal with our day-to-day activities and the manner in which we cope with life adversities is highly affected by the way in which we feel about ourselves.

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As mentioned, that various factors which we experience on daily basis can have a negative impact on our emotional well-being, it is therefore important that we continuously reflect on our emotional state so that we can maintain the ability to handle multiple life stressors and adapt to change

Factors which may cause an imbalance in our emotional well-being could be a result of challenges we encounter from our home environment, family conflicts; marital issues, relationship problems, health challenges, parent-child issues, losing loved ones, and life adjustments or workplace challenges.

Acknowledge, process and ventilate your feelings – there is no quick escape.

Practice positive self-talk- be gentle and kind towards yourself – speak positively to yourself Adoptapositivemindsetandappreciatepositive things that are happening in your life – this will contribute towards your sense of worth and aboutyourself.

Allow yourself to be vulnerable – vulnerability allows us to reach a state of self-awareness as ourfeelingscometothesurface.

There are many signs which could be indicators that we are experiencing difficulties with our emotional well-being for example having a sense of hopelessness or a persistent feeling of sadness; feeling irritable or angry at most times, mood swings, withdrawing from your social circle and losing interest in most activities which you used to enjoy, difficulty in carrying out day to day tasks, neglecting self-care.

Emotional well-being does not necessarily mean that one is not experiencing any distress but rather it is a continuous decision of living a balanced and meaningful life by looking at ways of enhancing your well-being.

A good starting point is to take stock of your current emotional state, evaluate where you are at the moment and thereafter establish systems which you are going to implement in your life in order to work towards reaching an improved state of well-being

This is not a once-off exercise but a continuous activity that we need to engage on as life pushes us through different life stages. The following few strategies can assist one in restoring a balanced state of emotional wellbeing:

Reinforce positive relations – family members, close friendsandintimatepartner–thesewillinstillasense ofconnectedness.

Practice self-care - make time to rest and be still in orderforyoursystemstoprocessyouremotions.

Get good sleep – sleep is crucial for mental and physicalhealth–whenyousleepbetteryouareable tothinkclearlyandfocusbetter.

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RestorehealthyeatinghabitsMove around (physical activity – declutter your homeorworkspace)

NB : A self-help activity would be to reflect and answer this question: When last were you kind to yourself and what act of kindness you performed to yourself?

Some insight to share : Bouncing back from the storms

Allow yourself to process your life experiences and - deal with the emotions as they come to surface

Adopt an attitude of non-judgement – you did the best you could in the circumstances reflect on your emotions/feelings as you progress through your recovery journey

Practice Positive self talk- be gentle and kind towards your self

Reach out for professional help for emotional and psychological support

My Private Practice offers the following services ;

Children, teens/ adults, couples and families: Trauma Counselling; Grief/ Bereavement Counselling, Anger management

Life Adjustment Issues, Anxiety, Depression & Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Survivors of abuse; Dread Disease Adjustment, Substance Abuse / Addiction

Couple / Marital Counselling , Parental Guidance/ Parent – Child Conflicts, Divorce Counselling

LegalSocialWorkServices:MediationforParentingPlans

InvestigationsonmattersinvolvingchildrenandProfessional ReportservicesfortheCourts

Employee Wellness Services : Workplace Critical Incident StressDebriefingSessions&IndividualCounsellingServices

Seek professional help when you experiencing difficulty or overwhelming emotions so that you can receiveemotionalsupport.

Let us take care of ourselves, make our wellbeing our utmost priority, when we are at our best we can go further in achieving our dreams!

Inspirational Speaker : as a seasoned inspirational speaker Zakithi uses her skills and soft approach to createaplatformformeaningfulconversationswhich leadtoself-awarenessandpersonaldevelopment.

Zakithi G. Shezi, (41 yrs) mother of three children, two boys and a daughter. She was born and bred in Ntambanana, in the outskirts of Empangeni, KZN. She has a Diploma in Business Information Technology and a degree in social work from the University of South Africa.

SocialWorkerinPrivatePractice Child&FamilyConsultant& InspirationalSpeaker PracticeNo.1037072 SACSSP1035941 0837278571