Taking care of yourself: The value of unpacking emotions

Being a full time mom and school communicator comes with some challenges and the last couple of weeks have had me whirring about like a coffee infused gnat stuck in a box fan in the middle of July.

The stress of it all has also caused me to take a step back. And I’ve been doing a lot of mental and emotional unpacking, trying to untangle it all.

I want to emphasize that I am not a licensed mental health professional by any means. But, I am very intentional in communicating the importance of fostering positive mental health.

I’ve talked before on the blog about positive self talk and how important it is, along with the pros and cons.

I’d like to think that I’m pretty self-aware to a fault. But as I’m untangling I’m processing and maybe you can use some of the things I’m working through to help you too.

It’s OK if your plan didn’t work out or if your path isn’t exactly what you visualized.

Recently, I’ve literally come face to face with a concept I thought I’d mastered and a hurt I thought might not have healed up all the way. It’s been nagging at me for days. How my life took a turn for the best when it could have gone differently. How people disappoint and how hurt can linger if you don’t pray and process it. But, I’m thankful for healing. And I acknowledge in this case God healed me and I am leaning into that for the future.

You have a right to your feelings. Take a look from your perspective, feel it out and then take a step back to see how someone else has a right to feel the way they may.

Just because someone feels differently about a situation than you do doesn’t mean they’re 100% wrong (especially from their own perspective). I find that taking various angles on matters really helps me understand situations and even process hurt that might have happened unintentionally by another party.

There are always reasons why someone acts the way they do. There are also reasons why it bothers you.

Our upbringings and personalities contribute to this. Once you understand that, things truly change in how you interpret situations.

You have to take care of you.

If you don’t take care of yourself and process your emotions and even deal with some things, they’ll bleed over into your mood and may even trickle down to irritability and some negative behavior. So do yourself a favor: love you, value your emotions and take care of you. As always if you need professional help, seek it if not for yourself, do it for your loved ones and for those around you.

Above all know, if you’re reading this I’ve prayed for you. God has you in His hands. Give Him your emotions and find strength and healing in Him.