You Own Your Emotions, Take Hold Of It

It has been a while I have been on here.  A lot has been happening these past months that did not afford me time to give awesome posts like I always do every week. So today I would just be doing a random post and try to give a little bit of what I have been learning over the past few months. I will be doing something different from what I usually do so keep your eyes peeled.
First off I want to talk about emotions and how to deal with them. A lot of people go through a lot of emotional trauma and it can be very difficult to be able to manage them. For some people, it may be as a result of a loss of a loved one, relationship break, finance issues, marriage issues and the list is endless. For some emotional trauma may lead to depression and people react to depression in diverse ways. For some people, it may be excess food intake or inability to even eat at all. Everyone has a peculiar story. Here are some things that can help you manage your emotional stress effectively;
1.    Have a close confidant you can rely on; having someone you can talk to will help a great deal to help in managing your emotional stress. One thing I have noticed is that if you talk to someone about what you are going through, the burden is less and you feel much better than you did before. It really does not help when you bottle everything in, it can be choking and it yields no result. Just make sure whoever you will be confiding in cares a whole lot about you and can manage whatever information you pass on to her discreetly. I am pretty sure you do not want your business out there.
2.    Get busy and engage in more activities; like they always say, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. When you do not have anything doing, you tend to start thinking about a lot of things thereby sinking into depression. But if you have your mind occupied with activities, you think less and get to enjoy yourself.
3.    Take a hold of your emotions; this may be pretty difficult for everyone. Now you own your emotions and only you have control over them. Take charge of it. If it means you saying positive things to yourself every once in a while, then just do it. If you do not own and hold your emotions, no one will do it for you.
4.    Do away with anything that reminds you of the cause of your depression; for people who lost loved ones and are finding it difficult to move on, this step is the most difficult. It will be advisable to just do away with anything that reminds you of them temporarily. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying you should forget all about them, it is not possible to forget a dear one to you but for the ease of moving on with life, just do away with things that remind you of them temporarily till you are sure you have gotten to the point where you can confidently think about them and not sink into depression.
5.    Consult with a therapist; some people this may seem rather extreme. I know some people have this notion that therapists are for people with extreme problems. I do not agree. Therapists are well trained to provide the best service that suits every situation. A therapist will be necessary if you have tried to do the other things mentioned above and have failed at it.
I will just stop here for now. Always remember that whatever you are going through now is only a phase and as all phases do, they pass and in no time you tend to forget them. It is okay to grieve, it is okay to feel bad or sad about a situation. The only part where there is an issue is if you live in denial that you are not grieving or there is nothing wrong. This is even more hurtful. So own your emotions because no one else will help you do it.
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Chinye Onwamaka

Chinye Onwamaka is a professional makeup artist and fashion consultant based in Lagos Nigeria. She writes about fashion, beauty and relationship tips for young people.