Family Wellness Tip

Emotional Transitions

What is an emotional transition and do I go through them? Yes, you deal with emotional transitions. They are feeling changes that happen when a life event occurs. The event can be big or small. The event can be positive or negative. We adjust how we feel when new stuff that is thrown at us. Now, learning how to deal with the emotional transition WITHOUT going off the rails is the key.

The best way to deal with emotional transitions is by being mindful. Does this mean I have to meditate about it? No, though it does help. Being mindful of how you're feeling can be hard. Not many people are aware of how they are feeling all the time. Practicing will make you better.

Mindful emotion practice:

2-5 minutes

Practice 1-2 times per day

  1. Choose a time that is NOT highly emotional.

    • When starting off it is best to choose a time that is normal for your day.

  2. Body check.

    • The best first start when we are not used to noticing our emotions is to do a body check/scan. We tend to hold feelings in our body and might feel that first.

    • Start at one end (top of head or tip of toes) and scan the body at a medium pace. Sometimes our brain skips over parts, so make sure to think about each body part.

    • The scan can be focusing on the muscles and/or internal workings (headaches, stomach aches) and/or posture.

    • Just be aware. Don't change anything yet.

  3. Emotion check.

    • What are you feeling?

    • Are you feeling a few different feelings that are wrapped up together?

    • Name your feelings.

  4. Environment check.

    • Where are you?

    • What are you doing?

  5. Back to baseline.

    • Baseline means your normal. This is how you feel when you are at your best. Best doesn't mean happy, it means when you are your most calm and content self. Baseline can be different for each person.

    • If you are feeling off at all, what is a safe and healthy coping skill you can use to get back to baseline?

Mindfulness helps to learn to how you feel. Mindfulness helps manage big feeling during talks and tough times. Mindfulness helps you be aware of how you're feeling and what is going on.

This is not going to make you perfect in managing your emotions. You are human. You WILL get better with practice.