“You’ll become happy when you stop reacting and start controlling your emotions.”

Do you ever feel like your emotions have taken control of your life? If so, you’re not alone. Many of us have experienced times when our feelings dictate our thoughts, moods and behaviours.

Don’t worry if this sounds familiar. You can take many simple steps to help regain control over how you handle your emotional life.

Here’s a five-step mini guide on effectively managing your emotions and creating healthier mind and body balance responses.

1. Owning Emotions

Take responsibility for what you are feeling today. Notice when you point the finger of blame and bring it back to yourself. Own your mistakes and emotions and articulate what you are feeling. First, stop blaming others and consider why you feel this way.

2. Emotional Non-Attachment

Notice how you and others identify with your feelings. Perhaps it’s not being voiced, but there is a strong attachment to justifying emotions which most definitely saying it for us. Just be aware today and start to let go. Notice how easier it is to get to the heart of the emotional state and how much connection can be created by detaching.

3.Happy addiction practises

To detox our unhappy, emotional turmoil addictions, we must become vigilant and conscious of the dominant emotions throughout our lives and commit to change.

Hold a happy thought for 90 seconds hourly and practice feeling happy. Over time, a constant practice of feeling happy will take you closer to a happiness addiction.

How good is that?

4. Hear Your Heart

Take a moment at the top of each hour throughout the day to place your hand on your heart and say: “What am I feeling?” then take three deep breaths exhaling the emotion. Let it express itself. If you need more time to let go, permit yourself and let loose!

5. Rise above the reaction

Notice how it feels in your body when you lose emotional control.  You may get a tight jaw, tense shoulders or a higher heart rate. As you acknowledge the overwhelm of emotions, you open space for the well of the information under the surface. Anger may be a mask for a deep hurt, shame or guilt. Yet we will miss it if we distract ourselves with the reactions. Let’s rise above it and watch it instead of getting lost in it.

Finding balance within our emotional life is essential for our well-being and resilience. Although it can be incredibly overwhelming to manage our emotions, taking practical steps such as becoming aware of how we think and feel, communicating our views and experiences openly, taking the time to check in with ourselves, engaging in meaningful activities, and showing kindness towards ourselves, we can help improve our ability to make more authentic choices, take inspired action and create an extraordinary life.

Doing so helps to cultivate a sense of inner strength and healing – allowing us to live happily in the moment rather than trying to control every situation.