One of the types of self-care is emotional self-care and it helps immensely to prevent burnout and foster a better understanding of who we are. Read on for self-care tips and 27 easy emotional self-care ideas.
When you hear the word self-care, what usually comes to mind?
For most people, self-care is restricted to things that are relaxing and passive, like warm baths and massages.
This is one aspect of self-care but if you don’t address the other types of self-care regularly then you will not experience any real and lasting benefits.
Instead, it’s important to address all types of self-care: emotional, practical, physical, mental, social, and spiritual.
This article is a deep dive into what I’ve learned about emotional self-care. By the end of this article, you will have a fuller understanding of what it is, why it’s important, and how you can implement it into your daily routine without sacrificing too much time.
Want to know more about the 6 types of self-care? Check out this comprehensive post: 6 Important Types Of Self-Care Habits You Need In Your Life!
How I first discovered the importance of emotional self-care
When I was in high school, I used to pack my days full of activity.
Between school, homework, extra-curricular activities, and a part-time job, it was rare for me to find more than an hour in a day that I could spend on self-care.
Like any normal person, though, I had bad moods on occasion.
I would feel sad or distracted or upset throughout the week just like anyone else.
However, instead of listening and responding to those emotions, I told myself that I didn’t have time for them.
I would shove them deep down into myself and plug away at whatever tasks I had to do that day.
Over time, those ignored emotions started to bubble up and fight back.
I experienced anxiety, severe stress, sleep loss, and more because I wasn’t allowing an outlet for my emotions.
It wasn’t until university that I had the freedom to rearrange my schedule when I was feeling off.
The difference I noticed in my mental health was like night and day.
In university, whenever I was feeling sad or distracted, I would simply rearrange my schedule to make room for those emotions.
My feelings were finally given an outlet and it made a huge difference in every aspect of my life.
I was more secure in my own identity, I had more emotional stability, and I no longer felt anxiety.
I had a renewed passion for life and it was all thanks to the emotional self-care practices I was prioritizing.
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What is emotional self-care?
Emotional self-care is the act of listening to your thoughts and emotions and giving yourself space to express yourself.
In addition to that, it is also about accepting those emotions as they are instead of trying to mould them into something convenient for you.
Emotional self-care is the practice of accepting who you are and how you feel without guilt or judgement.
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Why is emotional self-care important?
Emotional self-care addresses your thoughts and feelings and helps you practice acceptance of self. This comes with a lot of natural benefits that can change your daily life immensely.
4 Benefits of emotional self-care:
- It grounds you and stabilizes your emotions. When you take the time to understand how you are feeling and express those emotions in a healthy way, you become a more emotionally stable person overall. Your emotions are no longer trapped and building up within you and are instead allowed to be released so that you can move on with your life.
- Your personal growth goals will be more achievable because you are reflecting on life. You will have a much easier time experiencing personal growth because you understand yourself a lot better. You know why certain things are working and why other things might be causing you trouble.
- It helps you align more closely to who you are and what you want in life. It can be so easy to go through the motions of life without actually thinking about whether you’re happy with where you are. Emotional self-care gives you the space to think critically about where you’re headed in life so that you can change course if you need to.
- You will feel more creative and inspired. This particular type of self-care is especially useful in the prevention of burnout because it allows time for you to slow down and engage with the self. This downtime will often help reignite your creativity and maybe even provide you with new inspiration.
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What is an example of emotional self-care?
Emotional self-care activities involve slowing down, listening to your mind, and accepting whatever comes up. It can often involve other people but it can also be a solitary activity.
One of the best examples of emotional self-care is journaling.
When you journal, you are expressing your thoughts, feelings, and ideas through writing and you aren’t trying to edit the content. Instead, you accept what shows up on the page and simply let everything out.
Though there are multitudes of ways to practice emotional self-care, journaling is one of the most straightforward and effective things that anyone can do!
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27 Ways to practice emotional self-care
1. Journal
Let’s start with the most obvious self-care tip.
Journaling is a great way to articulate your emotions and practice the art of acceptance.
It is also a flexible activity, as you could do it for 5 minutes or 50 and it will have some valuable benefits either way!
Simply start with a piece of paper or a notebook and start writing out those thoughts!
You can try stream of consciousness writing or you can follow some journal prompts for more structure.
Whatever you decide to do, you will be sure to find that your mind feels much more free and clear afterwards.
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2. Meditate
I know a lot of people really aren’t into the idea of meditating but it is one that has a lot of great benefits for your emotions and doesn’t have to be as formal as you think.
The typical definition of meditation involves sitting cross-legged on the floor with your hands in some fancy shape but it doesn’t always have to look like that.
The heart of meditation is really just about taking a moment of stillness to let your mind work through all of the emotions and thoughts floating around in your head.
If you want to follow the traditional form of meditation, there are some great resources out there for you.
However, if you want to start with something simpler, just sit on a chair (inside or outside) and remove any distractions. Then let your mind think about whatever comes up. Don’t hold on to any of the thoughts for too long- just observe the thought or feeling and see what comes up next.
It can be a little hard at first to stop yourself from getting distracted or from ruminating on one thought for too long but once you get the hang of it, you will find the experience quite nice!
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3. Do breathing exercises
Once you recognize how you are feeling, there are lots of different breathing exercises that can help balance out that emotion.
There are breathing exercises to give you energy or to calm you down and they can all be useful for helping your body manage the many emotions that you experience day in and day out.
4. Try Yin Yoga
There are tons of different styles of yoga but the one I’m recommending for emotional self-care is a little slower than the yoga you might have seen in a gym class.
Yin Yoga is all about slowing down the breath and holding postures for longer periods of time.
Because you are in each position for longer, it gives both your body and your mind a chance to release any tension that has been stored up.
It is a great way to force you to slow down your breathing and listen to the emotions that come up.
5. Practice Mindfulness
This is my favourite activity to recommend to people who feel they don’t have any time to practice emotional self-care.
Practicing mindfulness simply means that you stay present and focused on whatever current activity you are engaged in.
For example, instead of eating with the television on, you take the time to focus solely on the food in front of you. Now you are practicing mindful eating!
Mindfulness means that you are engaging fully in your activities and using all of the senses to stay present.
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6. Go for a reflective walk
If you are someone who prefers not to stay still, a walk might be the perfect emotional self-care idea to try.
Just go for a walk without anything to distract you and let yourself notice what you see.
Walking is a good way to let your mind wander and should give you a chance to notice how you’re feeling that day. Plus it’s good for your body!
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7. Talk to yourself
I’ll be honest, I’ve gotten some weird responses from people over the years when I’m caught talking to myself but I think this is one of my personal favourite emotional self-care ideas!
Talk to yourself as if you were talking to a friend.
When you are angry about something, vent to your alter ego or discuss things you’re worried about.
I have no scientific basis for recommending this but I have personally found that talking to yourself helps you see yourself as your best friend which is great for your self-esteem.
I mean, most people see themselves as their biggest critic and their worst enemy, so isn’t it better to turn that around?
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8. Reflect on your life and your personal goals with grace
Let me point out here that ‘with grace‘ is the keyword here.
It is good practice to reflect on how your life is doing and how you are progressing with your goals and dreams but the more important factor here is that you are reflecting with patience and compassion.
When you sit down to reflect, make sure that you are being kind to yourself.
This is not the time to criticize or to be upset if you didn’t achieve anything. Instead, this is a good time to readjust the plan while leaving room for error.
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9. Make a list of things you love about yourself
A good way to emotionally care for yourself is to practice self-love.
We all have things we’d like to change about ourselves but there are also things we don’t want to change.
Take time to appreciate who you are and what you’re good at.
It makes it a lot easier to have patience for yourself when you have things you think make you great!
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10. Study yourself
When you make a new friend, you probably don’t hang out with them without learning a little bit about them. You likely ask questions and try to find ways to learn more about the things they like or don’t like.
We should be doing the same thing with ourselves. Ask yourself questions and try to get to know more about the things you like or don’t like. Learn about the things that go through your mind regularly.
Discover your emotional triggers and what sorts of things help you stay in a good mood. Learn what you need when you are feeling sad or what helps you feel better after a difficult day.
The more you know about yourself, the easier life gets overall.
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11. Try a form of artistic expression
Art and creativity is a great way to practice emotional self-care. It provides your mind with a creative outlet to express your emotions- and you usually get a pretty cool product at the end!
Here are some forms of artistic expression you can try:
- Write a poem or song lyrics
- Compose a song
- Draw, paint, or sculpt
- Dance
- Do a craft
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12. Express yourself through your appearance
You see this a lot in movies. Whenever someone is upset, they like to get changed into some comfy clothes, pull their hair back, and eat a bunch of junk food.
Now, this might not be entirely good for your mental (or physical) health but the sentiment is good.
It can sometimes be good to express how you are feeling through your appearance.
For example, if you are feeling like you are in need of comfort, then wearing comfortable clothing is the perfect thing to do.
If you are feeling energetic, then wearing outfits that reflect that help you show those emotions.
On the other hand, sometimes it can be helpful to express how you want to feel instead of how you are actually feeling.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, sometimes dressing up more intentionally can help you feel less overwhelmed.
You are not ignoring the problem but you are trying to help improve things with your appearance.
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13. Let out your emotions physically
Emotions often feel like abstract concepts but they can manifest themselves physically, as well.
For example, when you are stressed, you tend to hold the tension somewhere in your body (your jaw, your shoulders, your hips, etc.)
When you’re upset, your posture will likely look more slouched and rounded but when you’re happy everything is more loose and upright.
You store your emotions in your body quite literally, so letting your emotions out physically is another great way to practice emotional self-care.
When you are sad, have a good cry.
When you are happy, express it with laughter.
Scream and stomp your feet when you’re frustrated and dance around when you’re feeling energetic.
Learning to recognize your emotions on a physical level can be an extremely cathartic experience.
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14. Create personal mantras
One quick and easy thing you can do regularly is to have a mantra to hold on to throughout the week.
It could be a quote that encourages you, a Bible verse that comforts you, or simply something that you want to be reminded of.
In difficult moments, having a mantra that you can recall easily can be helpful to manage your emotions.
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15. Retrain your mindset
Okay, I know that I said emotional self-care involves recognizing and accepting your emotions as they are but it can also be important to know when you should be trying to readjust some of those emotions, as well.
Now, I’m not saying that you simply shouldn’t accept when you are feeling a negative emotion- they are perfectly valid and important to recognize.
However, there are times where we start to gravitate towards those negative emotions because of bad habits.
These are the moments where we need to retrain our thinking.
For example, you might be feeling sad one day because something genuinely difficult happened. This is a good time to simply allow the sadness in and have patience for your emotions.
But if you start to notice that even on good days you are quick to notice the stuff you don’t like and that you are in a bad mood more often than you are in a good one, it might be time to reconsider if this is a genuine emotion or if you are just pouting.
If this becomes the case, then practicing gratitude would be a good place to start.
The more you practice looking for the good in your day, the more grateful you will feel for the things you have in your life.
It is also important that you look out for negative self-talk. Practicing positive self-talk is a great thing to do whenever you remember to.
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16. Eliminate something that stresses you out emotionally
This emotional self-care idea is a great one for people who like a practical solution to their problems.
Reflect on your emotional triggers and see if there are any emotional triggers that you can actually prevent.
For example, one of my emotional triggers is losing papers and having to spend hours looking for something that may very well be in the trash.
When I realized this was a trigger, I created a paper organizing system that helped me keep better control of my papers.
Now, whenever I need a paper, I go to one place.
If I don’t find the paper within five minutes in those files, I can guarantee that I don’t have it.
Since the creation of that system, I have never been stressed by a piece of paper.
There are some emotional triggers that simply can’t be avoided but if you have one that is easy to solve, I’d highly recommend you take some time to do it!
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17. Read a psychology or philosophy book
Books can be a really great way to deal with a lot of things in life but these two genres can be particularly useful when approaching emotional self-care.
Psychology books can help you better understand yourself and give you new ways to take care of yourself in the future.
Philosophy books can get you thinking critically about life in general, which will again help you know more about yourself.
Really, though, any book that inspires you and gets you thinking is a good thing to turn to for emotional self-care.
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18. Visit a therapist
You don’t have to have a confirmed mental health need to visit a therapist.
I truly believe that therapists can be helpful to anyone.
You may be able to discover a lot about yourself by working through things on your own but a therapist can often guide you even further.
Visiting a mental health professional is just another way for you to work through your emotions in a healthy way.
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19. Talk with a friend who is a good support for you
Talking with a friend can have similar benefits to talking to a therapist.
It is just another way for you to gain new perspectives on yourself.
They might be able to offer insights that didn’t occur to you before or simply offer comfort that you couldn’t get from yourself.
Just make sure that the conversation goes both ways.
It is not fair to make your friend your therapist- let them talk about their thoughts and feelings, too!
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20. Listen to a motivational speaker or someone you identify with
I personally find this emotional self-care idea useful when I just can’t seem to get past a certain negative thought.
When you feel like you are stuck in a negative loop, it can help your emotional well-being to listen to someone else who might be able to give you a different perspective.
You could listen to a motivational speaker, a religious leader, or even turn to an influencer who inspires you!
Simply giving yourself access to a positive person might be the thing you need to get yourself out of a rut.
21. Listen to music that reflects your emotions
Music can be a pretty magical thing when used properly.
If you play music, it can be even more useful to play the music that reflects your emotions but listening to music is also quite effective.
One thing that I like to do when I’m upset is playing music on my piano that reflects that emotion.
As I calm down, I pick more relaxing music until I feel like I’m back in a more positive mood. It works every time!
22. Let go of the past
When we hold on to the past, we are not doing ourselves any favours.
It makes it hard to move forward in life and it can even make us bitter towards the life we have.
One important aspect of emotional self-care is taking time to reflect on the state of our emotions and seeking to help.
One way that you can help yourself is to try to find areas in your life where you are stuck in the past and to try to process it so that you can move on.
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23. Let go of the need for perfection
Another way that you may be hurting yourself emotionally is if you are trying too hard to achieve perfection.
This is not a healthy way for anyone to live and it’s important for you to let go of that desire for perfection so that you can move forward in life without fear of failure.
Taking the time to resolve any areas of your life where you’re too hard on yourself can be a great way to care for yourself emotionally.
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24. Look at your emotional boundaries
One part of emotional self-care involves recognizing and respecting your own boundaries.
Everyone has things that they are comfortable doing and things that cause discomfort.
Knowing what your own personal boundaries are and honouring those boundaries is a good way to practice emotional self-care on a daily basis.
Knowing your own emotional boundaries will help you say yes to others without saying no to yourself.
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25. Stop apologizing
Apologies are good when they’re warranted but apologizing constantly is not a good sign.
Emotional self-care means being able to recognize what you need and unapologetically giving yourself those things.
There is no need to apologize for things you’re not doing wrong.
In fact, apologizing is saying that you need to feel guilty for the way you acted.
In order to foster self-love, you need to take time for yourself unapologetically.
Don’t feel guilty for giving yourself what you need to be emotionally balanced.
26. Make time for absolute rest
Sometimes, simple rest is all you will need in order to heal emotionally.
Schedule time in your week for quiet rest and relaxation so that you can recharge.
Depending on your schedule, you could try scheduling an entire day for relaxation or you could just make sure you get a small moment every day to rest.
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27. Do something you find fun or relaxing
The last emotional self-care idea is an easy one- do something you love!
One great way to care for yourself emotionally is simply to take time for things that fill you with joy.
Whatever that may be, take some time to enjoy it regularly.
Like I said before, emotional self-care is only one of the 6 types of self-care but it is important to address all of them in order to feel fully cared for.
Emotional self-care is great for helping you stay emotionally stable in crazy times and you can receive other benefits by addressing the other types of self-care, too!
If you want to know more about all the different types of self-care and how to implement them into your daily routine, you can check out a comprehensive guide here:
6 Important Types Of Self-Care Habits You Need In Your Life!
Do you have any emotional self-care ideas to share?
these are such great tips & reminders. ugh, you are so right about emotions bottling up & causing problems if you don’t face them. they will fight back if you don’t acknowledge them. thanks for sharing this post!
Haha, yes, I learned that the hard way quite a few times myself. It feels stronger to try to push through those emotions but, in the end, it doesn’t work.