I love amusement parks. I love riding rides and the entire atmosphere at amusement parks. When I was a teenager, we lived just miles from Six Flags in St.Louis, Mo. I spent countless hours on rollercoaster after rollercoaster during those summer months.
As an adult, I have found myself on a different type of rollercoaster that is not so much fun... the emotional rollercoaster. Life's tough times and turbulent circumstances have sent me on a ride of ups and downs and loops. Sometimes I traveled through dark tunnels and at breaking speeds. Other times, its been a long ride to the top of a steep hill that has nothing but terror waiting for me on the other side.
When finding yourself strapped into the emotional ride of your life, don't buy a season pass. Don't stick around for a second ride. Do what it takes to exit as soon as possible.
Here are some things that have helped me break free from the emotional rollercoaster:
1) Get physical. There is something therapeutic about putting motion to emotions. Some of the most healing times for me have been spent walking or running on a trail in my city. When the sneakers get laced up, the emotional walls start to shake. With each pound of the pavement, those walls grew weaker and eventually fell. The added bonus: When you are emotionally pent up, it's hard to sleep. You can't shut your mind off and you find yourself tossing and turning in bed. Well, when physical activity is part of your routine, you are expelling extra energy which can help you sleep better at night.
2) Get expressive. Bottled up emotions only make for messy consequences. We all know that shaking a bottle of soda means a spewed sticky mess when the bottle is opened. The problem with soda when it spews, it isn't selective....it coats everything in soda. Countertops, floors, clothes, innocent bystanders can all easily be the target of spewing soda. The same is true for our pent up emotions. When we blow -- and eventually we will -- other people get coated. Our children, spouses, coworkers and even our pets get the shock of our emotional eruption. Therefore, get it out. Don't hold it in. Talk to someone, journal, sing, cry, nap, jog, laugh.....what does it take to relieve that pressure for you? Figure it out and utilize that tool as a release for your emotional stress.
3) Get connected. Sometimes we find ourselves on an emotional rollercoaster and we don't know how we got there. So often our schedules are packed and we are constantly on the go. Because there is no downtime for us, we sometimes neglect to reflect on how we feel. It's hard to release emotions when we don't even recognize we have them to begin with. Get connected with your inner self. How are you feeling? What's triggering that emotional response? Are there specific needs you have neglected that are having a real effect on your emotions? Consider these things that influence your emotional health: lack of sleep, stress from trying to do to much, not eating often or healthy, choosing to focus on negativity, harmful or hurtful people in your space, menopause or your monthly period. All these play a key role in your emotional health. Recognize them, identify them and then start to course correct.
4) Get help. If you feel your emotional state is seriously unhealthy, don't be afraid to seek help. Whether it's from a professional counselor or therapist or maybe just a good girlfriend, it's never a bad thing to need help.
Now, let's agree to keep rollercoaster riding to fun amusement park visits. Ups and downs come...life isn't always easy, but we can choose to ride the ride or declare control in our lives.
Please keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times and do not exit until the ride has come to a complete stop....
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