We’ve talked recently how emotions can be powerful things. They can lead us to good things and bad things. Trying to cope with emotions can even lead us to abuse drugs and alcohol.
Sadly, this is a common occurrence. We’ve all heard of people who say they drink or use drugs to try to forget their problems. We probably even know a few.
But using drugs and alcohol in this way just masks our emotions. The emotions are still there underneath. They can become even more intense if we start abusing drugs and alcohol.
It’s better to acknowledge our emotions, as painful as they might be. Fortunately, there are different ways to deal with these emotions. Even better, we don’t even have to deal with these emotions alone. Some ways to acknowledge and treat our emotions include:
- Writing them down. Writing thoughts down in a diary or journal is a time-honored way to deal with emotions. Seeing your thoughts and emotions on paper can help you determine which emotions are important to you and demonstrate how you deal with them.
- Keeping a blog. This a more modern way to record your feelings. This option is often more public than the traditional diary or journal, but you might want such publicity. Blogs often allow other people to comment on them, so bloggers might use other people to help them address their emotional issues.
- Distracting ourselves. This doesn’t mean ignoring our problems. But if we’ve done other work to deal with our problems, we have to give ourselves a break sometimes. A little distraction could be just what we need. Watching movies, reading a book, taking a walk, and hanging out with friends are just some of the things we can do to soothe our minds without turning to drugs or alcohol.
Of course, there are many other things we can do to deal with our emotions. Each person should work to find ways to recognize and handle their emotions. Emotional health is just as important as physical health. We should work to keep both in the best shape possible.
