How Self-Renewal Helps You Boost Your Emotional Health

Self-renewal can be an incredibly messy and emotional process. When you are trying to overhaul major parts of your life to better align with your ultimate goals and values, you’ll have to bid farewell to familiar aspects of your life that may bring you comfort. 

During that process, you are guaranteed to feel some very big and turbulent emotions – and that is completely normal! Making big changes will cause big emotions to rise. Even so, going through a self-renewal process can help you boost your overall emotional health. 

Before we go any further it may be helpful to understand the importance of difficult emotions.

Although happiness, joy, and feelings of contentment are wonderful and desirable emotions, difficult emotions such as sadness, anger, and fear can also play an important role in our emotional well-being. These emotions are not only natural, but they also serve a greater purpose. 

Difficult emotions signal that our body and mind need attention, and they help us navigate a sense of awareness and understanding. Sadness and anger for instance can lead us to a better understanding of these emotions including what they mean for us and how we can handle them. Fear can heighten our awareness of danger lurking ahead.

When we acknowledge both desirable and difficult emotions and embrace them for what they are telling us, we gain greater insight into our specific needs, desires, and wants. In the end they help us lead a more fulfilling and satisfying life. 

Our emotions can be huge and expansive and sometimes we feel like we are on a roller coaster ride. Let’s take a look at how these big swings in emotions play a role in boosting our emotional health, particularly in times of renewal.

How does experiencing big, difficult emotions help boost emotional health?

Going through an emotional self-renewal process is beneficial for your overall emotional health (even though it may feel intense in the moment!). 

1. Experience with big emotions gives you practice with handling them effectively. 

After you go through experiences with processing intense emotions, you’ll learn a lot about how to handle them effectively. While the experience may feel like a  challenging test, you will learn a great deal about yourself, your emotions, and how to navigate them in a way that works best for you.  Though it is difficult to go through those emotions at the time, they ultimately add to your personal growth and development, leaving you better equipped to handle them in the future. When we learn from them, it builds our character.

2. Processing the emotions you experience during self-renewal guides you toward better emotional fulfillment.

When you go through the process of self-renewal, grappling with the various emotions that arise can serve you as a roadmap towards a brighter emotional future. Basically its like shedding old skin or better yet throwing out old wine skins and putting new wine in new wine skins. We are getting rid of old patterns and habits, which can be an powerful emotional experience to begin with but in the end the effort is worth it. By letting go what no longer serves you, you can create new space for what more closely aligns with your true self and what you want to accomplish, paving the way for a future filled with greater emotional fulfillment. 

3. Self-renewal helps you be the best and truest version of yourself.

It’s crucial to recall that going through a self-renewal process helps you become your most authentic self as you journey towards becoming the best you can possibly be. When you live in a way that aligns with your values and goals, you can experience some of the best emotions in life. However, when you live a life that doesn’t align with your deepest aspirations, you may grow complacent and remain content “in your comfort zone”. And that may leave you unsatisfied and unfulfilled and may not be as emotionally satisfied as you think. When you go through self-renewal – and face all those difficult emotions – you are moving on the path of transformative change and are giving yourself a huge emotional boost by revealing to yourself how much better you can feel. 


What are some strategies for taking good care of your emotional health during self-renewal?

The emotions you’ll experience during self-renewal can be challenging. Consider using the following strategies to make the experience feel a little easier.

1.  Actually let yourself feel the emotions, even if they’re extra tough. 

Don’t push those intense feelings aside or attempt to ignore them. Instead, go ahead and let yourself process your big emotions in real time. You may be uncomfortable, but you’ll process them far quicker and better. Leaving them alone just lets them simmer underneath the deep waters of your soul, so to speak, and in time they may erupt like a volcano in ways you don’t like.

2. Practice self-compassion.

When you go through a time of self-renewal its essential that you be kind to yourself. Try to avoid being overly critical or harsh with yourself, and instead offer the same empathy and support that you would offer a friend. Take time for activities that help you feel relaxed and rejuvenated such as exercise, spending time in nature, or engaging in a hobby that brings you joy. By prioritizing self-care, you can strengthen your emotional resilience and increase your ability to steer through the challenges of self-renewal. 

3. Keep in touch with supportive people, especially when things get extra tough. 

Know the people you can depend on for emotional support during your self-renewal process, and don’t be afraid to ask them for help when you need it. Sometimes, you need help to work through intense emotional swings. Whether it’s a therapist, a friend, or a family member, have someone in place to help you. 

4. Self-validate your feelings. 

It’s important to acknowledge and keep in touch with your feelings during self-renewal. Even if your emotions are uncomfortable and messy, acknowledge them and accept them as normal – because they are! Remind yourself of this fact by self-validating your experiences. Self-validation enhances your emotional health during emotionally turbulent times.

5. Engage in mindfulness.

Mindful techniques, such as meditation or deep breathing exercises, can help you remain grounded and stay in the present moment during the emotional ups and downs of self-renewal. When you regularly practice mindfulness you can gain a greater sense of emotional self-awareness and increase your ability to regulate your emotions more effectively.

In conclusion by understanding and being aware of the importance of your emotional triggers and the role they play in helping you live a full life will be a boon to your emotional health. If you are a person given to emotional turmoil try the strategies I have outlined in this article as they may help you live a more contented life. 

Thank you for reading and remember stay safe, keep well and always become the best you can be.

Richard
Richard Fontanie

---