Maintaining Emotional Balance
Today, the health, economic, and political adversities and imbalances gripping the entire world are also negatively affecting the emotional worlds of societies and individuals, disrupting their emotional balance. Some of the results obtained from Gallup's 2021 "Global Emotions" survey, conducted with adults across 115 countries and regions, can be briefly summarized as follows:
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Four out of every ten adults said they had experienced worry (40%) or stress (40%), and three out of every ten said they had experienced physical pain (29%) the day before.
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Roughly a quarter or more experienced sadness (27%) or anger (24%).
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Worry and sadness each rose by one percentage point, anger by two, and stress by five.
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The world's Negative Experience Index score, which was 23 in 2007, climbed to 32 in 2021.
When assessed in very broad terms, it is inevitable that this situation will have negative effects on many areas, foremost among them communication and relationships. In recent times, these and similar research findings have led to a greater focus on the subject. One of the most important approaches that can shed light on these studies is "Emotional Intelligence" and the study of emotions. In its simplest form, Emotional Intelligence focuses on understanding and managing one's own emotions, and understanding and managing the emotions of others. Several studies have been carried out that complement, strengthen, and add new approaches to this framework. One of these is the concept of "Emotional Balance." Emotional balance can be defined as the ability of the mind and body to maintain equilibrium and flexibility in the face of challenge and change. Emotional balance is recognized as promoting physical health and as being essential for personal well-being and development.
People with strong emotional balance find ways to manage their impulses and emotions even in tense and stressful situations. Developing emotional balance begins with focusing on self-awareness, one of the most important components of emotional intelligence. Self-awareness is made possible by recognizing our emotions as they arise and how they affect all aspects of our lives. In addition, noticing how our different behaviors positively or negatively influence one another can also be considered part of self-awareness. Without self-awareness, we remain on autopilot and revert to unexamined behavioral responses and routines.
Self-regulation is one of the methods we most frequently resort to in order to achieve emotional balance. Self-regulation is the strengthening of awareness about what we experience and feel by monitoring ourselves. Sometimes we are surprised by our reaction to a situation. In such cases, if we examine this state that feels foreign to us and try to reach the underlying root cause, we can permanently change our actions and emotions. The most important tool at our disposal for this effort to change following such awareness is our optimistic attitude.
In situations where our mind is filled with thoughts about more than one matter, it is recommended to balance the emotion by choosing different focus areas in order to protect ourselves from possible negative scenarios, to calm down, and then to take action. For this moment of calming, activities such as walking, meditation, and the like are recommended.
Throughout the day, our brain is flooded with hundreds of thoughts. Everyone may evaluate these thoughts differently, as either positive or negative. It is our brain — that is, we ourselves — who decides which of these emotional states to choose. Some of the basic points listed above are important indicators that this choice lies with the individual. For this reason, a person who can control their brain gains control not only over their emotional imbalances but also over their life, opening the doors to a happy, peaceful, and fulfilled existence. After reading all of this, how about taking control of your own life?