Keep The Emotions In Check - QC Contest #89

Emotions are part and parcel of our daily lives, our experiences, and our interactions with others. We all express one emotion or the other at every point in time. It could be anger, sadness, happiness, fear, mixed feelings or even confusion and they could be overwhelming causing one to react in ways which they wouldn't have done originally.

Some of the likely things that could cause one to be overwhelmed by emotions include stress, major life events such as a death, job loss, or loss of an important thing, divorce, a major illness or hormonal changes. Not forgetting being treated unjustly, accused wrongly or bullied.
One shouldn't beat himself up when these emotions come up, it's normal and that's what makes us who we are. But there's a need to manage them so we don't get hurt or hurt others in the process.

I'm a very emotional person, like you will see whatever emotions I'm feeling clearly without being told. If I'm sad, happy or angry, that's exactly how I'll react, no pretense or trying to white wash it A friend told me that it shows that one is just, that's comforting. 🥰.

Being able to understand our emotional feelings, knowing when they are becoming overwhelming, and handling them is key to our overall well-being. I say this because when emotions become overwhelming, they can have a great effect on both our physical and mental well-being. For instance they can cause headaches, muscle tension, anxiety, depression, including thoughts of self-harm, or substance abuse.

I've had my own share of strong emotions one of which happened some years ago. This particular event made me tear up that it affected everyone around me. There's this cute puppy which one of my prayer group members has. I love dogs. This puppy likes me so much that it won't stop wagging it's tail, jumping on me and wanting for us to play each time it sees me. Stroking it's head and stomach sends it on a frenzy, lol.

So on one of the days we went for a prayer meeting there, this puppy went under a Keke tricycle which was parked by a member to sleep. It was a sunny day and apparently it needed a cool place to enjoy its sleep. After the meeting, the brother entered his tricycle, and unknown to him that the puppy was under it, he reversed and one of the back tyres hit the puppy's hind limbs so hard that it let out a loud cry which made me to rush immediately and carried it while hoping that it wasn't hurt but alas it was. There was no vet clinic around because it was a village so we didn't know what to do. All I did was to carry it in my arms, gently massaging the affected area and muttering a prayer amidst sobs for it not to die. But I could feel it's heartbeat slowing down with each whimpering sound it made. I watched the puppy give up in my hands and I let loose the tears that were already forming in my eyes. I wept for my dear friend and I tell you, everyone around was moved to let out some tears.

That was the first time I experienced a living creature die in my hands and I tell you, it shook me. But gradually I began to get over it and what helped me most was the memories of our playtime. How it would jump up excitedly as if in frenzy, whining and moaning as I stroke it. Remembering all these would leave me with a smile. Even as I type this now, I couldn't help smiling.

Like I wrote earlier, crying is one of the ways to react to the strong emotion of losing someone close to you or something very important just like I did with the puppy. Each strong emotion comes with its own unique reaction and ways of managing it but in general, it's advised that;

• One practice mindfulness which involves taking deep breaths to help calm the mind so that one can approach their emotions logically.

• Talking to someone, a trusted friend or family member can help and if it the struggle to cope with the feelings continues, a therapist or a counselor will be the best person to talk to.

• Most importantly is engaging in activities like reading, journaling, watching movies, taking a walk etc especially the enjoyable ones can help take one's mind off the strong emotions.

Thank you for reading.

Still the #threadsaddict 😂

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