5 Ways to Cope When Feeling Emotionally Drained
3. Don’t always be accessible
Recently, I’ve been feeling emotionally drained. It has to do with the fact I have to deal with mental health issues as well as my boyfriend’s. It can be hard.
We have all been through a lot in the past year so it is totally normal to be emotionally unavailable — don’t be so hard on yourself.
Do you also feel down someday and don’t know how to cope? Then here are five ways to cope when feeling emotionally drained.
The meaning
According to The Energy Blueprint, to be emotionally drained is when you are overtired or overworked which happens to us all at some point.
This can appear as depression, anxiety, sleepiness, exhaustion.
Furthermore, there is a scientifically backed reason behind becoming emotionally drained and that is because:
“Stress affects the Mitochondria (the energy producers of the cell) by triggering the Cell Danger Response (CDR). This shifts cell metabolism away from energy production and towards cell defense, which results in decreased energy and eventually the destruction of mitochondria. This in turn pushes your body into a low metabolic state, which is the basis of fatigue and exhaustion.” — The Energy Blueprint
So let’s now take a look at how to cope when feeling emotionally drained:
1. Set Boundaries
Recently, a client of mine has gone through a break-up. She is heartbroken and can’t quite believe it happened, causing her to be emotionally drained.
However, her ex is setting many boundaries for them both to keep distance right now, which is further instigating anger and frustration on her side. He is very clear about the boundaries he is setting, for example, to not tell each other they miss one another (probably best!).
She, on the other hand, is not having any say and is not setting boundaries for herself or him. This is where she should participate, too.
When you participate in setting boundaries, you are participating in your mental well-being and health.
Some boundaries you could set may include:
- Limiting time you spend with people weighing you down
- Taking more time out to spend alone
- Saying no without feeling guilty
- Limiting the time spent on social media
- Stop comparing yourself with others and find what feels good for you
The list goes on. What are your boundaries you are setting for yourself today to feel better and brighter?
2. Allow time to reflect
Understanding why you feel the way you feel will help you prevent it in the future.
So lately, as I said at the start of the article, I have been feeling emotionally drained. I know I am feeling this way because I am trying so hard with my boyfriend to bring him up at the moment that it sometimes exhausts me emotionally and physically. I have written about this recently:
So anyway, I have been giving myself time to reflect because I know it is what is needed.
Time is the best healer.
Ever heard of that before? Well, it’s true and you deserve it, so go with it.
When you allow yourself time to reflect, everything falls into place and you can move on easier.
This time may be time to journal, write, draw — tune in with your creative side and don’t hide.
3. Don’t always be accessible
Learning this is something I am currently dealing with. You see, my mum is still heartbroken by my father splitting with her a year ago. He cheated on her.
I was always in the middle of them, and still am kind of… the point is that I always put myself as accessible to my loved ones because I want to be there for them, but what about me?
I have learned to say no to not calling when I don’t feel well myself and cannot hear or see my mum cry again. You have to put yourself first as your mental health counts.
So now when my boyfriend ignores me (I have written about this as well: How to Deal with Ignorance in a Long-Distance Relationship | by Graceygee | Brighter Every Day | Medium), I instead take the time to reflect about how I am feeling and show myself the time I need.
Instead of being instantly accessible when he decides to message me, I take the time I need to respond. I put myself first — do you too?
4. Decide how to communicate
The next way to cope when feeling emotionally drained comes down to communication. You must have communication methods intact when you are feeling emotionally down.
When I feel emotionally unavailable, I am unavailable to talk to as well. I tend not to respond to messages and go into my isolated bubble.
This is what depression looks like.
My friends, by now, don’t take it personally, but it also sucks that it works like that. Instead of ignoring them completely, I have learnt to say that I am not feeling too good so will get back to them when I can.
Being honest helps.
When you are honest with your feelings and yourself, you can be honest with others too.
Decide how to communicate according to how you feel and stay real.
5. Hide and mute your social media
Asides being constantly available on messengers, be wary about spending more time offline and taking part in physical activities.
I know that when I am emotionally drained; I spend more time in nature. Nature brings me back to me — something I have spoken about in my bestselling self-help book. I dedicated a whole chapter to nature because it is truly our best healer.
I notice that when I am too attached to social media; I become detached from myself. It is hard to find the balance when social media connects us and actually keeps my business going, but you have to remember what is good for your soul — cooking, bathing, walking, etc.
Hide your distractions and let go when you need to.
I go out for a walk or jog when it gets too much and don’t look at my phone. Not looking at our phones may be harder than expected these days, right?!
Think about it — how long do you not look at your phone at a time? I bet you are thinking the same as me… scary huh. We are attached to our phones without realising it, so have to realise to reflect and take a step back when needed.
The takeaway
If you are feeling emotionally unavailable these days, don’t worry — we have been through a lot the past year and it is only normal to feel this way. Here are the five ways to cope when feeling emotionally drained:
- Hide your social media and phone away
- Decide how to communicate with others
- Don’t always be accesible to everyone or everything
- Take time to reflect and release
- Set boundaries for yourself and with others
What are you taking from the list? Feel free to share below!