There is always going to be something that could drag us into an emotional funk. The trick is to recognise when we’re in it and rely on strategies to get us out of it. This is known as self-regulation and can be used to develop emotional regulation that will help us build resilience for future challenges.
Time heals everything if we are open to it
Remembering that as time passes, things do get easier. What might seem like an emotional burden at the time, might even feel a little better the next day.
If we can remember this, getting out of an emotional funk is easier.
Time provides perspective, allowing any intense emotions to settle and become more manageable. When emotionally overwhelmed, stepping away creates space to process feelings, reducing their immediate impact. With time, our brains shift from reactive to reflective, helping us gain clarity and resilience. It also enables healing, allowing emotions to transform into insights rather than burdens. Even a short pause—deep breaths, a walk, or sleep—can bring relief and renewed strength.
Self-care is an absolute must when we are in an emotional funk
I’ve said it so many times, we need to look after ourselves first so we are in a better place to look after others. Self-care is a way to do this. It helps us emotionally by keeping us mentally and physically healthy when times are challenging. Self-care doesn’t have to be expensive. There are many, easy and free ways to look after ourselves to help us feel better so we can face challenges with perseverance and confidence.
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Some additional on self-care strategies ideas to start you off.
Giving to others can also support us emotionally
Giving to others can provide a sense of purpose and connection, which can help ease emotional overwhelm. Small acts of kindness can shift our focus from our own distress to the well-being of others, offering perspective and reducing feelings of isolation. There is always someone worse off than us. Putting things in perspective helps with this.
Helping someone in need triggers the release of feel-good hormones like oxytocin and dopamine, promoting emotional relief and resilience. Additionally, generosity fosters a sense of control and agency, counteracting feelings of helplessness. Even in difficult moments, giving can be a powerful way to cultivate hope and inner peace. And the great thing is, there’s actual science to back up how kindness is good for our health.
How do our thoughts help us get out of an emotional funk?
Have you ever taken the time to actually listen to your thoughts when going through a challenging situation? If you can be the ‘observer’ of your thought patterns, then you’ve made a great leap forward in being able to understand them and control (or not control) them.
It takes practise to observe our thoughts and then follow them up with a positive one. Observing our thoughts when we are emotionally overwhelmed allows us to create distance between ourselves and our emotions, preventing impulsive reactions. By becoming aware of our thoughts without judgment, we can recognise patterns, identify triggers, and gain clarity on our feelings. Labelling our thoughts helps with this. What’s on repeat?
By being mindful of our thoughts, we can respond more rationally rather than being controlled by our emotions. It also fosters self-compassion, as we learn to acknowledge our emotions without feeling consumed by them. Over time, this practise strengthens our emotional resilience and enhances our ability to navigate challenging situations with greater ease.
Connecting with others can support us to get out of a funk
We are social creatures by nature and through our connection with others, we can drag ourselves out of an emotional funk. As they say, a problem shared, is a problem halved! Think of a time when you offloaded what’s bothering you to someone trusted. It helps to say our problems out loud to someone else rather than keeping them rattling around in our heads. This can make matters worse.
Talking to someone when we’re emotionally overwhelmed helps by providing support, perspective, and relief. By expressing our feelings out loud, we can reduce their intensity. Find a supportive listener who can offer comfort, validation, or even practical advice. Verbalising our emotions also helps organise our thoughts, giving clarity and a sense of control. Sometimes, just knowing that someone cares and is willing to listen can be enough to ease the emotional burden.
How can expressing gratitude help us emotionally?
Sometimes when things aren’t going to plan and we’ve hit a wall emotionally, expressing gratitude can be hard. But just the simple act of feeling grateful for what we have, can make a massive difference in how we react and respond to a situation. This goes for how we might respond to future problems as well.
By expressing gratitude when we feel emotionally overwhelmed, shifts our focus from distress to appreciation. It encourages us to see the positive aspects of our lives, fostering a sense of balance and perspective. Gratitude activates brain regions linked to happiness and reduces stress hormones, helping to calm the mind.
Even in difficult moments, acknowledging small blessings—like a supportive friend or a comforting memory—can create emotional resilience. By practicing gratitude, we cultivate a mindset that promotes inner peace and helps us navigate overwhelming emotions with greater ease.
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Where our focus goes, our energy flows
Being conscious of our thoughts will help us be able to turn those negative ones around. Once we understand that what we give our focus to, our energy will flow to that. This means, the more we give a negative situation our focus, it will suck our energy.
Shifting our focus can help when we’re emotionally overwhelmed by shifting our attention away from distressing thoughts and onto something grounding or positive. This interrupts the cycle of rumination (going over and over something), and reduces emotional intensity, giving us a sense of control.
Engaging in a creative activity, practising mindfulness, or going for a walk can create space for calmness and clarity. By redirecting our attention, we allow our emotions to settle, making it easier to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively.
Getting our thoughts out of our head and onto paper can help shift us out of the emotional funk we're in
Writing stuff down helps free up the mental clutter in going on in our brains. It provides an emotional release of information which could be negative. We don’t have to use a journal either if we don’t want to keep the info. Writing stuff down and then burning it can help release the information and the burden attached to it.
Writing things down when we’re in an emotional funk helps provide clarity and release. It allows us to process our emotions, organise our thoughts, and gain perspective on what we’re feeling. By journaling, or even jotting down a few words can create distance between us and our emotions, making them feel less chaotic. It also helps us to identify patterns, triggers, and possible solutions. Putting feelings into words gives them form, making them easier to understand and work through. Give it a try in whatever form feels comfortable to you and see if it helps.
Bottom line
There will always be factors that can pull us into an emotional slump. The key is to identify when we find ourselves in that state and utilise strategies to lift ourselves out of it. This process, known as self-regulation, can be harnessed to enhance our emotional regulation, ultimately helping us build resilience for future obstacles.
