Building new habits in the new year: Reconnecting with your emotions

Written by: Sasha Dessy, PhD

Emotional self-care is an important part of taking care of your overall health. Making it part of your routine can help you feel more grounded and connected with your emotions. Sometimes things come up in life that show us it’s time to refocus our efforts on our self-care. The holidays tend to bring up many difficult emotions and leave us in need of extra self love. The new year is a natural transition point for adding more habits that help us feel better.

Feeling tired after the holiday rush

The holidays can be an especially exciting and stressful time of year. With family gatherings, extra social commitments, or feelings of loneliness, the holidays may seem to throw your well-intentioned plans off track. As we expend more time and emotional energy on holiday activities we may push some of our day-to-day needs to the back burner. Some things catch up with us, like getting sick once we finally have time off of work or school. It’s also natural to reminisce about the past year, and regrets or feelings of sadness may come up in the process. 

To cope with the stresses and obligations that arise during difficult times, we may end up disconnecting from our feelings just to get by. But, it can be hard to reengage with our inner feelings once we get into the habit of ignoring them. 

Signs you may need more emotional self-care

Not knowing how you feel 

If you’re unsure how to recognize or express what you are feeling, taking time to reconnect with your inner voice can help. Get curious about your emotions and thoughts but try not to be judgmental.

Feeling emotionally drained and not knowing why 

Whether you are feeling emotionally tired, or if you are drained and don’t know where it’s coming from, extra self-care that recharges you emotionally can help you start to feel better. Spend some time being gentle with yourself and explore what might be restorative for your unique system. 

Feeling overwhelmed or uncomfortable when people express genuine care or concern for you

If you feel this way, it’s possible you are trying to avoid connecting with your emotions. Someone showing genuine care could bring these feelings to the surface. Another sign of this is avoiding eye contact more than usual. When people look into each other’s eyes it’s a way of being connected and feeling our emotions. 

Isolating or avoiding close interactions with people you usually like spending time with

The people who know us best also know when we are having a hard time. If you’re isolating or avoiding closeness it could be a sign you are in need of more self-care. Finding ways to reconnect with yourself can help.

Refocusing on emotional wellness

The new year typically marks an end to the holiday rush, a period to regroup and focus on the year ahead. This transition can also feel charged with the excitement of a new opportunity, a time to think about changes you are ready to make. It’s no surprise many people like to come up with new year’s resolutions for self improvement. 

Creating new habits is challenging but doable. When you’ve decided to make a change it’s important to try new things and figure out what works for you. Sometimes it’s hard to practice new habits because we’re just not used to doing them. Using scheduled reminders, alarms, or even self-care apps can help you remember to do them. 

Here are some simple ways to start reconnecting and recharging your emotional side.

Centering to recharge

Centering is a meditative practice to help you let go of worries about the past or future. It’s about being present in the moment by focusing on your breathing. It can be like a reset during the day. Doing this regularly can help you become more in tune with your emotions over time. 

Try setting aside a few minutes of the day for this centering exercise.

• Find a comfortable, safe place to sit and relax undisturbed

• Relax any areas of tension in your body

• Close your eyes and move your attention to your breath

• Now start to take slower, deeper breaths

• As thoughts intrude, gently redirect by telling yourself “I am focusing on my breath right now”

• Continue deep, focused breathing until you feel grounded

Reconnect with your inner voice through journaling

There are many ways to journal for self-care. It can be as simple as keeping a log of your feelings each day. Using a feeling list can make it even easier to add to your daily routine. 

Consider starting your journal entry with “what I feel right now” to help you focus on your emotions in that moment and spend a few minutes reflecting. If it’s hard to identify your emotions, start with writing down any physical feelings you can identify. 

Or try coloring your feelings! You don’t need to be an artist to creatively reconnect to your emotional side. Sometimes words won’t be able to capture your full experience so try using a creative method like painting or making a collage.

Recharge by giving yourself time to rest

It’s easy to get caught up in all the things we think we need to do. But people tend to forget that if you take care of yourself and rest, you usually feel better and can do more later. Recharging will look different for different people. For example, you could take a nap, go for a walk in nature, read a book, meet a good friend for lunch, go to the gym, listen to music, or watch a movie.

Do things you enjoy

Another way to take care of your own emotional needs is to choose to do something just for you, because it makes you happy. If you’re feeling drained, it can help to pay attention to what you need. It’s important to care for yourself, and consciously making decisions with your happiness in mind often creates a mental shift that makes you feel better about yourself.

Getting help is also self-care

We all need extra help sometimes, especially when we are trying to make changes in our lives. If you are looking for personalized support as you work on your emotional health, counseling can help. Ritual Wellness ATX in Austin, Texas has licensed therapists who work with you to create an individualized approach to therapy. Schedule a consultation through our online form.