We’ve all been in a situation where compressing our emotions is the next best thing to do. This is usually true in the workplace; showing personal emotions in the workplace is still deemed as taboo. But these emotional responses can be inevitable. Sometimes, it doesn’t just happen with hidden tears in the bathroom. It also occurs when a deadline gets moved closer or when a boss sends a cryptic email like “see me in my office now” or when a co-employee gets credit for something they didn’t contribute to at all.
Sadly, we can’t change the way other people act or how situations occur; the only thing we can change is the way we react to them. And it is important that we resolve these emotional issues especially when it becomes overly intense. Overly intense emotions can block effective communication and hinder problem-solving.
These tips will help lessen the severity and duration of your emotional outburst at work and will help you stay calm while dealing with such situations.
1. Identify your emotions
Identifying the emotions you are feeling can be harder than you think. For starters, start with the four basic emotional categories: happiness, anxiety, anger, or sadness. Once you identify your emotion, you will be able to take the power away from that emotion as you work your way to resolve it.
It is important that you acknowledge your own feelings. Are you angry? Frustrated? Anxious? Or Sad? Assess your own feelings and work your way through it with the succeeding tips.
2. Manage your emotions
After assessing and identifying your emotion, you need to learn to manage your emotional behaviors. You can manage your emotion by identifying your physical responses, like feeling a tight knock in your stomach or feeling scattered.
Once you get to identify your physical responses, replace your self-talk and physical responses with in-control responses. In-control responses are techniques that you can use in order to decrease the intensity of your emotion. For example, you can take two-or-three deep breaths, go for a short walk from your office to the end of the hallway.
3. Throw the negative thought away
Most of us find it helpful to throw the negative thought away by writing it down on a piece of paper as they question it. By throwing away the paper, you are mentally letting go of the things that are bothering you. However, it does not apply to all cases. It still depends on the severity of the situation, some situations may call for professional help.
4. Challenge your negative thoughts
We tend to entertain negative thoughts by letting our imagination go beyond our emotions. Furthermore, we tend to create other scenarios from a single situation which can only trigger anxiety.
By isolating your thoughts, you can separate the negative thoughts that accompany intense emotions. Ask yourself: Is the thought true? What are the facts that support it? What would be the effects on my actions or behaviors if I do not have the thought?
When you get to answer the questions yourself, you can apply some thought interruption techniques or verbal interruptions. For example, you can tell yourself to snap out of it or snap a rubber band on your wrist when you recognize that negative thought.
5. Seek professional help
Sometimes, intense emotion and long-term stresses can lead to feelings of withdrawal or overwhelm. You don’t have to take on the world by yourself. You can talk to a professional with whom you can assure comfort and can help ease all manner of difficult emotions you may have.
Your professional counselor can offer alternative tools and suggestions especially if your emotions stem from something you’d prefer not to share even to your closest friends. Additionally, your counselor will provide a prescription if he/she thinks that medication will help as you work through your emotions.
It is important that you get to maintain your composure on the job. Maintaining your composure includes managing your emotions and stress. For instance, when you are feeling blue, try to assess yourself and don’t address your emotions through compulsive resorts. If worse comes to worst, never be afraid to seek professional help. Remember that your health is just as important, if not more, as attaining success. Always look after yourself.