Say Farewell to Emotional Exhaustion

You are the executive director of your life. You think for yourself. Stop letting other people, present circumstances, or ghosts of your past dictate your life. Be willing to let go and no longer be paralyzed by perfectionism.

With the awareness of each new day and each new life experience, you are collecting the kind of personal data that will help guide you to regain control of your life. With that in mind, here are seven ways to get it all together.

1. Protect your self-identify. Protect who you are without letting negative forces wear you down. When you build yourself up as a worthy person, created and nourished by your loving heavenly Father, you prepare yourself to go the distance.  You learn to care for yourself when it's easier not to.

2. Connect with others. Don't go it alone! Quality relationships will reduce your emotional exhaustion. At times, it may not be easy to connect with family members, but don't give up. See yourself as a bridge builder, and do your best to develop a network of compassion and relationships that will be there for the long run.

3. Respect yourself. When you respect yourself, you are saying I have value.  Respect means you take responsibility for yourself. Respect promises renewal and keeps you alive.  Respect is your great leap to freedom. When you respect yourself, you will not set yourself up to be hurt by others. You will no longer take to heart anyone else's slights or criticisms.

4. Make life-giving decisions day after day. These decisions make your life more meaningful. Affirming, freeing, positive decisions are the central theme of a healthy, forward-moving life.

5. Be authentic. Authentic individuals are really the only ones people can truly relate to. When you're authentic, you are real, no disguises, no games. What people see is what they get. Anything else is a game of defense. The more authentic you are, the more you will be able to truly relate to others and the more empathy you will have for people in pain.

Here's where your past emotional exhaustion can serve as comfort to those around you, because you've been there. You've suffered the pain of unresolved stress in the past, but you have also tunneled through to emotional health.

6. Is it laughter you're after? I hope so, because a good belly laugh every day is one of the greatest tonics for emotional exhaustion. The most wasted day of your life is the one when you haven't laughed. Consider laughter as "internal jogging."

7. Determine to live your life with balance. Balance will keep you from rigidity. You won't get a hardening of the attitudes. You'll relax more. You'll travel lighter. You'll ask for more forgiveness than permission. You'll see yourself as a growing person, willing to take more risks, and you'll feel the spurts of new growth as you become strong again.

What do you want to become? What are your greatest dreams? Where do you want your life to take you? Are you ready to put into practice these seven tips and say farewell to emotional exhaustion? I think you are.

Authored by Dr. Gregory Jantz, founder of The Center • A Place of HOPE and author of 35 books. Pioneering whole-person care nearly 30 years ago, Dr. Jantz has dedicated his life’s work to creating possibilities for others, and helping people change their lives for good. The Center • A Place of HOPE, located on the Puget Sound in Edmonds, Washington, creates individualized programs to treat behavioral and mental health issues, including eating disorders, addiction, depression, anxiety and others.  If you are struggling with emotional exhaustion, The Center is here to help.