Checking in On Your Emotional Bank Account
How’s your emotional bank account doing? Are you ensuring that your deposits always outweigh the withdrawals?
Like with a real bank, there are rules for keeping your balance in check. To maintain a positive relationship with your bank and creditors, you can’t take more than you have; else, you can end up in some hot water. But what does that mean for your emotional bank account?
Your emotional bank account is like a savings account for your emotions. You make deposits into the account when you have positive experiences or do things that make you happy. You withdraw from the account when you experience negative emotions or do things that make you unhappy or unfulfilled.
If your withdrawals outweigh your deposits, you may start to feel the consequences physically and mentally. You may become more irritable, have difficulty sleeping, or find yourself withdrawing from social activities. Ignoring your emotions can also suppress them, negatively affecting your mental and physical health.
So, what happens when you violate the terms of your emotional bank account? And how can you ensure that you always have a positive balance?
Here are some tips for maintaining good standing with your emotional bank account:
Check-in with your emotions regularly.
How are you feeling today? This question can seem simple, but it’s essential to ask yourself often. Your emotions can change daily, sometimes hourly. It’s essential to check in with yourself to see how you’re feeling.
If you’re not used to checking in with your emotions, it may be helpful to keep a journal. Writing down how you’re feeling can help you better understand your emotions and what may be causing them.
Become aware of your thoughts and thought patterns.
Checking in on your emotional bank account means being mindful of the thoughts and emotions you’re putting into your mind. Are you filling it with positive thoughts and feelings to help you reach your goals? Or are you indulging in negative self-talk that will only set you back?
It takes patience and practice, but by becoming more aware of your thought patterns, you can start to make deposits into your emotional bank account that will pay off in better mental health and a more satisfying life.
Don’t ignore your emotions.
It’s always tempting to push away negative emotions, but this is usually ineffective in the long run. Ignoring your emotions can lead to them becoming suppressed before eventually backfiring, which can negatively affect your mental and physical health. Furthermore, if you don’t welcome all emotions on the spectrum, you may find it harder to experience the positive ones.
Learn to process your emotions in healthy ways.
One of the most important steps in taking care of your emotional bank account is learning to process your emotions, even the negative ones. Emotional acceptance means recognizing and validating that you are feeling what you’re feeling without judgment.
It’s okay to feel angry, sad, frustrated, or scared — these emotions are a natural and inevitable part of life. What’s important is what you learn and how you deal with them.
Engage in activities that restore you and make you feel good.
When you deposit into your emotional bank account, you are doing things like resting and relaxing, responding versus reacting, and acting from a place of intention and self-compassion. Self-care is a term that can help guide us through life this way, making deliberate choices to care for ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Regarding your emotional bank account, self-care activities are like deposits. They help to boost your mood and improve your overall well-being.
Some self-care activities that you may want to try include:
- -Exercise
- Spending time outside in nature
- Meditation or mindfulness practices
- Writing in a journal
- Spending time with friends and family members who make you feel good about yourself
In addition to incorporating these elements into your life, learn to say “no” to things that drain you or don’t add substance to your life. When you consistently take time to care for yourself, you can help to ensure that your emotional bank account always has a positive balance.
Get Support
If you’re struggling to manage lingering feelings of depression, reach out for support. Ketamine can help when you are looking for something more revolutionary than the standard protocol. If you or someone you love is suffering from a treatment-resistant mental illness, we encourage you to reach out to a COPE supported center near you to learn more about our innovative, effective, evidence-based treatments.