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13 Ways to Tell If You Are Emotionally Healthy (And How to Get There If You Answered No)

Emotional health is a topic on everyone’s mind these days. And that’s a good thing. In the past, there’s been such a heavy focus on physical health (also a good thing!) but the mental/emotional side seemed to be secondary.

As the founder of YouAligned, my life is blissfully full and often very busy. I make a conscious effort to not say and reaffirm my state of “busy-ness” because for many (myself included) it can become their story, their excuse, their unshakeable reality that keeps them in a constant state of feeling stressed, overwhelmed and too busy to do anything.

Often the things we sacrifice in the name of being “too busy” are:

  • Our self-care
  • Our fitness and physical activity
  • Time with loved ones
  • Time alone
  • Our mental and emotional health

 
Over the past few years, I have sacrificed all of the above and have been on the emotional and unhealthy roller coaster ride that followed as a result of this sacrifice.

I share my personal experience because I know I’m not alone. I know that so many people have gone through this as well, and navigating how to be successful in your career while maintaining a healthy work/life balance that lends to consistent self-care and strong mental and emotional health is of the utmost importance.

So, read on for the tell-tale signs that you are emotionally healthy. And if you’re not saying yes to these signs, that’s YOUR sign that you are ready (and worthy and in need of) a change.
 
 

Here Are 13 Signs You Are In Good Emotional Health:

Are you in good emotional health, or on the path to finding more balance and becoming more emotionally healthy? These signs will answer that question, and also provide guidance on how to get there if you’re not.
 

1. You experience gratitude fully and regularly in all aspects of your life

Gratitude is the foundation from which all positivity springs, and practicing gratitude is a surefire path to good emotional health and stability. A huge indication of emotional health is the ability to recognize all that we have to be grateful for in our lives.
 

Gratitude is the foundation from which all positivity springs, and practicing gratitude is a surefire path to good emotional health and stability.

 
When we have an unhealthy outlook or are lacking emotional stability, accessing a state of gratitude can feel like an uphill battle. If you’re struggling with this, start small. Look around you and find one thing to be grateful for. Write it down, and tomorrow, find two things to be grateful for.

This Simple Yet Life-Altering Exercise Will Help You Find Gratitude Every Day
 

2. You’re not afraid to ask for support – and you do often

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, being able to speak up and ask for what you need is a big sign of strength, courage, and emotional health. It is ok to not be ok. And it is ok to ask for help.

Being emotionally healthy – and this is important for everyone to understand – does NOT mean that you are ok, happy, and perfectly fine 100% of the time. That’s not reality.

The reality of emotional health is that you will not always feel great, but you are aware of this, expect it, and embrace it. To deny it would be to not have realistic expectations about life or your experience of it.
 

3. You act from a place of compassion

As the Dalai Lama said, “Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.” Look – we’re all human, and from time to time, we are bound to lose our patience and get upset.

However, it is so important to remember that everyone is on their own unique path and we never know what someone is dealing with in their personal lives. So regardless of someone’s exterior actions or attitude, try to view them through the lens of compassion. And most importantly, be sure to exercise that same level of compassion on yourself.
 

 
 

4. You have a consistent exercise regimen

Breaking a sweat, releasing endorphins, and taking time to move your body helps you reduce stress and anxiety, get grounded, boost confidence, and even improve decision making.

I have maintained a consistent workout regimen since I started college. My freshman year at CU Boulder, I quickly realized the huge difference a simple 30-60 minutes at the gym could make. I felt stronger, more confident, and was better able to focus and perform in school.

I started practicing yoga around the same time and it completely shifted my life for the better – from reducing my anxiety and migraines to helping me find presence and a healthier emotional state – and I never looked back.
 

5. You maintain healthy relationships and let go of the ones that aren’t

A huge part of mental and emotional health is the relationships that we keep. We’ve all heard that saying that we are the sum of the five people closest to us in our lives. Let that sit with you for a moment.

The reason why this saying is so true is that the people in our lives are a mirror. If we are emotionally healthy, we attract others that are too. If we aren’t, we don’t.

Likewise, if you have relationships in your life that aren’t serving you, uplifting you, or making you better, it’s time to let those go in the name of your emotional health and wellbeing.

The Secret to Cultivating Healthy Relationships That THRIVE: This Life Coach Tells All
 

6. Your strongest relationship is with yourself

Until we love ourselves, how can we truly love anyone else? Or show up fully for ourselves or anyone else? It all starts from within.

A strong relationship with yourself is a powerful reflection of the self-work you’ve done and the self-love you have as a result. From this stems confidence, power, the ability to be compassionate (see #1), and also the ability to attract meaningful relationships (see #5) into your life.

Have a solid relationship with yourself and ready to attract a solid, healthy romance? Here’s How to Attract Real Love Into Your Life
 

7. You know that personal growth is key to your success

We touched on the power and importance of self-work in the previous point. Personal growth is everything. If we’re not evolving, we’re stagnant – or backsliding.
 

Personal growth means showing up and loving yourself enough to do the work and release any negative habits or behaviors that are holding you back.

 
Life is one big learning lesson and those who recognize this don’t view life as happening to them – they instead view every experience and challenge in life as an opportunity to learn, grow, and shift.

Personal growth means showing up and loving yourself enough to do the work and release any negative habits or behaviors that are holding you back. If you’re ready to learn, grow, and shift in all areas of your life, then I encourage you to seek out resources that help you do precisely that . . .

As a big advocate of personal growth, I created Learn. Grow. Shift. A 30-Day Workbook for Personal Growth designed to help you work through limiting beliefs and move into a place of empowerment through daily journaling, mantras, and other techniques.
 

8. You have an easy time forgiving and moving on

Holding grudges and remaining angry takes up a lot of energy. This is not to say that you should shut off your emotions and feelings, and it’s also not to say that you should let people walk all over you.

This is to say, however, that it takes strength to work through the emotions and hurt. It takes compassion and inner peace to be able to forgive and move on. You know the saying “Do no harm, but take no shit”?

We can bring harm upon ourselves when we hold onto anger and don’t work through it in a healthy way in order to release it. A sign of emotional health is the ability to work through and let go of anger so you can let go and move on.

Just can’t let it go?? Practice These 5 Yoga Poses to Release Anger
 

9. You LIVE life

This quote by Jonathan Swift really hit me hard one day: “May you live every day of your life.” Because while you’re obviously alive if you’re reading this, we don’t all live our lives fully every day (or for some of us, ever).

I spent a few years going through the motions, waking up, working my tail off, going to bed and doing it all over again. I read that quote and realized that if I died tomorrow, I would’ve died not fully living the past few years (plus how unhealthy that was for me emotionally), and that realization was sobering enough to make a change.

To make the commitment to yourself to truly LIVE your life is one of the most invigorating, empowering, and fulfilling things you can do! Take chances, try new things, do things that scare you. Be adventurous, be authentic, be generous, and be spontaneous . . . which brings us to #10.
 

 
 

10. You welcome spontaneity and you go with the flow

Being in good emotional health means that you can welcome spontaneity and are truly able to go with the flow. You can accept if things don’t go your way, and you treat life more like a dance than a struggle.
 

You can accept if things don’t go your way, and you treat life more like a dance than a struggle.

 
Sure, things won’t always go according to plan, but if you’re emotionally healthy, you can bounce right back from that, accept what is, shake it off, and keep moving forward with your head held high, knowing and trusting that things will fall into place precisely as and when they should. Mic drop.
 

11. You love self-care and are committed to it regularly

This is a big one! Self-care is key to our physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health. Self-care is like water, food, and oxygen for our soul.

When we’re not in a good place emotionally, it can be hard to find the motivation or desire for self-care. When we’re committed to regular self-care, we schedule it in like we would a business meeting, and treat it with equal (if not more) importance.

Self-care can be so many things, from alone time, to taking a bath, getting a massage, doing yoga, journaling – whatever fills you up, do that, and do it regularly.

Hit the Reset Button With These 7 Self-Care Rituals to Refresh and Revitalize Mind + Body
 

12. You nourish your body with healthy food

With exercise, the more you do it, the more you want to do it. The same applies to the food we eat. When we eat clean, healthy, nourishing foods, our bodies and minds literally vibrate at a higher frequency. We crave more of the same.

Conversely, when we eat unhealthy foods, over time we come to crave those also and it becomes a negative habit with bad implications for mind and body. When we are physically healthy, it’s easier to stay emotionally healthy too.
 

13. You are not closed off to your emotions

Last but certainly not least, being emotionally healthy means that you are not closed off to your emotions. You are able to tap into what you are feeling and sit with that, be it the highest of highs or the lowest of lows and all the in betweens.

Just as we discussed in #2, being in touch with reality means we understand that not every day will be perfect, that life is not all sunshine and rainbows, and most importantly, that we wouldn’t want that anyway because without the bad we wouldn’t be able to appreciate the good.
 

BONUS: You don’t play small

Playing small means not acknowledging or embodying your fullest, highest potential. Not acknowledging implies that deep down you know this potential is there but you are choosing to not activate it.
 

Emotional health means acknowledging and fully celebrating your worth. You ARE worthy, and when you’re emotionally healthy, you know this.

 
Stepping into your full power means that you don’t hide your shine, your sparkle, your light – and what makes you authentically, unapologetically Y.O.U.!

Life is too short to dim your light or hide from what you are truly capable of being, creating, accomplishing . . . The only thing holding you back from these things is your belief that you can’t, or aren’t worthy.

Emotional health means acknowledging and fully celebrating your worth. You ARE worthy, and when you’re emotionally healthy, you know this.
 
 

Cheers to Your Emotional Health and Wellbeing

So friends – how did it go for you? Were you a resounding YES for many of these points? Did some seem unattainable or unrealistic?

Emotional health is not as much a destination as it is a journey and a constant practice. When we attain a sense of equilibrium and emotional wellness, it should be cultivated and strengthened like a muscle.

Being emotionally healthy and resilient takes time, it takes work, and it demands a strong dedication to yourself (which means an acceptance of your self-worth).

Wherever you are on this journey, know this: You are stronger than you even realize, you are fully capable, and most importantly, you are worthy of feeling emotionally healthy and fortified.

 

This article has been read 6K+ times. Feelin’ the love!

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Ashton August

Ashton is the founder and Content Director of YouAligned.com and YA Classes (we plant a food-producing tree for every class a member completes!). As a motivational author and speaker, distinguished yoga instructor and wellness entrepreneur, she believes that cultivating empowering self-talk and a healthy mindset opens the door to living an abundantly fulfilling life! Ashton lives in sunny Tucson, Arizona with her husband and their two rescue dogs.

ashtonaugust.com

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