Learn To Strengthen Your Emotional Immune System
Science has proven it, and we prove it ourselves every day: emotions are contagious. The most extreme example of this is when people flee in droves. A couple of people shout and start running. Then panic is triggered and the people around form thoughtlessly form a fleeing herd. This kind of thing can even have quite serious consequences. This is just one of the reasons why it is so important to strengthen your emotional immune system.
Let us move away from extreme examples such as what we just gave. There is also everyday evidence that emotional states are contagious. It is because of mirror neurons, which mimic the emotions of others and make them yours. That is why groups have such a big impact on us as individuals. This is also why your best defense is to have a good emotional immune system.
However, some people are less affected by the mood of a group. They can basically remain the same no matter how a group feels. The ability to resist these influences depends a lot on your emotional immune system. If it is strong, you will become more independent. If it is weak, a group will infect you more easily.
Awareness to strengthen your emotional immune system
It is obviously a good thing to let the joy and optimism of others infect you. What is not so good is to let others give you their stress, boredom or pessimism. Unfortunately, some negative emotions (such as anxiety) are much easier to spread than positive ones.
One way to strengthen your emotional immune system and not let other people’s moods control you is to start by taking a look at yourself. What are the most important emotions you experience in your daily life? What emotions do you spread to other people?
Exaggerate the signs of good mood
The best way to start is to work on gaining more control over your emotions. There is no better way to do this than to actually push yourself in the direction of a positive mood. Maintaining that kind of attitude will make you stronger.
A simple technique for this is to exaggerate a bit. Smile, even if you do not feel like it. Thank you life and the universe for everything, even if it’s just for the little things you have in your daily life. Be extra friendly with people you are not usually friendly with. All of this will help strengthen your emotional immune system.
Avoid criticism and do not strive for power
Nothing is more toxic to your emotions than criticizing other people and backbiting. It is a very negative use of your time. One day you are the one who does it to them, and the next day they are the ones who do it to you. Try to avoid creating negative, unfriendly environments.
Striving for meaningless power is also very draining. Being above other people is no more valuable than being below them, because there is always someone above you, no matter how high up you are. It is inevitable. So when you fight to give orders or prevent others from leading you around, you are wasting your life energy and just surrounding yourself in a dense, negative atmosphere.
Focus on what you are doing right
The best way to strengthen your emotional immune system is to make yourself a kind of promoter of positive emotions and uplifting moods. The best way to do that is to focus on all the good aspects of yourself, such as your personality, your actions, etc.…
Without realizing it, the mood of others will begin to align with your good attitude. It will be almost invisible, and you will not try to make it happen, but you will begin to see the best in other people. This technique rarely fails. All you have to do is focus on the good, on the best side of things. Doing so always has many benefits.
Learn to communicate negative emotions
There is no way to avoid the occasional onslaught of negative, heavy emotions. When you spread them, you also influence others, not just yourself. We are talking about stress, depression, anger, bitterness, or some of the very negative emotions that fit the spectrum of your mood.
To begin with, it is best to try to bring down the intensity of these feelings when you feel them. It is always helpful to take 5 minutes to do some deep breathing. It will give your brain oxygen, balance your body, and even stabilize your emotions. Then you can take your time and think about how you can best express what you feel, in the most constructive way.
The goal of all these techniques is to strengthen your emotional immune system. If you make yourself a flash of light, others will shine theirs towards you as well. Never forget that what you do for other people, you do for yourself as well.
