Tips for Managing Emotions

Managing one's emotions is essential for modern individuals and it's important to have personal strategies to do so.

For people like me who are engaged in study or research, living alone, or continuously expending mental energy in their work, this is even more crucial.

I recently watched a YouTube channel of a cheerful psychologist, and their positive energy seemed to brighten me up as well.

The psychologist shared tips on how to calm oneself when angry. I'll share my thoughts and experiences on this.

1. Understand your triggers: You need to understand your childhood traumas and issues, and recognize what triggers your anger. It's important to be aware of the moments when you feel flustered and overwhelmed, and understand the reasons behind these feelings. Having lived for 40 years, I think I've come to understand myself quite well. This understanding is a testament to the numerous difficult moments I've faced. Everyone knows their own traumas. There are moments when you might question, "Why am I thinking this way? Why am I behaving so foolishly?" We're well aware of these moments and try to correct them, but it's not easy. However, at least being aware of them helps significantly in resolving our issues.
2. Emotions need to be expressed: The other day, I called a colleague with whom I'm pursuing a doctoral course and poured out my troubles, engaging in a long conversation. I rarely initiate calls, but I was feeling so overwhelmed due to my thesis, and my head felt like it was going to explode, so I wanted to talk to someone. If I were at the research lab at the university (in Seoul), I could meet someone and talk, but because I live in the provinces and study at home, not having someone to confide in is a major drawback in my doctorate course. After a long outpouring of my hardships, I felt an indescribable ecstasy and healing. My body was hurting, my head was hot, and my heart, which felt like it was about to die, started to melt. According to the psychologist, just having someone to talk to can be healing. That's how I got through another tough period. After the call with my friend that day, I felt refreshed and felt my body recovering.
3. Exercise and get some sunlight: I've always known the importance of sunlight, but I often didn't practice it. It's regrettable that the amount of sunshine is reduced in winter, and in the region where I live, there's a lot of fine dust, so I often hesitate to go out. As an alternative, I found that just walking back and forth at home seemed helpful. Exercise and sunlight can never be overemphasized.

While pursuing a doctoral course, physical and mental hardships are always accompanied, but there were also moments when I felt joy while writing a thesis