Regret happens. What doesn’t have to happen is you holding on to it forever. Releasing regret is a process, one that is different for every person and every situation. However, you can give various forms of releasing regret a try and learn about yourself in the process.

1.Practice Daily Gratitude

Practicing daily gratitude is a great way to remind yourself of all that you have consistently. Family, friends, a home, food to eat, maybe even a cute puppy to come home to. Whatever your gratitude is toward, reminding yourself of it is a great way to reflect on the good in your life and make the regrets seem less important in the grand scheme of life.

2.Trust the Journey

Reminding yourself that even the adverse events in life are part of a bigger journey allows you to see the larger picture. Yes, you regret this one mistake. But, did that one mistake lead you down a different path that had good outcomes? Everything happens for a reason. Trust that in time you will find out why that mistake or loss occurred.

3.Learn to Release Emotions

Stop beating yourself up for something that happened in the past and learn to move on with a clear mind and focus.

Learning to release your feelings when they are not serving you will aid you now and in the future.

4.Accept the Lesson Learned

Situations or actions we regret typically offer us a lesson—if we are open to learning it. Accept that you learned a lesson and move on with it. Living through a challenging event means nothing if you don’t continue living and implement what you learned into your future life.

5.“What If-ing” the Past Doesn’t Change the Future

Living in the land of “what ifs” is tempting. However, “what ifs” literally mean nothing in the practice of daily life. You can spend hours or even days guessing at a different outcome, but it doesn’t matter. Those what-ifs will never directly impact your future other than to steal from it. So stop reliving it and move on.

CONCLUSION

If you live your life being swallowed alive by your regret, start exploring ways to release it and move on. You deserve a life that is fulfilled and happy, not a life that leaves you stuck in the past and wallowing in disappointment.

Should You Suppress Your Feelings?

People are wired with emotions. Therefore, when you suppress your emotions, you are going against your design. That can cause harm to you physically and emotionally.

There is a time and place for everything, including expressing emotions. For example, it’s probably not the best idea to shout in the middle of a busy location. Unfortunately, in this day and age, people could mistake your actions when doing this.

Having said that, it is important to note that keeping your emotions bottled up will eventually lead to stress and other adverse mental conditions. If this continues for too long, it can cause you to become depressed and lead to alcohol or drug abuse problems. For instance, many people turn to sleep aids or worse, like Oxycontin and other opioid-type drugs. These are highly addictive and only mask the symptoms. They are seldom used to cure conditions.

Many people are taught to suppress emotions by their parents and grandparents. These generations were taught to do the same and felt it was a true sign of character to keep your emotions in check. Unfortunately, during their time as kids, there was less information about the effects of emotions than there is currently.

Some people still adhere to the old ways of not expressing emotions. Expressing emotions is similar to complaining, and no one wants to hear it. However, modern studies are pointing to suppressing emotions as damaging.

How To Let Off The Emotional Steam

People have different ways of letting off some steam. Some will play sports like basketball while others will work out at the gym. Meditation is another, more tranquil way to reduce your stress.

Sometimes all you need is to talk to someone about what you are feeling. When you do this, you are letting your guard down, so make sure you find someone you can trust. If you choose a coworker, make sure you don’t disclose so much to leave you vulnerable should that person tell what you said to others in the workplace. It could have negative consequences if it gets back to your boss or another person you may be talking about.

CONCLUSION

Keeping your emotions inside is never healthy. However, you need to try and find the right time to express those emotions. But finding that time is crucial to your mental and physical wellbeing. It is not worth getting sick because you aren’t willing to express yourself. Instead, the benefits of letting it out will lead you to a better life.

Is Laughter the Best Medicine ?

You have probably heard the term laughter is the best medicine. It may even be a bit cliché at this point. However, it still holds quite true. If you are feeling down, forcing yourself to smile or laugh can turn your mood around.

Hang Out With Jolly People

If you need a pick-me-up, make sure you hang out with upbeat people. If you are with others who are down as well, it’s going to be difficult for each of you to get out of your funk.

The Laughter Therapy

No one can truly be happy 100% of the time. So, if you are unhappy more than you are happy, it could be time to seek some help. But, part of your therapy could very well be to use laughter.

Laughter can help lower stress as well. It releases endorphins in your brain, which are responsible for you feeling good. It is even believed to help in producing antibodies that can fight disease. This could be how the phrase, laughter makes the best medicine, came about.

The Laughing Routine

You may feel strange yourself early on when incorporating laughter into your routine. But, even if it is forced, as you do more, you’ll get more used to it, and it will stop feeling strange over time. Then, finally, you will have the tools you need to change your mood. Then, after a while, you will find yourself laughing for real rather than forcing it.

Be a Laughter Influencer

It will improve your general outlook on life. People you associate with will also take notice and want to hang out with you more. Give it a try for a consistent period. Notice the changes that you experience in your feelings. It is likely you will never go back to the way it was. While no one can guarantee using laughter will make you live longer, it won’t hurt you in any manner. The question is, why wouldn’t you use it if you’ve got nothing to lose?

Do Men and Women Handle Emotions Differently?

Intuitively, many believe that men and women handle their emotions in different ways. But, there are certainly more emotional men and women who are not. It could be a societal aspect where men are taught to “man up” and keep their emotions in check while women are told they are the nurturers in a relationship and should express emotions more readily.

Men Are from Mars and Women Are from Venus

The book “Men Are from Mars and Women Are from Venus,” lays out why we are different. It could be that these differences complement each other and help to round out a family. But, of course, men and women will continue to complain to their friends about each other. It makes you wonder if this is simple posturing. There are plenty of stories that play off these differences.

Do Men Hide Their Emotions

While women may believe men are callous and cold, the truth is men do experience emotions. However, they do it differently than women. Many men do get choked up when they see an emotional movie. However, they try to keep it from coming to the forefront. On the other hand, some men have no problems with expressing those emotions.

Some women don’t want their men to be too emotional. But, on the other hand, they view them as being weak and, even when overdone, as effeminate. So it’s a delicate balance as they don’t want their men completely emotionless.

Hollywood movies often reinforce the stereotypes between men and women. People who grew up watching John Wayne movies saw the Duke as being a tough guy. Men would model themselves based on their characters. It’s not much different from the movies shown today.

Is That Men and Women are Wired Differently ?

Another factor that may explain the differences between how men and women express emotions is biological. Women have different hormones than men. These hormones can affect how people express emotions.

It’s important to note that many studies on the differences between men and women are centered around the study of the brain. While science has come a long way in the past 50 years with these studies, the brain is still a highly complex organ.

In the grand scheme of things, we know very little about it. Therefore, how much do we know about emotions in men and women

What will we know 50 years from now about the brain? No one can say for sure, but it is likely to be very different than what is known now.