Toughen up Emotionally

Getting emotional is not unnatural: It's human nature to feel hurt and pain every now and then. If you're a sensitive person who gets hurt easily or has trouble moving on from emotional rough spots, you're far from alone. Pulling yourself back on your feet is an essential life skill. Use these tips to develop an emotional resiliency that'll have you feeling confident and happy again in no time.

Confront Your Emotions

 * 1) Acknowledge your hurt feelings. It's easy to become overwhelmed by negative feelings. Understanding the specific source of your pain will make you better prepared to face the issue head on.
 * 2) * Be realistic with yourself. Acknowledge that everyone has bad days, everyone gets into conflicts with others, and there's no way to completely avoid encountering troublesome situations every now and then.
 * 3) * Try to put yourself in the other person's shoes. It can be difficult to empathize with someone who's just hurt your feelings, but considering their point of view and what they might be going through can be a calming, reasonable exercise.
 * 4) Ditch the victim mentality. Blaming others or allowing yourself to be subsumed with feelings of fear or self-pity isn't productive. It's difficult to change your thinking patterns, but you can take steps to escape the victim mentality.
 * 5) * Forgive those who've hurt you. Tell yourself it happened in the past, and that you need to release the burden by moving on.
 * 6) * Rewrite the story of the past hurt. Instead of seeing yourself as a victim, tell yourself that you're a strong problem solver, taking action to fix what's wrong.
 * 7) * Take time to feel gratitude for the good things in your life. Focus on the positive, not the negative.

Take Action

 * 1) Write it down. Keep a journal and record your painful experiences. Putting it on paper can provide emotional release, and having a record of recurring hurts and patterns to look back on is a useful tool when you're developing a plan to combat your negative feelings.
 * 2) * Studies by UCLA psychologists have proved that putting feelings like "angry" and "sad" into words actually decreases the alarming signals sent out by our brains, making our emotional pain less intense.
 * 3) * A study by the University of England showed that police officers who wrote down their feelings in a daily "emotions diary" had significantly reduced levels of stress, depression, and anxiety.
 * 4) * Don't feel tied down to a pen and paper. Try an online blog like Google's Blogger.com. You can spill your feelings while staying anonymous.
 * 5) * Freewriting--writing in a "stream of consciousness" style non-stop for a set amount of time--is a calming exercise that forces you to engage all of your senses and provides you with an emotional release.
 * 6) * Make a list of things you've accomplished today. You'll feel an instant sense of achievement.
 * 7) Reach out to your support system. Keep one or two of your closest confidants on speed dial. Humans are social creatures, so it's important to have someone - a friend, a sibling, a parent - who can give you a reassuring pep talk when you need it.
 * 8) * Remember to reciprocate the favor and make yourself available as a good listener for your friends.
 * 9) * Want professional advice and support? Seek out a therapist. You'll be challenged to talk about tough subjects and learn how to open up to others.
 * 10) * If you don't feel comfortable talking to someone in person, there are a number of national help hotlines available to provide answers to questions in a confidential, anonymous manner.
 * 11) Cheer yourself up. Take action by doing something that you know will make you happy: get some ice cream, go for a bike ride, or watch a funny movie. You'll quickly be replacing your hurt feelings with new, positive ones.
 * 12) * Listening to music you love--preferably the energetic, danceable kind--is a proven and popular mood booster.
 * 13) * A 15-minute walk can improve your feelings of depression and boost your mood for up to two hours.
 * 14) * Taking a 10-minute deep-breathing break will lower your heart rate and blood pressure, allowing you to feel relaxation.
 * 15) * Keep a bag of peppermint tea, a bottle of peppermint oil, or a pack of peppermint gum around. Sniffing peppermint has been shown to enhance your mood and your attention span.
 * 16) * Swap your black shirt for a red, pink, or yellow one. Wearing bright, bold colors gives you a stimulating lift.

Reshape Your Physical and Mental Habits

 * 1) Maintain a diet of mood-boosting foods. What you put into your body affects your brain. Science has shown that certain foods can lift your spirits.
 * 2) * Eat fruits, vegetables, fish, and other whole foods. People who eat diets of whole foods are less likely to feel depression than those who eat mostly processed meats, fried food, and refined grains.
 * 3) * Eat fish often. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish decrease your risk of depression.
 * 4) * Folate, a B vitamin found in dark greens like spinach, as well as beans and citrus, has a positive effect on the neurotransmitters that control our moods.
 * 5) * Don't avoid carbs. People who are on a strict, low-carb diet have been shown to experience more depression, anxiety, and anger than those who eat carbs and instead focus on low-fat dairy products, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables.
 * 6) * Indulge in some chocolate. Chocolate contains antioxidants called polyphenols that can help decrease your feelings of stress.
 * 7) * Sprinkle some cinnamon. The peppy spice has been shown to provide an extra boost of alertness and improved mood.
 * 8) Exercising regularly boosts your moods. Get into the habit of staying active. It's been proven to reduce anxiety, stress, and irritable feelings.
 * 9) * Cycling, even a single 30-minute session on a stationary bike, increases your energy. Keep your stimulus up by finding time to cycle on a stationary bike three times a week.
 * 10) * Low-intensity weight lifting has been shown increase levels of focus and clarity. You'll see improvements in your ability to multi-task and make challenging decisions.
 * 11) * The Chinese martial art Tai Chi involves regulated breathing and slow movements that can relax your muscles and your mind.
 * 12) Have a sense of humor. Get in the habit of lightening the mood by laughing your frustrations off. It'll alleviate a stressful situation and also allow you to create an emotional distance from the potential pain.
 * 13) * Rethink the humiliating moments of your life. Then try to find something retrospectively funny about them. You'll end up seeing the situation in a new light.
 * 14) * Read the comics in the newspaper and save the ones that you relate to. They'll remind you to find the humor in daily situations.
 * 15) * If someone is hostile or offensive towards you, respond with humor instead of anger. In certain situations, you'll find it easier to shrug off someone else's bad attitude by not taking him or her too seriously.
 * 16) * Laughter has its health benefits: Not only does it lower your blood pressure and increase your memory powers, it also reduces stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
 * 17) * Another stress-relieving benefit: Laughter stimulates your circulation and helps your muscles relax.
 * 18) Maintain an optimistic world view. Make positivity your default mode. Resilient people are able to bounce back easily because they tell themselves that the world is ultimately a happy place, not a negative one.
 * 19) * Catch yourself every time you're being negative. Then give yourself a mental note to change your view of the situation.
 * 20) * Focus on the things you can control. Don't let yourself get emotionally caught up in things you can't change--it's a waste of energy.

Tips

 * Research at the University of Southern California has shown that maintaining good, straight posture can decrease your sensitivity and make you feel more in control.