You don’t have to be someone who is in therapy or experiencing a crisis to go through periods of emotional instability. We all have had times when we were at our wit’s end or feel that we have reached the end of our rope.

Perhaps this has happened to you from time-to-time.

If you have been struggling with feeling emotionally unstable, there are things that you can do to prevent this from happening, such as avoiding certain bad habits. As a result, your thinking about how you view not only the world in general but also your stress and anxiety shifts, and you’re able to experience emotional stability.

Here are five bad habits to avoid so you can feel more emotionally stable.

1. Hyper-Focusing on Controlling Everything

One thing that contributes to feeling emotionally unstable is control—or more precisely, feeling a lack of control. Everyone wants to have some degree of control in their lives. And for those who struggle with emotional instability, that desire is even stronger.

When you feel in control, you feel empowered. Yet, it’s impossible to control everything, or everyone, in your life. In fact, hyper-focusing on and striving for that level of control is unhealthy and can negatively impact relationships. Sometimes, there’s just nothing you can do about someone else’s choices.

Instead, having a balance of knowing what you can and cannot control will help you feel more emotionally stable.

2. Fearing the Unknown

A trait that is related to control issues is fear of the unknown. Life is full of uncertainty and can be confusing. Human history is filled with examples where people tried to attach significance and meaning to uncertain events.

For example, a tragedy occurs in a community. Some people may associate that tragedy as being the work of a higher power. This creates meaning for these people. Yet, nothing is certain in life. Things happen, and we often can’t explain the reason why they occur.

Letting go and accepting reality for what it is can help you have a much healthier outlook on life.

3. Irrational Thinking

Irrational thinking occurs when you place value on every thought that comes into your mind. You believe that those thoughts are true, even though they may be the farthest from the truth. For example, believing that everyone is “out to get you” can be terribly crippling.

Of course, you are going to wind up feeling emotionally unstable if you are reading into every single person’s actions towards you. By working on acceptance, you give yourself permission not to have such thoughts. And alleviating irrational thinking brings peace of mind and stability.

4. Punishing Yourself for Your Feelings

Let’s say that you do have an irrational thought or realize that you are too focused on control. What happens next? Do you acknowledge that you had those thoughts and try to move forward? Or do you punish yourself for having those thoughts and feelings? Perhaps over and over.

If it’s the latter, then that too contributes to you feeling emotionally unstable. Everyone has thoughts or feelings that they might not like. That doesn’t mean you should punish yourself for having them! Rather, give yourself permission to experience these feelings. Know that you are OK, even if you get sad, upset, resentful, etc. It will pass.

5. Making Choices Based on Emotion

Finally, a big contributing factor to feeling emotionally unstable is when you make choices based on your feelings and emotions. That creates instability because emotions can sometimes be all over the map. At the start of the day, you may feel content and refreshed. But once you get to work, you may begin feeling stressed and anxious.

Obviously, if you are making decisions based strictly on your fluctuating emotions, you’ll end up creating instability. Instead, base your choices on your values and the qualities that you treasure and that are important to you in life. This will help you create more emotional stability.

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Feeling emotionally unstable happens to many of us, but it’s usually temporary. Yet, for some, emotional stability can be hard to find. Knowing the aforementioned bad habits and avoiding them can help you to feel more balanced.

However, if you are still struggling with emotional instability, don’t hesitate to contact me and find out how anxiety treatment may be able to help.