9 Ways To Recharge When Your Emotional Cup Is Empty
If you find yourself in a constant state of overwhelm, stress, or fatigue, your emotional cup is empty.
Your emotional energy is what propels you through the day.
It enables you to have meaningful relationships with others. It drives your intuition, creativity, and compassion.
Your emotional cup is what you drink from to access a place of peace and rest so you can recharge.
If your emotional cup is empty, then you might feel stressed, apathetic, anxious, restless, and resentful. You might feel that you’re being pulled in too many different directions.
It’s hard to care for other people when your needs aren’t being met. But it’s also hard to keep your emotional cup full if you have a lot on your plate – and most of us do.
Luckily, there are small changes you can make throughout your day and week that will help you refill your cup. To maintain a healthier emotional wellbeing, you must give yourself permission to put yourself first.
Think of it as an act for the greater good – when you’re healthy, peaceful, and full, you’ll be able to move through life as the best version of yourself!
Read on to discover nine self-care tips to turn to when your emotional cup is empty.
(Throughout this post, I’ve included some of my go-to books for emotional wellness and self-care).
9 Ways To Recharge When Your Emotional Cup Is Empty
1. Claim Alone Time
Solitude is so healing.
Schedule intentional time to be alone with your thoughts, process your feelings, reflect on accomplishments, or simply zone out.
Make this time screen-free so you can sit with yourself and really check in with your intuition without any distractions.
Claiming even ten minutes of true alone-time each day can have a dramatic impact on your emotional health.
Without introspection, you may find yourself just going through life on auto-pilot.
2. Embrace The Power Of No
We live in a society that tells us that yes-women get ahead.
People–pleasing is engrained in many of us from a very early age. But sometimes a “no” is just as empowering.
Remove the pressure of having to be everywhere, do everything, and help everyone.
When someone requests something of you, ask yourself if you’d be fulfilling the favor at the cost of your sanity.
If your emotional cup is empty, skip the tasks you can and practice some self-care first. This goes for work opportunities, family obligations or requests, and social activities.
3. Determine What YOU Want
When your emotional cup is empty, it might be a sign you’re out of alignment with what your heart desires.
Ask yourself this simple question: “what do I want out of my life?”
Then take inventory of the tasks and events you put your daily energy into.
If they don’t align with your life’s purpose or goals, it’s time to trim the distractions and focus on thriving. This goal-setting guide can help you re-focus on the things that really light up your heart.
4. Prioritize Your Obligations
Once you’ve re-aligned with your intentions, take some time to look at your current and ongoing obligations.
Which ones drain you?
Which will empower you?
Are they optional or mandatory?
Make a list to determine what activities or tasks you’d be quite happy never doing again.
Then, give yourself the power to remove the burden from your shoulders! You can prevent your cup from hitting “empty” by doing what you love even half of the time.
5. Take Time Off
When was the last time you took a real day off?
Without running errands, working on the side, or otherwise crowding your precious R&R with random to-dos?
Take a day off to indulge in whatever makes you happy and be unapologetically selfish about it.
Lay in bed and read, take a cooking class, do something creative at home, or get a massage.
Make an internal rule that your time off is protected. This can help you create a healthy boundary between your peace of mind and the demands of the world.
6. Find An Outlet
Create an outlet for your emotions so you can process your experiences before they turn into mental blocks (aka, stress!).
Journaling, meditating, and walking are three simple ways to be present and tune into your needs.
Start small: set a timer for five minutes to free-write or meditate.
If you take a walk, skip the podcasts (which can lead to information overload) and listen to soothing music or the sounds around you.
7. Ask For Help
When you find yourself feeling drained or down, ask for help. Reach out to your partner, family, or friends even if only to let them know you’re feeling overwhelmed.
If you lead with vulnerability, chances are you’ll be met with a compassionate response.
Then you can work together to discover ways to lighten your load so you can recharge.
8. Get More Sleep
The best forms of self-care are free and readily available. Sleep is the perfect example of that. Even an extra 15 minutes of sleep a night can change your entire day.
Add the extra time by slipping into bed earlier with a book instead of your phone.
A mindful bedtime routine can do wonders to destress and center yourself before bed.
Plus, you’ll sleep deeper. And on mornings when you need it, don’t be afraid of hitting snooze!
9. Listen To Your Gut
Preserving your emotional wellbeing and health comes down to doing what’s best for you. Self-care must be a priority to foster an abundant, ever-flowing emotional cup.
We aren’t all wired the same way. Rely on your gut feelings to guide you and tell you what’s working and what isn’t. The more you empower your intuition, the louder it will become.
Reconnect with your spiritual, emotional soul and get used to feeling good again!
By practicing any of the steps above you’ll decrease the likelihood of running on fumes.
Keep your emotional cup full so you can pursue your true potential and meet the infinite opportunities that life has in store for you.
You’ve got this!
