The Emotional Needs List to Avoid Anxiety and Restlessness

Spring is finally 🌷here, yippie!

Emotional Needs is a convo; most people do not discuss, but our emotions play a role in our overall mental health.

Check out this list of emotional needs that one needs to avoid anxiety, restlessness, and depression:

The need to feel secure

As children, we depend on our parents or caregivers. To develop, we need to feel safe. It is non-negotiable. When relationships or jobs feel unsafe—physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually—we cannot grow.

The feeling we have for autonomy and control

When people feel anxious and depressed, they feel they are losing control of their life, and it impacts their health because our thoughts are the language of the mind and our emotions are the language of the body.

To give and receive attention

When children do not get quality attention from significant relationships, their frontal lobes do not develop adequately. You cannot have a family, organization, or a community without an exchange of attention.

The need to feel emotionally connected to other people

We need close relationships to family, a partner, or others that we can be ourselves. A person that can honestly see us and we can feel safe with them. The longest living elders that live Okinawa have longevity because they believe in close relationships with their family, friends, and community.

To have friendship and intimacy

We need healthy connections with people who make us feel positive and alive. Relationships where we can share our truest feelings and know that they will want to support our growth without judgment. They will not be perfect people, but they will be connections that are good for our mental health and well–being.

To feel connected to the wider community

We are born into a tribe. When we are cast out of a family or friendship group that we value, we end up feeling unsafe and have no sense of belonging. The need to belong is fundamental to our soul’s survival.

To feel recognized and have status within the community

For example, if you’re a custodian in a school and you are valued by the head principal, you will feel connected to that community.

To have the privacy to reflect and consolidate our life experiences

We need downtime aka “me time.” We need time to reflect and time to pause. Take time to practice self-love and care.

To have competence and achievement

We are the only species with such a sophisticated prefrontal cortex. It requires stimulation and requires us to feed it so that it can make enriched connections. It’s like a muscle that we need to develop.

To feel we have meaning and purpose in our lives

Find your “Why.” There is a reason for getting up in the morning. We need to feel like we are getting up for a purpose. Meaning can come from serving others and being needed, whether it’s raising a family, running a business, or being part of a team at work making a difference.

We cannot have an enriched life without these essential emotional needs met. Pause and reflect next time you are feeling anxious, or restless if your emotional needs are being met.

Sending zen vibes! 💋

Photo credits: retratografia.tumblr.com, mymirrorworld