For many people, emotions can be an inconsistent daily NIGHTMARE that we often just don’t know what to do with or how to handle. So we turn to the only strategies we do know. If you’re a man, you might distract yourself by playing video games, building something new or even by going to the pub or the gym, and if you’re a woman, you might head to the shops or eat a whole load of chocolate! Turning to these things occasionally is OK, but making them part of your regular coping repertoire might not be overly effective for you. Emotions are valuable, and offer a number of benefits (even the bad ones). Once we’re able to process and cope with them effectively, we can learn a lot about our needs and ourselves. Emotions send us important messages and help us connect with others and also keep us on the ‘right track’ throughout life. Using unhealthy strategies can sabotage our relationships, our careers and even our health, in fact, it’s been scientifically suggested that people who handle stress effectively even have far healthier immune systems! All emotions fall into one of 4 categories: anxiety, sadness, anger and happiness. With anxiety, your mind lights up all the with “What if’s?” What if I lose my job? What if I don’t meet someone? What if I fail my test? Anxiety comes from the thoughts you have about the future where in turn you choose to base your emotions upon something that hasn’t even happened yet. With sadness, you will be focusing on negative memories and thoughts about the past. With anger, your thoughts are focused on how you or your values have been attacked, and with happiness, your thoughts are focused on what you’ve either gained or already achieved. In the following two video’s, I’m hoping to be able to enhance your understanding of exactly how your emotions work, where they come from, and in turn how you can manage them more effectively. I've also made them available in MP3 format for you download and listen to again as often as you need to.