Jealousy is an emotion everyone experiences at some point. Human beings have a variety of emotions and sometimes jealousy pops up. Responding to this emotion is a choice and is something that does not need to take over a person’s life. Learn how to live with this challenging emotion.

Wallowing in Jealousy

Jealousy becomes a problem when acting out or wallowing in it for long periods of time. It can become a negative emotion in a person’s life when it becomes all consuming and controlling. The causes of jealousy are focused on another person’s life rather than one’s own. Social media is particularly bad for this with all the cultured and marketed photos and posts. It seems as if everyone is living ‘the life I want or deserve,’ which is a dangerous road to tread, indeed.

Underpinning of Jealousy

Ninety-nine percent of the time, jealousy stems from insecurity. The best way to overcome it is learning to navigate the journey. The various stages are important to understand as there will be people doing amazing things in recovery. Most importantly is to remember, at one point, a person was in the same place another is in now. It is not all unicorns and rainbows for people.

Some things to help when navigating the journey:

• Self honesty
• Personal awareness to focus on the positive and negative in life, but not become consumed by it
• Admitting a problem exists as it can manifest as anger, irritability, anxiety or depression
• Noticing insecurity
• Acknowledging the struggles to get better focused on goals and work with people who can help

Practice Gratitude

Finding a way to be grateful is one of the easiest and simplest ways to focus on what it means to be grateful in the face of adversity. Be thankful for what is right in front of one’s own eyes, right now. Acknowledge accomplishments and focus on the fact tomorrow is never guaranteed. Gratitude is not easy to practice but it is a very powerful thing to do and keeps everything in perspective.

Let Go

Learning to manage one’s emotions is part of letting go of jealousy. It is not an emotion necessary for a person’s life. Jealousy is toxic. Imagine the resentment leaving one’s body and breathe through the issues that rise up. Repeat a mantra and meditate until it feels like the jealousy is waning and more positive emotions are surfacing. Transform that jealousy into positive emotions.

Jealousy is a natural emotion and becomes a problem when it takes over a person’s life. If jealousy has become an issue, the ability to change one’s life is just at one’s fingertips. Create the life that is desired. Don’t let the struggles take over. Call the Villa to find out how we can support your journey to recovery.