I Did An Emotional Detox, And This Is What Happened

Detoxes have been trending for a long time, from the current celery craze to the infamous cabbage soup diet of the 80s. These dietary detoxes or “cleanses” get different reactions from different people. Individually, I’m partial to a green juice to start off my day. Still, the idea of living on nothing but cabbage soup for 3 days makes me want to protest all vegetables.

But there’s a new type of detox on the block that doesn’t involve forgoing solid foods or restricting calories. This one has absolutely zilch to do with what’s going on our plates and everything to do with what’s going on in our minds.

An emotional detox lets you release negative behaviors, thoughts, and beliefs. Once these reactions are cleared, your body naturally moves into more calmer, loving, and peaceful states of mind.

Who doesn’t want love and peace? I decided — with some doubts — to give it a go. And here’s how it went.

I became more organized.

When you participate in a dietary detox, you’re simply working to some sort of schedule. (You make a green juice for lunch or something like that.) But with this type of detox, you have to make a collective effort to find time in your day to detox your emotions. I normally get to the end of the night without getting even halfway through my to-do list, so I knew ahead of time that I would have to prioritize this detox for it to have even the tiniest chance of success. So, before doing laundry or running errands, I took a few moments to remove any of those negative thoughts. Surprisingly, this had an influence on my to-do list. I found myself going through it with less procrastination than usual.

I stopped sweating the small stuff.

I knew I’d become less inclined to misconstrue or blame things when my emotions are in flow during an emotional detox. But after only a couple days, it went even further than this. I wasn’t reacting to trivial matters that had the potential to get blown out of proportion anymore— and it felt great.

I learned that emotional health isn’t going to be a quick fix.

You can’t follow a good diet for a week and presume to feel the benefits for life — with emotional health, it’s exactly the same. I’m super impatient and also results-oriented, so I wanted results immediately. But there was no vision or sign, which was another reminder that it takes a lot of effort and time to make significant changes. Important things justify the energy and time they need to progress.

I listened to my instincts.

Different things will heed results for different people. There are many ways to emotionally cleanse yourself. It just might take a little time to practice and experiment before deciding on what way is the best way for you. Professional therapy, positive affirmations, and journaling might all be part of the greater picture in the long run.