| What is good emotional health? When considering somebody’s health, it is important to consider many different aspects of their life. The health of a person’s mind, body, and spirit all come into play when discussing well-being. The body and spirit aspects of this model are addressed in other “apples” within this Seek Health site. Emotional health is one aspect of a person’s wellness that is often overlooked and not addressed. The goal of this apple is to provide information to help you be aware of your emotions and different ways to handle emotional stresses in your life. It's important to remember that even people with good emotional health sometimes have emotional problems or mental illness. Emotional problems often depend on the situation or circumstances surrounding you. Those with chronic disorders or who care for another with a chronic disorder may become overwhelmed, distressed, depressed, or anxious. Mental illness, on the other hand, often has a physical cause such as a chemical imbalance in the brain. Stress and problems with family, work, or school can sometimes trigger mental illness or make it worse. However, people with good emotional health have learned ways to cope with stress and problems and they usually already have an established support system of friends. They know when they need to seek additional help from their doctor or a counselor. What can I do to avoid problems? First, try to recognize your emotions and understand why you are having them. Learning how to sort out the causes of sadness, frustration and anger in your life can help you better manage your emotional health. How does stress affect my emotions? Stress can come from situations such as having personal or work problems, having too much to do or too many responsibilities, working too hard and being exhausted. Your body responds to stress by making stress hormones. These hormones help your body respond to situations of extreme need. But when your body makes too many of these hormones for a long period of time, the hormones wear down your body...and your emotions. People under stress are often emotional, anxious, irritable and even depressed. If regularly you can't get to sleep at night or you don't want to get out of bed in the morning, then you might want to ask a professional to help you; these are signs of clinical anxiety or depression. If possible, try to change the situation that is causing your stress. Relaxation methods, such as deep breathing and meditation, and exercise are useful ways to cope with stress. |