Emotional health — a beginner's guide
What is emotional health?
Emotional Health can be defined in three words awareness, management, and expression. If you can recognize various emotions and abilities to manage and express it in the right way, then you are emotionally healthy.
What is Emotional Awareness?
Emotional awareness is the ability to identify your own and others’ emotions and make sense of it. Being aware of your thoughts and feelings is a major part of Emotional intelligence.
It includes being able to solve problems in life by understanding emotions, such as being able to regulate your own emotions and cheer others up when they are feeling low.
Now how to know if you’re aware of your emotions. Various emotions include- happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger. Humans have the habit of categorizing emotions as good or bad. Like experiencing a feeling of happiness, love, inspiration, being cheerful, and grateful is good. Whereas feelings of anger, guilt, jealousy, shame, fear, sadness are considered bad. But every human is good because this is what makes you a human. It’s normal to feel fear or nervousness before an exam or an interview.
You can simply start by observing your emotions. Track how you’re feeling throughout the day either by making a mental note or writing it down in a journal. Oh, watching a comedy scene making me laugh. Darkroom makes me fearful. You can also share your feelings with your loved ones.
High levels of emotional awareness mean you can learn from your feelings quickly. For example, if you feel sad, you can reflect on why this is so, and make decisions that then help you. It also means you can predict emotions in advance- you know what actions will lead to what emotions and this means you can make better choices accordingly.
What is Emotional Management?
It is the ability to handle every emotion whether it makes you happy, sad, angry, fearful, or disgusted.
What is Emotional expression?
It means how you convey emotional experience through both verbal and nonverbal behavior. While interacting with others it is important to give them clues so that they can understand what you are feeling?
Signs you are having an unhealthy relationship with your emotions.
Busy, busy, and busy: — You always find yourself busy with one or the other task. You couldn’t able to enjoy being in the present moment. You are using busyness as a way to ignore your painful feelings.
Negative self-talk: —
Signs of good emotional health.
Being grateful: — you are thankful for the things and people in your life.
Ask for help: — you are aware of the fact that you can’t handle everything on your own. So, you ask for others’ help.
Compassion: — you can see life from other’s points of view.
Exercise: — you take time out for exercise more often. Daily exercise releases endorphins to reduce anxiety.
Maintain healthy relationships: — A person’s true character is shown by the company he/ she keeps. you let go of people that are not serving you.
Self-love:- you choose yourself.
You have a growth mindset.
You forgive easily and move on: — it’s not an easy task. But still, find a way to do it.
WHY EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING IS IMPORTANT?
Good emotional well-being creates resilience to stress: — Ignoring emotional health increases the chances of diseases like the common cold and much more. As it weakens the immune system.
Meaningful relationships: — when you can realize, manage, and express your emotions very well. You can also able to understand others’ emotions very well. You could able to have empathy for others.
Improved self-esteem:- you will have a positive self-image of yourself. You believe in yourself.
Energetic:-
How to improve emotional health:-
Learn to regulate your emotions: — develop strategies to deal with difficult emotions.
It includes
Journalising:- just take a diary and pour all your thoughts. It clears your head, you can make sense of your thoughts and feelings.
1. sit in a quiet place, so that you will not get disturbed while writing.
2. If you are doing it for the first time, then write for 5 minutes. But the goal is to write daily.
3. After writing take a few minutes to observe your thoughts. You will a little relaxed.
4. Reflect or re-read what you have written.
5. don’t share it with others, if you don’t want to.
All these steps will help you to identify what is bothering you. Then you can take the necessary steps to manage it.
Meditation: — take a deep breath. It helps in developing focus and concentration.
The tells you to slow down allows you for deeper reflection.
Music: — listen to your favorite music.
Talking to your family, close friends and if you are dealing with serious emotional issues consider talking to a therapist.
Exercise: — if you are having many things on your plate then try to have a walk either in the morning, evening, or before sleep. Physical movement is important.
Develop close relationships: — spend time with your family by planning activities with them.
Be Mindful:- it can be simple as focusing on one thing at a time. Like treating household chores as a mental break. Enjoying your favorite activities at least for a few minutes.
Get sleep:- sleep deprivation leads to more negative thoughts. Stop using technical devices at least half-hour earlier so that sleep hormones can be produced in your body for sound sleep.
