EMOTIONAL HEALTH

Looking after your emotional health is just as important as caring for your physical health. People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their emotions and behavior. They are able to handle life's inevitable challenges, build strong relationships, and lead productive, fulfilling lives. They bounce back when bad things happen and can manage stress without falling apart.

If your emotional health isn't as solid as you’d like it to be, here’s the good news: just as you can improve your physical fitness by working at it, you can improve your emotional fitness, too. There are many thing you can do to boost your mood, build resilience, and get more enjoyment out of life.

It takes time and commitment to build emotional health, but there’s a huge payoff. The more you make healthy choices that strengthen your emotional health, the better you’ll feel.

People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their emotions and their behavior. They are able to handle life’s inevitable challenges, build strong relationships, and lead productive, fulfilling lives. When bad things happen, they’re able to bounce back and move on.

Unfortunately, too many people take their mental and emotional health for granted – focusing on it only when they develop problems. But just as it requires effort to build or maintain physical health, so it is with mental and emotional health. The more time and energy you invest in your emotional health, the stronger it will be. There are many thing  you can do to boost your mood, build resilience, and get more enjoyment out of life.

What is mental health or emotional health?

Mental or emotional health refer to your overall psychological well – being. It includes the way you feel about yourself, the quality of your relationships, and your ability to manage your feelings and deal with difficulties.

Good mental health isn’t just the absence of mental health problems. Being mentally or emotionally healthy  is much more than being free of depression, anxiety, or other psychological issues, Rather than the absence of mental illness, mental ad emotional health refers to the presence of positive characteristics. Similarly, not feeling bad is not the same as feeling good. While some  people may not have negative feelings, they still need to do things that make them feel positive in order to achieve mental and emotional health.

People who are mentally and emotionally healthy have:

* A sense of contentment.

* A zest for living and the ability to laugh and have fun.

* The ability to deal with stress and bounce back from adversity.

* A sense of meaning and purpose, in both their activities and their relationships. 

* The felicity to learn new things and adapt to change.

* A balance between work and play, rest and activity, etc.

* The ability to build and maintain fulfilling relationships.

* Self – confidence and high self – esteem.

These positive characteristics of mental and emotional health allow you to participate in life to the fullest extent possible through productive, meaningful activities and strong relationships. These positive characteristics also heap you cope when faced with life’s challenges and stresses. 

Physical health is connected to mental and emotional health

* Get enough rest. To have good mental and emotional health, it’s important to take care of your body. This includes getting enough sleep. Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep each night in order to function optimally.

* Learn about good nutrition and pact ice  it. The subject of nutrition is complicated and not always easy to put into practice. But the more you learn about what you eat how it affects your energy and mood, the better you can feel.

* Exercise to relieve stress and lift your mood. Exercise is a powerful antidote to stress, anxiety, and depression. Look for small ways to add activity to your day, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or going on a short walk. To get the most mental health benefits, aim for 30 minutes or more of exercise per day.

* Get a dose of sunlight every day. Sunlight your mood, so try to get at least 10 to 15 minutes of sun per day. This can be done while exercising, gardening , or socializing.

* Limit alcohol and avoid cigarettes and other drugs. These are stimulants that may unnaturally make you feel good in the short term, but have long – term negative consequences for mood and emotional health. 

Improve mental and emotional health by taking care of yourself

In order to maintain and strengthen your mental and emotional health, it’s important to pay attention to your own needs and feelings. Don’t let stress and negative emotions build up. Try to maintain a balance between your daily responsibilities and the things you enjoy. If you take care of yourself, you’ll be bet tea prepared to deal with challenges if and when they arise.

Taking care of yourself includes pursuing activities that naturally release endorphins and contribute to feeling good. In addition to physical exercise, endorphins are also naturally released when we:

* Do things that positively impact others. Being useful to others and being valued for what you do can help build self – esteem.

* Practice self – discipline. Self – control naturally leads to a sense of hopefulness and can help you overcome despair, helplessness, and other negative thoughts.

* Learn or discover new things. Think of it as “intellectual candy” . Try taking an adult education class, join a book club, visit a museum, learn a new language, or simply travel somewhere new.

* Enjoy the beauty of nature or art. Studies show that simply walking trough a garden can lower blood pressure and  reduce stress. The same goes for strolling though a park o an art gallery, hiking, admiring architecture, or sitting on a beach.

* Manage your stress levels. Stress takes a heavy toll on mental and emotional health, so it’s important to keep it under control. While not all stressors can be avoided, stress management strategies can help you bring things back into balance.

* Limit unhealthy mental mental habits like worrying. Try to avoid becoming absorbed by repetitive mental habits – negative thoughts about yourself and the world that suck up time, drain your energy, and trigger feelings of anxiety, fear, and depression.