What is emotional health?

When you think of health, you might immediately think of the physical. But emotions also play an important role in well-being. Research shows there is a link between regulated mental health and the physical health of the body. A more holistic approach to health takes into account the state of the mind and the body, known as the mind-body connection.

What Is Emotional Health?

Emotional health is an aspect of mental health. It is your ability to deal with both positive and negative emotions, including awareness of those emotions. Emotionally healthy people have good coping mechanisms for negative emotions and know when to seek professional help. Emotional well-being is linked to physical health. People who experience a lot of stress and negative emotions can develop other health problems.

These problems are not directly caused by negative emotions, but by behaviors that may be influenced by negative emotions due to lack of emotional control. For example, some people like to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol to relieve stress. However, these habits increase the risk of cancer, heart disease, and other diseases.

Remember that a person can be mentally healthy even if they experience mental illness or bad days. Mental illnesses often have deeper causes, such as chemical imbalances or trauma. Mental health has more to do with emotion regulation, awareness, and coping skills, and these strategies can be used whether or not you have a mental illness.

How to Know if You’re Struggling With Emotional Health

Some warning signs of emotional health in need of care include:

• Isolating yourself from friends, family, or coworkers
• Lower energy than usual
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Eating too much or too little
• Increased use of substances
• Racing thoughts
• Lower performance at work
• More interpersonal conflicts than usual
• Feelings of irritability, guilt, hopelessness, or worthlessness
• Neglecting hygiene and personal care

How to Work On Your Emotional Health

There are many ways to maintain or even improve your emotional health which include:

Living a balanced lifestyle. Try to have a good balance between work and your personal life, activity and resting, and moderation in all things. 

Stay connected. Community is important. Plan regular shared time with friends and family members. Virtual connections are good, but seeing someone in person once in a while is helpful too. 

Meditate. Meditation helps you to notice your thoughts and emotions, which is key to emotional wellness.

Watch how you talk about yourself. Negative self-talk can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, or just put you in a negative mindset. Work on creating a positive image of yourself with your words. Your thoughts may soon follow.

Set goals and celebrate your achievements. Give yourself something to strive for, and celebrate your accomplishments to build self-esteem and positive feelings about yourself.

Use substances in moderation. Sometimes drinking too much alcohol is a way to numb difficult emotions. Notice when you are using substances more than usual, and think about whether there’s an emotional cause for this.

Learn strategies for resilience. This is your ability to react to difficult emotions and stressful situations. Many of the same things that help you with emotional health can also improve your resilience.

Get enough sleep. Studies show that a lack of sleep lessens your ability to sense the emotions of others and your ability to process emotions in general.

Exercise. Staying physically active for at least 30 minutes a day can help to improve your overall emotional health. The exercise doesn’t need to be overly tough or intense. Just going for a walk or dancing around your house can help. 

Find meaning in your life. Some people have jobs that give them a feeling of purpose, but that’s not the only way to find meaning in your life. Something as simple as caring for a pet or volunteering for a cause that you’re passionate about can also give you that feeling.

Know when to reach out for help. You don’t have to handle negative emotions on your own. Knowing when to reach out to a mental health professional for help with difficult emotions is a useful skill to have. You should also reach out to one if you have tried to improve your emotional health, but still aren’t feeling your best. 

Reference: www.webmd.com

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