 | Karen McNally, LMSW, is the Director of Community Support Services at COMCARE. Karen has worked in the field of mental health for over 20 years where she's been involved in mental health reform, the growth of community based services and the delivery of recovery-oriented, consumer centered treatment. |
Health & Wellness
2012-01-26 08:29:02
Emotional health
Q: I don’t suffer from mental illness, but how do I make sure I stay mentally and emotionally healthy, especially during times of stress?
A: Mental and emotional health refers 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.
Being mentally or emotionally healthy is much more than being free of depression, anxiety or other psychological issues. Mental and emotional health refers to the presence of positive characteristics.
People who are mentally and emotionally healthy have:
• A sense of contentment
• A passion 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 flexibility 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 and meaningful activities, strong relationships and also helps you cope when faced with life’s challenges and stresses.
Taking care of your body is a powerful first step toward mental and emotional health. Practice getting enough rest, good nutrition, exercising to relieve stress, getting a dose of sunlight every day and limiting alcohol and avoiding drugs.
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. You should also consider practicing self discipline which leads to a sense of hopefulness. Learn or discover new things. Manage your stress levels by making leisure time a priority and limiting unhealthy mental habits like worrying.
Risk factors for mental and emotional problems also can be shaped by early childhood experiences or genetic and biological factors.
The risk factors that can compromise mental and emotional health are:
• Poor connection or attachment to
your primary caretaker early in
life
• Traumas or serious losses,
especially early in life
• Negative experiences that lead
to a belief that you’re helpless
and that you have little control
over the situations in your life
• Illness, especially when it’s
chronic, disabling or isolates you
from others
• Side effects of medications,
especially in older people
who may be taking a variety of
medications
• Substance abuse, alcohol and
drug abuse can cause mental
health problems and make
preexisting mental or emotional
problems worse
Everyone experiences stress and may relate to one or more of the risk factors at some point.
However, if you’re experiencing these red flag feelings and behaviors, consider seeking immediate attention from a health care professional:
• Feeling down, hopeless or
helpless most of the time
• Concentration problems that are
interfering with your work or
home life
• The inability to sleep
• Using food, drugs or alcohol to
cope with difficult emotions
• Negative or self-destructive
thoughts or fears that you can’t
control
• Thoughts of death or suicide
