Emotional health is an essential part of your overall health, just like your diet and exercise. Emotionally healthy is the awareness of your emotions. You are in control of your thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Whether they’re positive or negative you have the ability to manage them thus you feel less stressed, sad, or angry. Emotional health and mental health are not the same things though often the terms are used interchangeably. We are specifically discussing emotional health which is a vital aspect of resilience, self-awareness, and overall contentment you feel in your life.
How Do You Feel Physically?
Sensations that come from our health give us clues about our wellness because the two are similar and they relate to each other. Symptoms of issues with your health like trouble sleeping, weight gain, or a lack of energy can also be symptoms of problems with your wellness. Sometimes we can notice the impact of these things on our physical health before we notice the impact that it is having on other aspects of our lives, but they have a way of catching up with us.
How Do You Feel Emotionally?
Consider your emotional feelings rather than your physical sensations or perceptions. Are you too sad, angry, or lonely too often? Do you know how to process your feelings in healthy ways? Do you eat behind your emotions?
How Do Others Feel About You?
Sometimes we don’t notice when something is wrong, but a friend or loved one will. If other people tell you that you aren’t as happy or fun as you used to be, or that you’ve “lost your step” it may mean that something is wrong. The way that you perceive how other people see you (whether it’s accurate or not) is an important piece of the puzzle.
Can You (Or Do You) Still Do Things You Used To Enjoy?
Not being interested in things that you used to enjoy is one of the first signs of depression not being able to do things that you used to can also be a sign of physical issues like heart or breathing problems. As we get older, this can be a sign of the wrong aging mindset that can lead to problems down the road.
Are You Keeping Up On Your Commitments?
If you can’t do those basic things like pay the bills or function at work or school, whether, for physical or emotional reasons, it could be a sign that something is wrong. Stress often results in both emotional and physical exhaustion. A lack of self-care can be an issue in this regard.
How do you begin to improve your emotional health?
- Talk about your feelings. (Talking about your feelings keeps you in good mental health to deal with times when you feel troubled.)
- Keep active.
- Eat well
- Drink sensibly
- Keep in touch with others
- Ask for help
- Take a break
- Do something you are good
Emotional health allows you to work productively, cope with stress, maximize your potential and reach your goals. It helps you work with other people and contribute to society. We all have emotional health issues, but we can work to be active members of society by taking an active role in all aspects of our lives.
Here is another of my published articles and an Additional Resource.
