Emotional and mental health are two examples of how you can improve your quality of life. Monitoring and being active in your emotional and mental health is an important part of your overall health and well-being.
Why Emotional and Mental health is so Important
As we previously discussed in this article, emotional health is important because with strong emotional health comes stronger mental health.
Being in good mental health relates to how you are able to cope with everyday life. If you are able to deal with the ups and downs in a rational and appropriate way, you’re in good mental health.
Emotional health is key for sustaining your mental health. While the two work hand in hand, they have their own differences. It’s important to have good emotional health so that you are able to cope with your emotions in a healthy way.
Similarly, mental health is the base from which our life develops. If we neglect our mental health we won’t be able to achieve our fullest potential. Our goals, relationships, careers or even our own personal fulfillment could be compromised.
Making mental health a priority is also helpful for avoiding potentially developing disorders from underlying causes.
While most people who suffer with mental health disorders typically develop them by early adulthood, it is possible to develop a mental health disorder later in life as well.
You can read more about understanding mental health in this article.
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Emotional and Mental Health Examples
While emotional and mental health are related, they also have their own characteristics. Emotional health. You can be struggling emotionally, while still maintaining your mental health.
On the other hand, you can maintain your mental health (focus and engagement) while struggling emotionally.
This is to say that just because you are experiencing poor health in one of the two areas, does not mean the other is automatically negatively affected.
Mental health is how you are coping with various life experiences that come your way. As mentioned, this could be daily activities or random occurrences.
A relatable example of this is the old saying “the straw that broke the camel’s back”. This is referring to the various life burdens people seem to effortlessly carry and deal with as they’re in a good state of mental health.
Check out the article on Comparing Mental and Emotional Health to look a little deeper into the comparison of the two and how they relate. Let’s get into some emotional and mental health examples…
Examples of Emotional Health
When you’re aware of how you’re feeling when you’re upset.
Experiencing a variety of negative emotions is a normal part of any particular day or week. If you’re going throughout your day and run into circumstances that cause you to feel anger, sadness, irritation (etc), the way in which you handle those experiences is an example of your emotional health.
Let’s say you spill coffee on yourself, deal with irritating drivers in traffic, experience disappointment or get some really sad news.
If you are able to deal with all of those things in a rational/appropriate way that allows you to cope and eventually move on, you’re experiencing good emotional health.
On the other hand, if you overreact and lash out in moments like that because you’re unable to manage your emotions, you could be experiencing poor emotional health.
If you’re able to acknowledge how you’re feeling and why, you’re in “good” emotional health. Even if what you’re feeling isn’t a positive feeling.
As previously mentioned, being in good emotional health does not mean that you’re only feeling positive emotions.
When you’re aware of your own negative internal narratives.
It’s easy to get used to the narrative in your head and leave it at that. However, when you’re conscious of how you talk to yourself, what you think about others and just the general internal dialog this is a sign of good emotional health.
When you’re able to observe your thoughts instead of taking them as truth, you’re able to choose what you feel and believe given what you choose to think about. In turn, this will cause you to analyze how and why you think/feel what you do.
This will not only boost your emotional health and well-being but it will help you be more content and happy with yourself. Personal development in any form is always a good way to boost your emotional and mental health.
You’re able to reach new levels of emotional health when you start being more aware of why you react/feel the way you do.
We all have triggers that cause us to feel a certain way which result in various emotions. When you start to dig into the reasons behind why you feel what you do, you’re able to be more present and control your emotions in a way that will benefit you.
You’ll always experience highs and lows, however, there are some instances where you can modify what certain scenarios mean to you which can save you feelings of shame, guilt, sadness or anger down the road.
In turn, you will be in better emotional health.
Self-care is not a luxury, it’s a responsibility to your own well-being!
It’s also a great way to boost your emotional and mental health!
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Examples of Mental Health
When talking about mental health, an easy way to distinguish it is to consider any type of disorder. OCD, STPD, Anxiety and Eating disorders are just a few examples of mental health conditions.
If you do not have a disorder, anxiety and depression are two common mental health issues that most people struggle with at one time or another.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of the most well-known mental health disorders.
OCD is an anxiety disorder that causes an individual to behave in a variety of unusual ways. Obsessions and Compulsions are what make OCD what it is.
When a cycle of obsessions and compulsions becomes so intrusive that it affects the individual’s life on a regular basis, OCD is usually diagnosed. To learn more about OCD, check out this article.
Eating Disorders
There are several eating disorders and they each can be seen in a variety of severity. Binge Eating Disorder, Bulimia Nervosa, and Compulsive Overeating are just a few eating disorders that are seen the most often.
Usually with eating disorders, the individual has some kind of mental and emotional pain that causes their dysfunctional relationship with food.
They could have been abused, emotionally neglected or may have experienced some type of trauma.
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety can be diagnosed as a disorder on it’s own or it can be a key symptom of other disorders. When someone has an anxiety disorder, it usually is so extreme that it interrupts their day.
They may experience paranoid thoughts and behaviors as well. It is also typical for someone living with anxiety disorder to have panic attacks.
Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Schizotypal Personality Disorder (STPD) is another less typical example. I explain STPD more in depth in this article but here is the explanation in a nutshell.
People with schizotypal personality disorder are somewhat disconnected from others and are not that emotional. They will more likely be known for the “odd” way they dress, talk or behave.
Signs of Good Emotional and/or Mental health
When you’re in good emotional and mental health, your mind will seem much more peaceful and you’ll be able to be present with your emotions (both negative and positive).
Someone living with a mental health disorder will experience “good” and “bad” days as well. Below are a handful of signs that you’re experiencing good mental and/or emotional health.
Ability to Focus
The ability to focus and stay engaged in what you’re doing is hard when you’re not in a good place mentally.
While you can be in good emotional health and still feel negative emotions, a good way to tell how you’re doing is if you’re able to focus on your work despite the negative emotion(s) you may be feeling.
Being able to focus on your work takes more brain power than you realize.
Interest/Curiosity is at a Healthy Level
Do you ever find yourself “trudging” through the week? It’s almost as if doing anything in addition to what you need to do would set you off?
When your mental/emotional battery is this low, you typically couldn’t care less about exploring ideas at work or opportunities in your life.
A curious person is one who has more than enough mental or emotional energy to deal with wherever that curiosity might lead.
Being curious and taking certain risks to improve an experience or your life is exciting and can lead to a whole new outlook.
However, when you don’t even have the mental/emotional capacity to handle your emotions appropriately or you’re experiencing something like anxiety/depression, taking an interest and being curious in new things will seem nearly impossible.
You’re Motivated
When you’re motivated to accomplish things you want to achieve, that’s a good sign that you’re experiencing good mental/emotional health.
Personally, I know that when my motivation drops and I feel sluggish, either I’m pushing myself too hard or something else is going on.
Being aware of little signs like this can help prevent you from burning out and experiencing worse mental health.
Your Emotions are Intact
As briefly mentioned earlier, if you’re able to express both positive and negative emotions and not lash out, you’re experiencing good emotional health. Emotional health is just being aware of what you’re feeling.
If you were experiencing poor emotional health, you would feel irritated and uncomfortable. You wouldn’t be able to pinpoint how you’re feeling because your mind is flooded with intense feelings.
Sometimes all it takes is being able to step away from the situation and “cool off”.
Your thoughts and feelings will start to organize themselves if you ask yourself questions. I’ve found that when this happens to me, it’s a string of trailing questions and answers.
I’m able to follow it back to the root of what is causing me to feel so overwhelmed.
Managing uncertainty or stressful situations
If something unexpected happens and you’re able to think through the situation and act appropriately, it’s safe to say that you’re probably experiencing good mental health.
Feelings of overwhelm can be constructive but they can also indicate that something else is going on.
By managing uncertain situations or feelings you’re showing the capacity you have to navigate through difficult situations.
Someone experiencing mental or emotional health issues would have a much harder time doing this given everything else they’re going through.
So, what can you do to promote your emotional and mental health?
Take Some Time Off
As I’ve mentioned before and in the article Understanding Mental Health, taking time to step back and observe what is going on with your emotional health is the first step toward achieving emotional health.
While you can achieve a healthy state of mind working around your schedule with daily practices, having a day off will jumpstart your progress.
Plan for your day off in advance and make sure you have everything you need to reset yourself. Take the time to address what symptoms you have. Try to trace back to the actual cause(s) of your distress.
If you can’t take time off of work, or if you’re a stay at home mom with no breaks, try daily practices. Consistency is key.
Pick a few activities like journaling, meditation, exercise and breathing exercises.
Talk to Someone
Talking to someone about your health is always a good idea if you’re comfortable doing so. Getting an outside perspective is very helpful for an outside solution.
Whether you’re more comfortable talking to a family member, friend or a certified therapist, having that outlet can do wonders for improving your mental health.
Not only can sharing your problems help you get another perspective that helps solve the issue, but you might realize that your troubles aren’t as big as they may seem.
Additionally, if you opt to speak to a certified therapist, they will have the experience and skills needed to help you resolve and avoid your triggering instances in the future.
I hope learning a little bit more about emotional and mental health examples helped you understand yourself a bit better!
For more ideas on how to achieve better emotional health, check out this helpful article from the folks over at healthline.com!
As always, feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you struggle with the most. I’d love to connect and write a post about that topic!
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