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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Achieving Good Mental Health




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 are 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. The good news is that there are many things 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 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.
Good mental health is not just the being free of mental health problems. Being mentally and emotionally healthy is to have positive characteristics.  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; 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 ability to learn new things and adapt to change; a healthy balance between work and play, rest and activity; the ability to build and maintain fulfilling relationships; self-confidence and high self-esteem.
These positive characteristics allow you to participate in life to the fullest; through productive, meaningful activities and strong relationships. These positive characteristics also help you cope when faced with life's challenges and stresses.

Resilience in mental and emotional health means that even through bad times or experiencing emotional problems; which wee all go through disappointments, loss, and change. This is a normal part of life; they can still cause sadness, anxiety, and stress.
The difference is that people with good emotional health have an ability to come back and learn from adversity, trauma, and stress.  People who are emotionally and mentally healthy have the coping skills for dealing with difficult situations and maintaining a positive outlook. They are focused, flexible, and creative in bad times as well as good.
One factor with resilience is the ability to balance your emotions. The capacity to recognize your emotions and express them appropriately helps you  to avoid depression, anxiety, and the various negative mood states. Also having a strong support network; people you can turn to for encouragement and support will boost your resilience in tough times.

Resilience entails maintaining flexibility and balance in your life as stressful circumstances and traumatic events occur in your life. You can build resilience in many ways: allowing yourself to experience strong emotions, and also realizing when you may need to avoid experiencing them in order to continue functioning; taking action to deal with your problems and meet the demands of daily living, and also giving time to rest and reenergize yourself; spending time with family and friends to gain support and encouragement;  relying on yourself.

Physical health is related to the body’s overall health; taking care of your body is a powerful first step towards mental and emotional health. The mind and the body are connected. When your physical health is enhanced, you experience better mental and emotional well-being. Exercise strengthens our heart and lungs, but also releases endorphins, chemicals that lift our mood.

 To have good mental and emotional health, it is important to take care of your body. That includes getting enough sleep. Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep each night in order to function optimally. Learn good nutrition and practice it. The more you learn about what you eat and 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.
Get a more sunlight. Sunlight lifts your mood, so try to get some sun per day.
Limit alcohol and avoid cigarettes and other drugs. These are stimulants that may make you feel good in the short term, but have long-term negative consequences for mood and emotional health and physical health.

Monitoring and maintaining your health both physically and mentally will lead to positive thoughts and emotions; this leads to emotional and mental wellbeing

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