How can one achieve good emotional and mental health?
Do now: How can you tell if someone is mentally healthy? How would poor mental health affect your physical or social health?
Class notes:
Mental health: Feeling good about yourself, feeling good about your relationships with others, being able to cope with life’s changes
It is the state of being comfortable with yourself, others and surroundings. People who are mentally healthy are realistic about strengths and weaknesses, able to take on the responsibilities of daily living, caring towards themselves and others, able to handle disappointments and learn from them, able to feel enjoyment and a sense of achievement.
Create a list of personal characteristics necessary for good emotional and mental health.
Characteristics of good mental health may include:
A sense of humor, being honest, being responsible and trustworthy, having good relationships, patience, being able to talk about problems, being optimistic and confident, being able to cope with change and getting help with big problems.
Complete Self Reflection: "My Emotional Health" worksheet
What are the benefits or having good mental and emotional health? How does it affect the other dimensions of health?
What can keep students from feeling good about themselves, having good relationships, or coping with feelings?
Class notes continued: Barriers to good emotional health
Self: lack of confidence in their ability or skills, lack of sleep, poor nutrition or lack of physical activity, uncertainty about the future, too few challenges or opportunities for success
Relationships: lack of communication skills, being insecure, not getting along with parents, alcohol or other drug use, having friends with poor emotional health
Change: too many changes, not knowing how to deal with stress, death or loss, lack of support to deal with change.
It is obvious, from the list above, that there are many things that influence our mental health. Our friends, family, environment and life situations all have an impact on how we feel about ourselves, others and how we can cope with change.
Complete the worksheet "Strengthening my Emotional Health"
Good emotional health requires a realistic self concept- knowing your strengths and working to improve your weaknesses. Strengthening emotional health is hard work. It takes planning, skills and practice.
Class notes: Skills for developing good emotional health
Communicating emotions appropriately, developing healthy, supportive relationships with peers and adults, knowing how to cope with stressful situations, setting short-term and long-term goals and taking action to achieve them, advocating for health and helping others.