Managing Emotional and Mental Health

I. EmotionsA) Mental Health: the way people think about and respond to events in their daily lives

Dealing with confusing feelings in healthy ways is a large part of mental health. Emotions play a major role in a person’s mental health

B) An Emotional Brain 1) An emotion is a feeling produced in response to a life event. Each emotion is related to a specific set of feelings and behaviors.

Example: When you are scared or afraid you respond with the emotion of fear. Your brain might think of how to escape the situation. Your may experience body changes such as increased heart rate and breathing rate, sweating , fainting, screaming or running away.

C) Emotional HealthIs the way a person experiences and deals with feelings. Anger , jealousy, sadness are natural emotions but how you express them in a non-destructive way or chose not to express them or cope with them is emotional health.

D)Teens and Emotions > Both social and physical changes affect teens’ emotions. As you grow older you will be given more responsibilities and freedom in some ways. People expect you to act more mature and your parents may give you the freedom to manage your resources like your money and time and allow you to go out with your friends or travel without them. This can lead to confusing emotions

D) Hormones Hormonal changes

thatoccur during teendevelopment canaffect emotions bycausing differences

in a teen’s mood and

energy.

II Understanding Emotions

A) Emotional SpectrumsIs a set of emotions arranged by how pleasant they are. Some emotions on the spectrum are opposites like joy and sadness. This spectrum shows different levels of intensity of emotions. Example: Ecstasy, joy serenity.

B) Triggers> Situations, people, events that cause a person to have negative emotions are triggers. Knowing what triggers cause negative emotions can help the person avoid these triggers. People do not have the same triggers. Ex.: Talking to an arrogant person may be a trigger for some people but other people are not at all affected. If a trigger cannot be avoided then the person can prepare for that situation or predict how he will react.

C) Effects of Emotions 1) Pleasant feelings like happiness are associated with comfortable physical changes like lower blood pressure, lower heart rate and being energetic.2) Sadness and worry are associated with fatigue, increased heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension3) Anger can cause shaking, hot flashes, etc.

III) Healthy Emotional ExpressionA) Unpleasant emotions can affect our lives in good ways. Examples: 1) Feeling nervous about an exam can motivate you to study harder 2) Feeling angry about pollution can help you to clean your classroom

B) Communication 1) Young children often kick and scream

when they are upset. As you grow older you should learn to communicate effectively by saying the right words in the right time in the right place.

2) 2) Body language: Observe how people feel. A unpleasant tone of voice, crossing of arms , frowning, silence are all signs of disagreement

3) Active listening: In a conversation, some people do not really listen to what the other person is saying but waiting for his turn to say what he wants to say. Some even interrupt another person talking.

C) Creative Expression1) Crying but sometimes it is not

enough to remove bad feelings2) Talking to someone but sometimes

the problem is too private3) Exercise is a good way to release

emotions. Sports such as badminton, tennis, baseball, ping-

pong, etc4) Creative Expression: drawing,

painting, making sculpture, writing or playing music, dancing, making films and writing prose or poetry.

6) Seeing how other people have expressed similar feelings creatively can be helpful:

Listening to music, watching a play or a video, or reading a book

D) Unhealthy Emotional Expression1) Sometimes people express

their emotions in ways that could hurt people – physically and emotionally

a) Raising one’s voice in anger

b) Making fun of another person

(These behavior can encourage conflict)

2) More severe unhealthy expression which are

violent a) Setting fires or breaking

windows, starting fights, bully others or hurting animals or even hurting themselves

IV: Coping With Emotions

A) Self -Esteem 1) A measure of how much

you value, respect, and feel confident about yourself.

2) People with a high self –esteem have a positive view of life.

3) People with low self-esteem feel helpless and are full of self-doubt.

4) People with high self-esteem see unpleasant emotions as temporary problems in a good life

5) People can improve low self-esteem by finding activities in which they can be successful

B) Time to Think1) Take time out from the situation

for you to look closely at your problem

2) Negative thinking is focusing on the bad side of a situation

3) Thinking positively in a bad situation that can help you cope with unpleasant emotions is called self-talk

4) Positive thoughts about a bad situation include statements like:

a) “This won’t last forever” b) “ I will have other chances” c) “ It does not always

happen like this”

C) Defense Mechanisms: Automatic behavior used to reduce stress Humor is also a defense mechanism: finding something funny in a bad situation

V. Mental Illness

A) 1) A disorder that affects a person’s thoughts, emotions and behavior.

2) One out of six people has mental illness

3) Mental illness can be caused by heredity and the environment

4) Three groups of mental illness

1) Anxiety disorders 2) Mood disorders 3) Schizophrenia 5) Mental disorders can be

treated by medicines that balance brain chemistry and counseling

B) Anxiety Disorders1) Is a feeling of extreme nervousness

or worry a) Panic disorder: causes the person to

have brief periods of extreme anxiety called panic attacks

b) Panic attacks that are triggered by specific things that are called phobias

Example: i) Agoraphobia: fear of crowded

places ii) Claustrophobia: fear of confined

spaces iii) Altophobia: fear of heights c) Obsessions: anxiety triggered by repetitive thoughts d) Compulsions: developing rituals

such as too much counting or washing e) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

(OCD): A combination of anxiety and rituals f) OCD can be treated with medicines

and counseling

2) Bipolar Mood Disorder(BMD)

a) BMD is a kind of mood disorder wherein a person experiences two

b) extreme moods: depression and mania. It also called manic-depression

c) Depression is extreme sadness or hopelessness known as major depressive disorder (MDD).

It is difficult to make them happy, tiredness, lack of energy, slow movements, thoughts about death and suicide.

d) Fifteen percent of depressed people commit suicide

e) Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among teens

f) Depression patients can be treated successfully with proper medicines and counseling.

Spider-Man 3 actress commits suicide

A young British actress who appeared in Spiderman Three alongside Toby McGuire and Kirsten Dunst has committed suicide, according to reports.Lucy Gordon was found hanging from the ceiling in her Paris home by her boyfriend who was in the flat at the time.

c) Manic: too much energy and irritation;

very active and need little sleep, talk fast and it is difficult to interrupt them

d) Hallucinations : Experiencing and believing things that are not real

Ex.: a person may hear voices when no one is talking

e) Delusions: a false belief Ex.: think that they are

famous or think that they are in a

relationship with a famous person that they have not met

3) Schizophrenia

a) Is a disorder in which a person breaks from reality in several ways

b) They express very little emotion

c) They have hallucinations and delusions and feel paranoia

d) Paranoia is the belief that other people want to hurt them

e) Unorganized thinking which leads to nonsense speech

f) Other symptoms are their bodies are frozen in one position

g) Needs a lifelong treatment to regain their lives