Search

Emotional Health

What Is Emotional Health?

Emotional health, also known as a person’s well-being, is defined as the quality (or lack thereof) of a person’s emotional state. Emotional health is also considered to be an extension of mental health which in itself includes a person’s thoughts, feelings, and personal behaviors.

Unbeknownst to the majority of Americans, emotional health is equally critical to our physical health and should be treated as such. This notion is especially true for troubled teens 70% of whom suffer from some form of mental health issue. What’s worse, if a teenage boy or girl’s mental health issues go left unchecked, it dramatically increases the chances of radically destroying said teen boy or girl’s emotional health, which, in turn, will most likely cause further damage to their overall mental and physical health – damage that can have lifelong or even fatal consequences.

DEFINITION OF EMOTIONAL HEALTH

The literal translation of emotional health is a state of positive psychological functioning. Of course, it is also considered to be an extension of mental health.  According to the mental health foundation, emotional health is a positive state of wellbeing which enables an individual to be able to function in society and meet the demands of everyday life.

When people talk about mental health, they are generally referring to one’s emotional health or wellbeing. But while these two clinical buzzwords are similar, there is, in fact, a difference between the two. 

Firstly, mental health encompasses things like thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as well as where a person’s psychological state falls on the spectrum that ranges from optimal mental health to severe mental illness. 

Emotional wellness, however, generally refers to a person’s wellbeing, their personal outlook on life, and their state of positive emotional health.

Mental Illnesses And Mood Disorders: How They Negatively Affect A Teen's Emotional Health

When a person’s emotional health is lacking it is usually due to an undiagnosed mental illness or an emotional/behavioral disorder. 

Of course, as we all know, mental illnesses are a neurological condition that negatively affects millions of people’s thinking, feelings, and moods. Without receiving proper psychiatric care, mentally ill people – and in particular, troubled teens – are at risk of developing life-long behavioral, emotional, and mental issues that make it difficult, or even near-impossible, to live a happy or even normal lifestyle.  

The Social Implications Of Emotional, Mental, And Mood Disorders

Such conditions also have a proclivity to damage those affected’s ability to relate to others or even function socially, thus isolating said afflicted-person from the rest of their peers. This isolating behavior creates a cyclical feedback loop of increasingly damaging emotional and mental implications. Consequently, this puts an intense strain on the afflicted person’s emotional health, and by extension, their mental health as well.

 Like most emotional health issues, each mentally ill person will have different vastly different experiences, even when suffering from similar or identical clinical-diagnoses.

Like that of mental illnesses, Mood disorders are also known to negatively affect a person’s emotional health. Mood disorders are any psychological disorder that elevates and lowers a person’s mood. The most common types of these disorders are depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.

Related Content

Behavioral Health

Behavioral Health Adolescence can be a very turbulent time in young people’s lives. They are contending with hormonal changes, peer pressure, and a growing need and desire for independence, often all at once. Many teens also struggle with new or pre-existing mental health disorders or other stressors at home, school,

Read More »

Intramural Sports

Sports are a fantastic release for young people to hone their skills, get their energy out, connect with others, and add to the diversity of their day. Games are run more like a family than a school where all abilities and ages can participate in the fun. It doesn’t mean

Read More »

Sign up to receive Turning Winds community news