How’s your emotional health?

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How’s your emotional health?

Most of us would know of emotional health as mental health, which refers to our thoughts, feelings and actions, especially when faced with life’s challenges and stress. The fact that comes to light is that when you are emotionally healthy you can lead a balanced life.

Emotional health in a nutshell

Emotional health also known as mental health is defined as ‘the successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity’. Good mental health is not just the absence of mental health problems. Although different cultures have different definitions of mental health, many of the following characteristics are likely to be present in a person with good mental health:

A sense of well-being and contentment.
A zest for living – the ability to enjoy life, to laugh and have fun.
Resiliency – being able to deal with life’s stresses and bounce back from adversity.
Self-realization – participating in life to the fullest extent possible, through meaningful activities and positive relationships.
Flexibility – the ability to change, grow and experience a range of feelings, as circumstances change.
A sense of balance in one’s life – between solitude and sociability, work and play, sleep and wakefulness, rest and exercise, etc.
A sense of well roundedness – with attention to mind, body, spirit, creativity, intellectual development, health, etc.
The ability to care for oneself and for others.
Self-confidence and good self-esteem.

But the world is not so rosy! There are dark clouds such as depression, loneliness, fatigue, anxiety and debilitating anger looming large. If we know what these are all about we can address them and walk onto the path that leads to good mental health.

Down in the dumps - Depression

Depression is the most prevalent of all the emotional disorders. This may vary from feelings of slight sadness to utter misery and dejection. It brings together a variety of physical and psychological symptoms, which together constitute a syndrome.

Depressive disorders can make you feel exhausted, worthless, helpless and hopeless. Such negative thoughts and feelings make some people feel like giving up. It is important to realize that these negative views are part of the depression and typically do not accurately reflect the actual circumstances.

Depression is the most unpleasant experience a person can endure. It is far more difficult to cope with than a physical ailment. The growing complexities of modern life and the resultant crisis, as well as mental stress and strain in day-to-day living, usually leads to this disorder. It also arises out of the monotony and the drudgery of a daily routine, without any meaningful variation in urban life. Suicide is the major risk in major cases of depression.

It is not easy to diagnose depression clinically. The most striking symptoms of depression are feeling of acute sense of loss and inexplicable sadness, loss of energy and loss of interest. The patient usually feels tired and lacks interest in the world around him. The patient often suffers from guilt, oppressive feelings and self-absorption. Other symptoms of depression are loss of appetite, giddiness, itching, nausea, agitation and irritability.

The modern medical system treats depression with anti depression drugs, which provide temporary relief but have harmful side effects and do not remove the causes or prevent recurrence. The harmful side effects include: liver damage, hypersensitivity, insomnia, hallucinations and a fall in blood pressure.

Self-treatment of depression consists of regulating the diet, exercise, scientific relaxation and meditation. The diet should exclude tea, coffee, alcohol, chocolate and cola. One should also not consume products made with refined flour, sugar, food colourings, chemical additives and strong condiments. The diet should be restricted to three meals only. One should consume lots of fruits and should include steamed vegetables in daily meals.

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Negative thinking fades as treatment begins to take effect. In the meantime:

Mild exercise also plays an important role in the treatment of depression. It not only keeps the body fit and healthy but also provides recreation and mental relaxation. It gives a feeling of accomplishment and thus reduces the sense of helplessness. Going to a movie, a ballgame, or participating in a religious or other social activity may help.
Set realistic goals in light of the depression and assume a reasonable amount of responsibility.
Break large tasks into small ones, set some priorities and do what you can as you can.
Try to be with other people and to confide in someone; it is usually better than being alone and secretive.
Participate in activities that may make you feel better.
Expect your mood to improve gradually, not immediately. Feeling better takes time. Often during treatment, sleep and appetite will begin to improve before the depressed mood lifts.
Postpone important decisions until the depression has lifted. Before deciding to make a significant transition — change jobs, get married or divorced — discuss it with others who know you well and have a more objective view of your situation.
People rarely snap out of a depression, but they can feel a little better day-by-day. Remember, positive thinking will gradually replace the negative thinking that comes along with depression. It will disappear as your depression responds to treatment.
Let your family and friends help you.

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On your own some – Loneliness

Loneliness is a feeling of emptiness or hollowness inside you. You feel isolated or separated from the world, cut off from those you would like to have contact with. There are different kinds of loneliness and different degrees of loneliness. You might experience loneliness, as a vague feeling that something is not right, a kind of minor emptiness. Or you might feel loneliness as a very intense deprivation and deep pain. One type of loneliness might be related to missing a specific individual because they have died or because they are so far away. Another type might involve feeling alone and out of contact with people because you are actually physically isolated from people (like you might be if you work alone on the night shift or are alone in a part of a building where people seldom go). You might even feel emotionally isolated when you are surrounded by people but are having difficulty reaching out to them.

People feel lonely because they do not have the required friendships that they need. Poets described feelings of being isolated, lacking social support, feeling invisible, or feeling that no one around understands what that person is going through. So in essence, lonely individuals (like everyone else) need friendships, friends who would take notice of them, understand and empathize with their situation and provide support when needed.

However, lonely individuals seem unable to achieve this required depth of friendship in order to dispel their loneliness. Maybe because they have been abused and rejected by others. In this case, people have treated this person in a rejecting manner. These include things like being lied to, being made fun of, being abandoned or rejected (by family and friends), being told abusive things like, ‘you’re no good’, or ‘we don’t want you around.’ In these cases of verbal and psychological assaults, individuals develop defensive walls to protect themselves from this negative environment, often times shutting out both people that can help them as well as those that can harm them.

Closely linked to the previous idea is another idea of being unable to fit in. Sometimes lonely individuals feel as if they are ‘a black pearl in a box of shining jewels.’ They feel like a misfit, someone who cannot fit in with the rest of the crowd. Very often there are feelings of wanting to be like everyone else, to be ‘normal’ instead of standing out and being rejected because of it. In some cases, the desire may extend to being popular and well liked, not only fitting in but also being looked up to and admired.

Loneliness can result from ‘situational factors,’ circumstances in life that increase the possibility of isolation. People who are unmarried, divorced or widowed are more likely to encounter loneliness simply because they are more likely to be alone.

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Here are a few things that you can do when you are lonely and on your own:

Listen to music or read an uplifting book
Take a walk in a park, field or forest
Play with a pet
Give your plants some tender loving care
Visit a place of worship
Browse through a museum, zoo or art gallery
Study the night sky or visit a planetarium
Trace your family tree
Write a letter to the editor
Cook your favourite meal

This information is by no means the be-all and end-all of two of the most rampant of lifestyle diseases. In the forthcoming feature we will cover fatigue and anxiety, which too can be a cog in the wheel of a fun filled life.

[*NRB*]

yeh waki boht bara masla hoti he

[Abewsha]

nice sharing..............