Mental & Emotional Health Adapted from Glencoe Health, 2005

Characteristics of Good Mental and Emotional Health Mental/Emotional Health- the ability to accept yourself and others, adapt to and manage emotions, and deal with the demands and challenges you meet in life.

People with good mental/emotional health demonstrate… Positive Self-Esteem: feelings of confidence Sense of Belonging: emotional attachment to family, friends, and others. Sense of Purpose: recognizing your own value and importance. Positive Outlook: seeing the bright side of life. Autonomy: having confidence to make responsible and safe decisions, which gives you a sense of independence.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Striving to become the best you can be. The need to be recognized. The need to be loved and belong. Need to be secure from danger Need to satisfy the basic needs.

Meeting Your Needs Practicing abstinence and meeting your needs in a healthy way will help prevent risky behaviors, and will strengthen your mental/emotional health.

Personality Personality: a complex set of characteristics that makes YOU unique. Personality is an important factor in how you choose to meet your needs. This includes: Your individual emotional make-up, attitude, thoughts, and behaviors. Heredity and Environment Modeling- observing and learning from those around you.

Your Personal Identity Personal Identity- your sense of yourself as a unique individual. Your personal identity is made up of the following: Interests Likes and dislikes Talents and abilities Values and beliefs Goals

Emotions Emotions- Signals that tell your mind and body how to feel. Communicating emotions effectively is the key to building and managing healthy relationships.

Identifying Your Emotions Different emotions teens feel: Happiness- pleased or feel good Sadness- discouraged and have less energy Love- strong affection, deep concern, respect Empathy- able to understand how others feel Fear- increases alertness, scared Guilt- acting against one’s values Anger- mad, frustrated hostility-the intentional use of unfriendly or offensive behavior.

Dealing with Emotions in a Positive Way Strategies used to help deal with your emotions are: Look below the surface What am I reacting to? Does the intensity of my emotion match the situation? Consider the situation Does the event really matter? Will it matter tomorrow, next week, or next year? Consider the consequences Don’t take action until you have thoroughly considered the possible consequences of your action.

Dealing with Emotions in a Positive Way Con’t. Use Positive Feelings Use the positive feelings to help inspire you. Fuel your negative feelings into physical activities or engaging in conversations with a family member, or friend. Seek Help If the negative feelings do not disappear, seek help from a parent, another trusted adult, or a health care professional.

Managing Difficult Emotions Dealing with Intense Emotions Take slow deep breaths and relax when you feel the emotions building. Get away from the situation to gather yourself together. Control your feelings by analyzing the situation that caused them. Write in a journal or play music.

Managing Difficult Emotions Defense mechanisms: mental processes that protect individuals from strong or stressful emotions and situations. How people often avoid the emotions that cause discomfort. Can keep a person from what is really facing you. Suppression: holding back or restraining. provides a temporary escape from an unpleasant situation.

Handling Fear Fear is an emotion that people work to overcome. Some fear is healthy and natural; only when fear is irrational or uncontrollable should you consider it a problem. How to overcome your fear Talk about your fear with someone you trust. Analyze the situation that causes fear. Identify your fear

Dealing with Guilt Try to get at the underlying source of your guilt and address that issue. Resolve to be more careful and responsible in the future. Discuss the situation with family or friends.

Managing Anger Constructively managing anger is similar to dealing with guilt: try to get to the underlying source and address it!