What Everyone Should Know
About Emotional Health

This is huge and certainly reflects on how critical it is to embrace every possible means of building strong families.

I’m not going to talk about “perfect” families. There isn’t such a thing!

Stephen R. Covey says in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, “Good families—even great families—are off track 90 percent of the time!"

Along with emotional health, I also included moral strength because I believe strongly that without moral strength, good emotional health is greatly compromised.

10 Common Challenges Facing Families
That Directly Affect Emotional Health

5 Ways to Boost Emotional Health

1. Look for the Positive

Sometimes we look for happiness and peace of mind in the wrong way by thinking that it depends on outward circumstances. But, it is really a result of a person’s approach to life—something we have in spite of problems. It’s that idea of “seeing the glass half full” as opposed to “half empty.”

Perhaps you haven’t learned the skills necessary to being independently happy. With an intensive study of self-esteem, you can quickly learn of the necessity of knowing and liking yourself.

Real self-acceptance doesn’t come easy. For some, after years thinking of their self primarily in negative terms, it can be a hard habit to break. Debilitating thoughts can enter the mind at every opportunity, but there are some actions that can help.

• Dismiss negative, critical thoughts by telling yourself they aren’t valid. If it’s difficult to find positive thoughts about yourself, ask a family member or friend who you are comfortable confiding in, to point out the praiseworthy things they see in you. In time, you will begin to recognize and appreciate them for yourself.

• Examine your values and priorities. This will help you better focus and acknowledge the areas where you are succeeding and ways you want to change.

• A you learn to think about yourself in positive terms, you will develop a more positive attitude. Also, by looking for the good in others, you will begin to experience a greater sensitivity to other people’s feelings and needs and will become slower to pass judgment.

By working on these areas, you will become more easygoing and more pleasant to be around!

2. Set Realistic Expectations

Are you setting unreasonable expectations for yourself?

Sometimes we look for happiness and peace of mind in the wrong way by thinking that it depends on outward circumstances. But, it is really a result of a person’s approach to life—something we have in spite of problems. It’s that idea of “seeing the glass half full” as opposed to “half empty.”

We can’t become perfect in this lifetime. Trying to do so will leave you discouraged and unable to feel satisfied with anything you do, essentially setting yourself up for failure.

By adjusting your expectations to a reasonable level, you can free yourself of the distorted view and demands you have placed on yourself. There is little joy, comfort, or a feeling of good emotional health by carrying unnecessary burdens.

3. Eliminate the Need for Approval

Don't depend too heavily on other people’s approval. Sure, we enjoy approval, but being too wrapped up in seeking it can be detrimental to our emotional health

Disapproval is an inevitable part of life. Because each of us is different, someone will invariably disagree with almost anything we do.

Eliminating a need for approval also helps to overcome a fear of failure and criticism, which can lead to missed opportunities for growth.

4. Set Priorities

This activity can be very rewarding, but also somewhat time-consuming. You have to set aside time for careful consideration to think and determine what your priorities should be.

Consider these ideas:

• Avoid becoming too busy.

• In today's world, this is easier said than done. Eliminate things done out of a sense of obligation. Instead, devote time and energy to developing relationships with family and friends and pursuing real interests.

• Quality living isn’t measured by quantity of interests and activities.

• Get rid of “excess.” This can leave you feeling unburdened and you can come to appreciate the absence of clutter.

• Take some quality time for yourself. The better you feel, the more you have the natural desire to serve and share with others.

5. Giving and Receiving Help

I admit it’s very easy to overextend myself. So I try to carefully consider how much I can effectively accomplish with any given task. Well... I try:)

I read once that “there is a difference between having a healthy challenge and being hopelessly overloaded.” By recognizing our limitations, we are better able to eliminate anything unimportant or wasteful.

Besides learning how to give more wisely, you might need to learn how to receive as well. Sometimes we have needs greater than our ability to fill them. Be graciously thankful to those who step up to help you; consider how you hope others will receive your help.

What Will You Do Differently
As a Result of What You Learned?

Nurturing your emotional health by taking constructive steps will change your life. Your self-image can become a positive one; you will feel happier, more confident, and more in touch with yourself. You will find more enjoyment in each day.

The amazing thing is—you will still have problems. The only thing that has changed is you!

How does stress affect health? Well—this is huge. There are many symptoms of stress and signs of depression. We should be aware and should not neglect those symptoms because of the tremendous effect it has on our physical and emotional health.

Acknowledge your own self-account-ability. The responsibility for our well-being and achieving good emotional health is squarely on our own shoulders.

If you are suffering from any emotional issue that is affecting your life more than you are able to deal with, please get professional help.

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