Author: Amrita Mallik
What is emotional well-being?
In plain terms emotional well being refers to just the way you feel. Though emotional and mental health
are used interchangeably, emotional health deals with one’s emotions, vulnerability and authenticity.
Emotions are important aspects of a human being. However, they are usually overlooked. If emotional
health is not taken care of physical health too will suffer. Stressed and frazzled mind leads to
overwhelming emotions which affect regular activities. A person’s happiness goes a long way in shaping
and protecting his overall well-being.
Various factors like demographic, economic and situational affect emotional well-being. For example,
COVID-19 outbreak has reduced emotional well-being by almost 74%. Mental health concerns like
depression, anxiety and stress result in poor physical health like sleep disturbances and low energy.
Benefits of emotional well being
Like exercise for physical health working out for emotional health is equally important. Good emotional
health aids people in various ways. Take a look at the following reasons:
- Notice upsetting emotions when they arise. Instead of lashing out to others a person can
compassionately confront someone who has hurt or angered him. - Instead of engaging in negative self-talk, he indulges in self-love. He might ask, ‘what is stopping
me to treat myself the way I treat others?’ - He becomes curious about his thoughts, behaviours and feelings. He will try to find out why they
arise at certain times. He can ask himself, ‘why do I react this way?’ - He can enjoy living, have fun and laughter,
- He is content with his life,
- He can go with the flow and can adapt easily to changes,
- He believes that there is a purpose in his life,
- He doesn’t suffer from self-esteem issues, and he feels good about himself,
- There is a good balance to his life between leisure time, activity and work,
- He has better relationships with others.
How to improve emotional well-being?
Strengthening your emotional health is a process rather than a goal. Nonetheless, remember that it is
not about always staying in good mood. It is a way to equip yourself better with good, bad and
everything in-between.
Here are some tips to improve your emotional health: - Learn coping strategies so that you can respond instead of reacting to distressing situations. You
can try counselling, listening to music, meditation and journaling. - Daily 30-minute of physical activity nourishes both your physical and emotional well-being.
- Stay connected to your loved ones. It is a great stress-buster. Either in person or over the phone
take time out to come closer to your family and friends. - Practice mindfulness in everything you do. Focus on one thing at a time. You can go for social
media detox, and spend some time in your hobby or passion, which you enjoy. - Sound sleep at night restores the body and the soul. Be consistent with your sleeping and
waking patterns. Optimise your bedroom environment so that you are getting enough rest. - Don’t forget to spend some time everyday in the sun. Use your sunscreen before you step out. It
is a natural way to boost your mood. - You can stimulate your senses by doing little things, like lighting an aromatic candle, indulging in
a massage, buying a bouquet for yourself or treating yourself to your favourite food or drink. - Stick to a healthy diet and avoid junk food. Get rid of your negative addictions like smoking,
drugs and alcohol. - Try to learn something new like knitting, learning a new skill or language. This helps you feel
relaxed and feel satisfied. - You can adopt an animal. Pets offer fun and relaxation. They tear you away from stressful
activities.
Conclusion
The bottomline to healthy emotional life is to be thankful for what you have. Allow yourself to enjoy life,
have fun and relaxation. Good emotional well-being is crucial to overall well-being. You will be able to
function better and meet the demands of everyday life.
