Emotional health refers to how one reacts to events, both big and small, in his or her life and one’s feelings and emotions regarding one’s self and the people and things around them. Health Teacher Jennifer Kramer states, “I guess I would sum it up in one word: attitude. It’s your positivity; being able to look at things in a positive way. And that’s from just being positive to all the way to not making up the stories in your head all the time, looking at the glass half full, or saying how can I learn from this really not-so-great situation? How can I make it better? Why is this happening to me? Learn to have the control of making a bad day into a good one. You have to create that. You have to own that.”

Focusing on ensuring that one is attentive to his or her feelings, thoughts, and behavior helps one get a step closer to ideal emotional wellness. One should always express his or her feelings freely while managing them, allowing the possibility to handle difficult situations with stress in a way that is healthy. On their way to perfect emotional health, it is recommended for students to try to seek positive people and those with an optimistic approach to life. “Eliminate the negative people in your life. So many of us surround ourselves with people that just bring us down. Why do we do that? Getting rid of those people and just saying, ‘I’m gonna just separate myself from you because I either don’t like what you’re doing or you are a toxin in my life.’ That is definitely something that can help our emotional health,” says Kramer. Also, students should attempt to maintain a balance in life and manage their time accordingly, thus setting priorities and reducing stress.

To improve their emotional wellness even further, however, they should make a greater effort to avoid procrastination and people with negative attitudes and personalities. Senior Dylan Finn states, “Procrastination and putting things off definitely makes me feel more stressed. In health class, we learned ways to manage our time and stress effectively. That being the case, it has really helped me manage my emotional health, too.” When one procrastinates, he or she is essentially putting something off that could be done now. This is not a healthy habit because, after some time, things begin to pile up and soon one has a mountain of assignments to complete. Managing one’s time is essential to having good emotional health.

Sometimes emotional health is just about trying to be positive and upbeat throughout the day. Kramer adds, “Keep that positive spin. People say that I’m a professional optimist, and that is a compliment because it is hard sometimes to find the good in everything. Think: Why is this happening to me? What lesson am I supposed to learn? That helps me make it more positive. And it’s so much more fun to be positive. It’s so much more fun to be happy. Since I am a happy person, I feel like my job is to help spread the happiness.”

According to Social Worker Karen Viggiano, students can be a detriment to their emotional health in an assortment of ways. “I think people’s mental and emotional health are partly in their control but partly not. Damage would be not seeking support when you know you need it, self-harm, not using coping skills, and self-deprecation,” she states. “Such individuals could have trust issues,” adds Viggiano. While blind trust can be dangerous in some situations, an inability to trust loved ones can be a sign of emotional damage, which can make it difficult to form close interpersonal relationships. Lack of trust can result from painful past experiences, including acts of betrayal.

Another sign of shallow emotional health is low self-esteem, which refers to the way in which people view themselves and their worth. Low self-esteem can result from internal sources like mental health conditions or external causes like one’s physical health and bullying, which can, in turn, cause depression.

As with all the dimensions of health, one’s emotional health can be influenced depending on the activities he or she takes part in. Kramer says, “We have the theatre. That is just an avenue for expression. I feel like any club can help improve emotional health depending on what it does for a person who is in it. Like, if you have a passion for the culinary arts, and you get involved in the Culinary Arts Club, or if you have a love for athletics and get involved in Athletics Creating Excellence (ACE), that is helping you emotionally and mentally. We have so many choices for clubs that somebody who is passionate about something finds an outlet for it, which is great.” In other words, finding and pursuing one’s passions can help alleviate stress and help one acquire better emotional health. Viggiano adds, “Mostly anything can help your emotional health. To be involved with anything and be a part of something. Any clubs that boost your ego, especially the Mindfulness class [is good for one’s emotional health].”

On average, people who have higher levels of emotional health are characterized as being happy, self-confident, self-aware, and resilient. Moreover, they are capable of coping with life’s challenges and recovering from any setbacks that come their way. Additionally, individuals with superb emotional health, commonly, treat others well, are comfortable with their own identity, are flexible, hold gratitude for their loved ones, are in touch with their emotions, have the meaning in their life, and value experiences more than possessions.