Your Emotional Health
What is Emotional Health?
Emotional health is about how balanced and
confident we feel emotionally. If something happens and we feel low
emotionally, getting back on track can be difficult.
People do not automatically have either good
or poor emotional health. Your emotional health depends on the
circumstances you grow up in, the knowledge and skills and
experience collected throughout life, and how these are used.
You can think of emotional health as being a
sort of sliding scale. We’re all somewhere on the emotional health
scale, and people will go up and down this scale – that’s part of
life and an important part of being emotionally healthy.
In a more positive place:
relaxed, happy, content, easy going, laid
back, chatty, friendly, fun
In a more negative place:
upset, sad, withdrawn, irritable, angry,
argumentative, guilty, quick tempered, tearful
No one feels great all the time, and it is
normal to feel low sometimes, as long as it doesn’t stay that way
for too long. If you are feeling low right now, please talk to
someone about it. Many people find talking to someone else is the
best way to get help because it can help you find the time and
space you need to go forward. And whilst talking may not solve all
the problems you are facing, it might help you look after yourself
day to day.
Lots of people in your own workplace, school,
university or community can help and there are also many services
and helplines ready to listen and help you.
Find out more about Emotional
Health
How can I be emotionally healthy?
Here are some suggestions:
- Make time for yourself, to relax and do things you enjoy
- Have a healthy, balanced diet
- Get plenty of sleep
- Exercise regularly
- Spend time with friends and family
- Talk to other people about things which worry you
- Be aware of your strengths and things you find difficult
- Know the warning signs
The trick is to keep mind and body balanced. But life is full of
ups and downs and coping with these isn’t easy. Even an event that
many would say is positive, like starting a new school, moving
house, having a baby or getting married, can be extremely
stressful.
Improving emotional health is done through looking after
yourself day to day, and through developing emotional skills,
improving awareness, living in a supportive family or community and
in a healthy environment.
How do Samaritans help support emotional health?
Samaritans believe that people are best placed
to deal with their own problems themselves. But we do want to give
people the best possible chance to solve their problems, which is
why a conversation with us is about helping people discuss their
different options so they can find the best answers.
If Samaritans can improve someone’s emotional
health by phone, email, letter or visit, they become more
confident, secure and self-aware. These people are then more likely
to be able to support others. In this way, Samaritans can benefit
everyone in the local communities we work in.
Samaritans also work with specific target
groups to promote self-awareness, provide an understanding of
emotional health, and provide information on sources of support.
These are:
Schools
Workplaces
Prisons
The
media
Why do people contact Samaritans?
Anyone in distress can contact Samaritans at any time of the
day. Samaritans are contacted every 6 seconds, by phone, by email,
by text, by minicom, by letter, or by people coming into our
branches. People of all backgrounds and ages contact us for
emotional support.
Can I
get in touch with Samaritans?
What
happens when I contact Samaritans?
How much
does it cost to telephone Samaritans?
What
kind of things can I contact Samaritans
about?