Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsDefinitionInsight Into ItImproving Emotional HealthWhat Does Not HelpSupporting OthersFeeling Lost
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Definition
Insight Into It
Improving Emotional Health
What Does Not Help
Supporting Others
Feeling Lost
Emotional health (also called emotional well-being) is the ability to handle stress and emotional challenges. Being emotionally healthy does not mean you’re always happy; it means that you are aware of your emotions and in control of them, particularly in stressful situations. Learning how to improve emotional health and also help with your physical, mental and overall wellness.
Emotional Health Defined With Examples
Emotional health is the ability to handle stressors and emotional challenges.Emotional wellness includes having a sense of purpose and meaningful relationships, too.
Here are examples of what emotional health looks like:
A Word From Verywell
—ALESSHA GRIER-ROGERS, PSYD, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
Clues Into Your Emotional Health
Wondering what emotional health looks like? Your day-to-day life holds important insight into your emotional health. Emotionally healthy people are able to regulate their emotions, which means recognizing and responding to them.People who are not able to do this are considerably emotionally dysregulated.
Emotional dysregulationis when you experience strong emotions that don’t align with the actual impact of an event. Some emotional dysregulation is normal, especially for children and young people. Emotional dysregulation can also occur with somemental illnesses, although it’s a symptom of these diseases, not a mental illness on its own.
Signs of Regulated Emotional Health
If you’re emotionally healthy, you can regulate your emotions. This can look like:
Signs of Dysregulated Emotional Health
If you’re emotionally dysregulated, you might experience emotional highs and lows that impact your day-to-day functioning. Emotional dysregulation can look like:
Mental vs. Emotional healthEmotional health is different from mental and physical health but is closely related to both. If you are living with a mental health condition like bipolar disorder or a physical condition like chronic pain, you may have difficulty regulating your emotions, fostering resiliency, and maintaining a positive outlook.Finding coping strategies and caring for your mental or physical illness can help. A counselor who is experienced working with people with chronic illness can also assist you in developing a routine that promotes your emotional health.
Mental vs. Emotional health
Emotional health is different from mental and physical health but is closely related to both. If you are living with a mental health condition like bipolar disorder or a physical condition like chronic pain, you may have difficulty regulating your emotions, fostering resiliency, and maintaining a positive outlook.Finding coping strategies and caring for your mental or physical illness can help. A counselor who is experienced working with people with chronic illness can also assist you in developing a routine that promotes your emotional health.
Emotional health is different from mental and physical health but is closely related to both. If you are living with a mental health condition like bipolar disorder or a physical condition like chronic pain, you may have difficulty regulating your emotions, fostering resiliency, and maintaining a positive outlook.
Finding coping strategies and caring for your mental or physical illness can help. A counselor who is experienced working with people with chronic illness can also assist you in developing a routine that promotes your emotional health.
Ways to Improve Emotional Health
Emotional health is a skill that you can learn and improve. It’s possible to improve your emotional well-being even if you only have 10 to 15 minutes a day to focus on it. Here’s how:
What Does Not Help Emotional Health
If you’re trying to improve your emotional health, you need to identify the triggers or stressors that can contribute to emotional dysregulation. These vary widely from person-to-person, but can include:
How to Support Someone Else’s Emotional Health
Everyone is ultimately responsible for their own emotional health, but it’s possible to help a loved one or child increase their emotional health, including in the following ways:
If You Feel Lost or Unsure
If you want to improve your emotional health, you can start making small changes with the steps above. It might be helpful to talk with a close friend or family member and ask if they too would like to improve their emotional health. That way, you can provide support for each other.
However, if you’re feeling so lost or unsure that you’re not able to do your daily activities (like going to work, getting to sleep at night, and eating nourishing foods), you may need professional help. Some of the symptoms of emotional dysregulation can also be the symptoms of a mental illness, like depression. Talking with your primary care provider or the mental health center in your community is a great starting point.
Emergency supportIf you’re having thoughts of harming yourself or need immediate help, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline at988. This is available around the country and able to link you to local support.
Emergency support
If you’re having thoughts of harming yourself or need immediate help, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline at988. This is available around the country and able to link you to local support.
Summary
Emotional health is the ability to respond to life’s difficulties and stressors, live with a sense of purpose, and maintain healthy relationships with yourself and people around you. Seemingly small actions—like spending time outside, eating healthy, moving your body, and joining community groups—can contribute to your emotional wellness.
On the other hand, comparing yourself to others, being isolated, and not having a routine can disrupt your emotional wellness. Small changes can help you build emotional wellness, but if you feel very lost or alone you should reach out to a mental health professional to rule out any mental illnesses that might be impacting your emotional health.
12 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Familydoctor.org.Mental health: Keeping your emotional health.National Institutes of Health.Emotional wellness toolkit.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About emotional well-being.Rogers Behavioral Health.Emotional dysregulation facts.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tips to improve your emotional well-being.Charlie Waller.How to stop comparing yourself to others.Helpguide.org.What is burnout?Grav S, Hellzèn O, Romild U, Stordal E.Association between social support and depression in the general population: The HUNT study, a cross-sectional survey.J Clin Nurs. 2012;21(1-2):111-20. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03868.xMental health foundation.Alcohol and mental health.National Institute on Drug Abuse.Why is there comorbidity between substance use disorders and mental illness?The Center for Mind-Body Medicine.Trauma and chronic stress relief.Mind.org.Seeking help for a mental health problem.
12 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Familydoctor.org.Mental health: Keeping your emotional health.National Institutes of Health.Emotional wellness toolkit.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About emotional well-being.Rogers Behavioral Health.Emotional dysregulation facts.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tips to improve your emotional well-being.Charlie Waller.How to stop comparing yourself to others.Helpguide.org.What is burnout?Grav S, Hellzèn O, Romild U, Stordal E.Association between social support and depression in the general population: The HUNT study, a cross-sectional survey.J Clin Nurs. 2012;21(1-2):111-20. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03868.xMental health foundation.Alcohol and mental health.National Institute on Drug Abuse.Why is there comorbidity between substance use disorders and mental illness?The Center for Mind-Body Medicine.Trauma and chronic stress relief.Mind.org.Seeking help for a mental health problem.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Familydoctor.org.Mental health: Keeping your emotional health.National Institutes of Health.Emotional wellness toolkit.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About emotional well-being.Rogers Behavioral Health.Emotional dysregulation facts.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tips to improve your emotional well-being.Charlie Waller.How to stop comparing yourself to others.Helpguide.org.What is burnout?Grav S, Hellzèn O, Romild U, Stordal E.Association between social support and depression in the general population: The HUNT study, a cross-sectional survey.J Clin Nurs. 2012;21(1-2):111-20. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03868.xMental health foundation.Alcohol and mental health.National Institute on Drug Abuse.Why is there comorbidity between substance use disorders and mental illness?The Center for Mind-Body Medicine.Trauma and chronic stress relief.Mind.org.Seeking help for a mental health problem.
Familydoctor.org.Mental health: Keeping your emotional health.
National Institutes of Health.Emotional wellness toolkit.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About emotional well-being.
Rogers Behavioral Health.Emotional dysregulation facts.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tips to improve your emotional well-being.
Charlie Waller.How to stop comparing yourself to others.
Helpguide.org.What is burnout?
Grav S, Hellzèn O, Romild U, Stordal E.Association between social support and depression in the general population: The HUNT study, a cross-sectional survey.J Clin Nurs. 2012;21(1-2):111-20. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03868.x
Mental health foundation.Alcohol and mental health.
National Institute on Drug Abuse.Why is there comorbidity between substance use disorders and mental illness?
The Center for Mind-Body Medicine.Trauma and chronic stress relief.
Mind.org.Seeking help for a mental health problem.
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