Emotional Well Being-An Inevitable Challenge

Emotional well-being refers to our mental health. It can be assessed by realizing how good are we at managing our emotions and feelings during hard times of our lives or how happy we are with our life.

It is crucial to have an understanding of it as it has an effect, knowingly or unknowingly, on our family, friends ,careers and in the long run our overall well being too, including our physical health. Different researches on mental health issues show clearly that our physical health may get compromised when we develop and keep negative emotions inside us such as, anger, frustration, stress etc. Severe mental health issues may lead to the development of physical ailments such as heart diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis and even cancer. https://www.mqmentalhealth.org/posts/4-ways-our-physical-health-could-be-impacted-by-our-mental-health . Besides physical ailments that may take years to develop or show their signs, there are various other day to day challenges people face such as overcoming the fear of getting rejected, guilt and shame etc

• Our emotional well- being is usually considered at risk if we often feel anxious, stressed, depressed or dissatisfied most of the time.
• It revolves not only around the emotional reaction of an individual towards the important issues but even to the small, petty issues of daily life. Extreme mood swings are often witnessed in the individuals.
• The person doesn't feel good about themselves and usually have self-esteem issues.
• Procrastination over small tasks due to lack of energy or inability to concentrate can be seen.
• When neglected over the period of time, it may result in social anxiety leading towards social isolation.
• Sometimes the person may face, helplessness emptiness, worthlessness and often complains about having no sense of purpose in life. Person may feel lost and doesn't feel any connection with surroundings even in gatherings.
• The person may hear strange voices.
• Habit of self-talk may develop or the person may be found talking to someone in his imaginary, self-created world.
• In extreme cases, the above risk factors may lead a person to suicide.

None of us can enjoy a stress free life neither can we avoid our negative emotions. Mental health issues are very real and if left untreated or ignored for long, they may result into serious disorders. Although, the full recovery isn’t assured but to lead a healthy life it’s necessary to recognize the symptoms and seek professional help.

Well, a lot of research and debate all over the world is going on about it, but real causes of mental health issues still seems unclear. Mental illnesses maybe the result of sociological or environmental factors. In some cases stress and trauma may often lead to depression and anxiety or sometimes genetics may also play an important role. As per psychiatrists, it’s a chemical imbalance inside our brains that may lead to the risk factors. Such chemicals are called neurotransmitters, their function is to enable communication between brain cells. Example includes serotonin and norepinephrine. Though, the chemical imbalance theory hasn’t been approved universally still, the evidence of the patients getting better with antidepressants proves the validity of theory. However, antidepressants too work only on 50% of the population that shows that chemical imbalance in the brain may not be the cause but only the symptom of the mental health issues. In addition to that, there isn’t any such way or medical device to check the level of neurotransmitters in brain. Levels of these chemicals may or may not remain the same throughout the day. A psychological evaluation by asking questions about thoughts, moods, feelings, daily life activities, and eating and sleeping habits is usually done to diagnose a patient with any such issues.

• Use of antidepressants. The antidepressants usually change the level of chemicals in our brain. Examples may include, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), Norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs), Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs).
• Therapy .Various therapy techniques such as talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy and problem solving therapy are used by psychotherapists to repair our thinking and behavior patterns. Psychotherapy emphasizes on talking about insecurities and fears and enabling a person to face them.

• Relaxation Techniques such as Yoga, meditation etc.
• Increasing time for physical activities preferably outdoor activities such as going for a walk in the park, exercising regularly, sports etc.
• Joining any support groups in your city or on social media
• Practicing self- help resources such as Antidepressant Skills Workbooks after discussing with the doctor.
• Talking to friends and family and discussing how they may help