aipm_thrive_mod1-s02-emotional-wellbeing-resilience

What does it mean to be emotionally? Well? To be resilient. In this video, we'll explore these concepts and why it all matters. There are many ways to define emotional wellbeing. It can help to understand what this term means and how we will approach it. In this program, the National Institutes of Health has defined emotional wellbeing as an overall positive state of one's emotions, life satisfaction, sense of meaning and purpose, and ability to pursue self-determined goals. Elements of emotional wellbeing include a sense of balance of emotion, thoughts, social relationships, and pursuits. In other words, emotional wellbeing is about balance, experiences and how you feel about it all. Resilience is another term that is used often when talking about emotional wellbeing. Resilience is a way of adapting and responding to your environment and things that happen. Becoming a more resilient person can be developed over time, learned and improved upon as new challenges arise. It's important to note that resilience is affected by many factors, not all of which are within your control. These include genetics, psychological, social, and environmental factors. It is healthy to acknowledge the systems you are working within and the ways in which they both support and challenge your wellbeing. Picture yourself at the center of this model for each ring beyond you. From social connections to your workplace to how your community is designed in public policy. There are factors that work in your favor and ones that don't. Your level of control is different in each area as well. What challenges you is personal, but it may also be experienced by other people such as a global pandemic war or natural disaster. While we will talk about ways to find pockets of control and to lead or support chains yourself, simply acknowledging that these are real challenges can be helpful. Healthy life thrive presents resilience using this five ringing model. These different aspects of emotional wellbeing and resilience are very interconnected. Developing one area is likely to support another Mindset refers to how you view experiences, especially challenging ones. Do you view yourself as having the ability to change, improve, and solve problems effectively? Emotional flexibility looks at having a better understanding of your own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, and the behaviors tied to these. Are you able to manage your moods despite what's going on around you? Purpose and values help you align your behaviors with enduring long-Term goals and ways of living are the things you are doing now, fitting with the you that you want to be. Connection and support looks at community and the relationships that support or hurt our wellbeing. Being an effective communicator, establishing healthy boundaries, and expressing kindness and gratitude all fall under this umbrella. Physical health has a significant impact on mental health and vice versa. Taking care of your body, including what you put into it, regular movement and time to rest can make you feel a lot better both now and in the future. So how are you doing right now? How about generally? Since emotional wellbeing is about overall balance, it helps to look at patterns and trends. The tools and strategies you will learn in this program can be used for a point in time, but they're most powerful when applied, often affecting your big picture way of life. There are many self-check tools to evaluate your emotional wellbeing. One very simple assessment for life satisfaction was developed by psychologist Hadley Cantrel. Imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom, the worst possible life for you. And which step of this ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time? At which step do you think you'll stand about five years from now? This is a subjective tool that is anchored by your own values and perspective. So there's no right or wrong answer here. This is simply a way to check in with yourself and think about the direction you feel your wellbeing is headed. There are many other tools to evaluate emotional and mental wellbeing. If you are working with a coach or a mental health professional, they may have you complete different evaluations that are appropriate for you. While this program does not diagnose or treat mental health disorders, many of the techniques we cover can be a supportive part of broader treatment and care. Mental health disorders refer to a broad range of conditions that affect your mood thinking and behavior. Examples include major depression, panic disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addictive behaviors. Diagnosis is best done by a licensed mental health professional and includes looking at you as a whole person, your severity of symptoms and your ability to go about your day and function in the ways you need or want to. Mental health disorders can often be managed well with proper treatment, including therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes. Supporting your emotional and mental health helps you to thrive. Mental health affects physical health and physical health affects mental health. While we often talk about these two concepts is separate. Your mental health is not separate from physical health. As we're talking about the health of a major organ, your brain emotional wellbeing affects your overall wellbeing. How you're doing emotionally can impact how easily you get sick and recover from illness. It can affect personal and professional success, creative abilities, problem solving relationships, and your ability to care for others. Emotional wellbeing truly touches every aspect of your life. It is normal to have times of low energy, feel tired down, disappointed, worry, or have concerns about things. It is unrealistic and unhelpful to try to avoid these feelings entirely or to label day-to-day fluctuations as abnormal. We will talk more about the upside to these feelings in module two, but when these feelings are too much or go on for too long, there can be negative consequences too. We often only pay attention to mental health or think about it when we're not feeling well. I feel like something is off. These signals vary from person to person, but if you are experiencing any of these, even one, it's important to talk with your doctor and a mental health professional. A trusted friend or supportive person can be an added support feeling hopeless or helpless, confused thinking or reduced ability to concentrate. Excessive fears or worries or extreme feelings of guilt. Extreme mood swings, withdrawal from friends and activities, significant tiredness, low energy or problem sleeping, detachment from reality, delusions or paranoia, hallucinations or hearing or seeing things that others surround you don't hear or see. Inability to cope with daily problems or stress. Trouble understanding and relating to situations and to people. Problems with alcohol or drug use. Major changes in eating habits, excessive anger, hostility or violence. Thinking of harming yourself or others. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, it's important to get help. Now for emergencies, call nine one one. You can call or text nine eight eight or chat online at 9 8 8 lifeline.org. You can also get help from your primary care provider, a friend, family member, or someone in your faith community. Those you know and trust may be able to provide valuable support. But if you have any of the signs and symptoms just covered, contacting a mental health professional is critical. They're trained in ways your friends and family may not be. If the first person you talk to doesn't provide the help you need, talk to someone else. There's still some stigma around mental health and getting help, but it is improving. It may feel hard to talk about for you, depending on what feels normal around you and what people in your life are open about. Norms in your community or workplace culture may affect you as well. While it may feel uncomfortable, taking care of your emotional health is incredibly important. Our hope is that through this program, you'll strengthen your resilience and emotional wellbeing across a variety of moods and circumstances. You can work to take care of yourself now you when you're feeling good, and be more prepared for challenges in the future. In the next session, we'll talk about how to approach goal setting when it comes to mental and emotional wellbeing.