What is the theory behind this Looking after your mental health worksheet?

Our emotional, psychological, and social well-being are all parts of our mental health. It influences our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. Additionally, it impacts how we respond to stress, interact with others, and make decisions. From childhood and youth through maturity, mental health is vital at every stage of life. 

One component of mental health is emotional health. It involves your knowledge and capacity for managing both positive and negative emotions. People who are emotionally balanced have effective coping methods for dealing with unpleasant feelings.

How will the worksheet help?

It is equally important to look after physical, mental and emotional wellness. It’s much easier to deal with both major life events and life’s smaller ups and downs when we have well balanced emotional health. This worksheet will provide awareness to the client regarding emotional health as a crucial part of mental health and help in learning emotional regulation and coping strategies.  

How to use the worksheet?  

It is an emotional health tool kit for a client that includes activities and techniques. It can be used as a self help guide for the cleint  to work on mental and emotional health. The client can choose 1-2 activities everyday to practise. 

Mental & emotional health worksheet

Answer the following questions

How do you express your emotions?

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What are the triggering signs of your emotional health?

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Who supports you socially?

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How do you cope when time gets tough?

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Strategies for improving emotional health 

To build resilience 

According to studies, people who are emotionally healthy experience less unpleasant emotions and recover from setbacks more quickly, this trait is called resilience. Building resilience can be facilitated by learning constructive coping mechanisms and how to utilise available community resources.

To work on resilience 

• Develop healthy physical habits 
• Take a time for yourself 
• Look at problems from different angles. Try to see the positive side of the situations and learn from mistakes 
• Practise gratitude. Make a gratitude journal. Write the things you are thankful for.

Strengthen your social connection

Social connections may contribute to mental and emotional health protection and life extension. Researchers have discovered that social connections can have a significant impact on both our emotional and physical wellbeing. Social ties, whether with love partners, relatives, close friends, neighbours, or other people, can affect our biology and general wellbeing.

To make healthy support system 

• Build a strong relationship with your family.
• Plan activities and outings with your family.
• Pay a visit to the friends. 
• Join volunteer groups and meet new people. 

Reduce stress

Everybody experiences stress occasionally. When you need it the most, stress can offer you an energy boost. However, those “high-alert” alterations turn harmful rather than beneficial when stress lasts for a long time, a condition known as chronic stress. Developing a healthy coping mechanism for stress might also help you become more resilient.

Coping with stress

• Be physically active. Exercise regularly for 30 minutes. 
• Build a strong social support network 
• Set priorities. Categorise your work according to priority, what is needed to be done now and what can wait. 
• Get enough sleep for 6-8 hours.
• Practise mindfulness and relaxation exercises 
• Seek professionals for help.

Learn to cope with loss 

Your world changes when someone you love passes away. There is no proper or improper way to grieve. Despite the fact that the loss of a loved one can feel overwhelming, most people can go through the mourning process with the help of family and friends. It is important to learn healthy coping mechanisms to get you through challenging situations.

Coping with loss

• Take care of your physical and mental health. Take a proper diet and a good sleep. Make yourself physically active. 
• Talk to supportive friends or family members. Express your feelings.
• Find and join grief support groups 
• Be patient. Grief takes time. Accept your emotion and let yourself pass through this journey.  

Be Mindful

Being entirely aware of the present moment, including everything going on inside of you and everything going on around you is called Mindful. It takes dedication and practise to become a more Mindful person. 

Being more Mindful

• Practise deep breathing. Inhale from your nose to count of four, hold for a second and exhale through a month to a count of 5. 
• Tune your senses with the surroundings. Observe the colours, feel the texture by touching, hear the sounds and smell your surroundings. 
• Be aware of your body. Bring attention to your body from head to toe and try to feel each and every part. 
• Practise mindful walking. Link your walking steps with your breath. Put the right feet ahead and inhale, then put the left feet ahead and exhale. Practise this for 5-10 minutes.
• Practise mindful eating. Be mindful of the flavours, textures, and tastes in each bite, and pay attention to your body’s cues for hunger and fullness. 

Get quality sleep 

We frequently neglect sleep in an effort to do everything we want to do in one day. But sleep has an impact on both physical and mental and emotional wellbeing. You cannot perform at your best while you are fatigued. You can focus better, think more clearly, and react more quickly after having good sleep. Make sure you regularly get a good night’s sleep by taking action.

To get good quality sleep 

• Set your clocks to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
• Sleep in a peaceful, quiet, and dark setting.
• Exercise daily (but not right before bedtime).
• Avoid using devices right before bed.
• Relax before going to bed. Take a hot bath or read a book.
• Alcohol and heavy meals should be avoided before night.
• Avoid stimulants like caffeine and nicotine.
• Never take a nap after midday. Keep naps brief.
• Try to spend at least 30 minutes each day in natural sunlight.

References 

Emotional wellness toolkit. (2022, August 8). National Institutes of Health (NIH). https://www.nih.gov/health-information/emotional-wellness-toolkit

Miller, K., BA, & CAPP. (2020, March 12). What is emotional health? (+ 11 activities & examples). PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/emotional-health-activities/#emotional-health

What to know about emotional health. (2021, April 9). WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-to-know-about-emotional-health

You can download this worksheet here.