EMOTIONS AND MENTAL HEALTH

TOPIC 8

Two authors said that emotional well being is a primary factor in a child’s mental
and personality development. A child inherits not only physical structure but also the
psychological structures of emotional and mental potentiality called psychological
constitution.

This world is a complex place to live. Changes may be in terms of technology,

population explosion, politics, educational growth, or moral values. As there is the constant
need for the coping skill; it is in this regard that the psychological constitution of a man is
put to the test.

Emotion - Abraham Sperling (1976) defines an emotion as a state of agitation,

distribution of equilibrium (balance), an intense, random and disorganized response to a
stimulus.

A person without emotional stress is calm and serene. Emotional stimulus and
instigation are but normal occurrences in this excitable world. It is only when one’s feelings
and emotions are excessive that emotions become detrimental.

Negative and positive emotions must be in moderation if they are to influence and
pervade our behavior, health and personality.

John B Watson - claimed that fear, rage(anger) and love are the three basic
emotions around which complex adult emotions were evolved.

Basically, emotions are instincts. The instincts to live and to survive lead the new
born baby to grope for his food from the mother’s breast event if no one teaches him.

He will suck anything put into his mouth in order to live. From his crib, he will show
contentment when physiologically satisfied; anger overwhelms him when his needs and
wants are not met.

In a young child, jealousy may take the form of bed wetting, pretense of illness,
refusal to eat, sucking of the thumb, or ignoring others.

Adolescence is the stage when he experiences the first taste of love. Sometimes it is
devastating to someone when love becomes an experience of bitterness.

The importance of play to children cannot be underestimated. They are the vehicle
for releasing tensions. When a child plays, he is given the opportunity to release fear,
resentment, and frustrations resulting from parental prohibitions and control.

Are facial expressions accurate indicators of emotions?

 Although there are facial expressions for each kind of emotion, they are not however
dependable indicators of emotions. Some people are so happy that tears flow from their
eyes, while some people in spite of internal grief during the burial of love one, cannot cry.

Emotions and Feelings Differentiated

Feelings and emotions are moving powers of human beings. Anxieties, enthusiasm,
apprehension(worry), desires, and the pleasantness and unpleasantness of life experiences
elicit the powers of emotion.

Positive emotions - result in the effectiveness and efficiency of individuals.

Negative emotions - result in the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of individuals.

Can you imagine what this world would be like if people did not have emotions?

If people had uniform reactions, this world would be dull, and without challenge and
variety at all.

Emotions are stronger than feelings. While feelings concern the external sensations
of pain and pleasure through external senses of the body, emotions are strong and intense,
integrated and focused on the object of emotions. They are so internalized that they
integrate body and mind.

Feelings are the simple pleasurable or painful aspects of mental processes or bodily
conditions.

Classifications of Emotions

There is a wide spectrum of emotions:

1. Personal emotions - are based on self, such as self assertion, self

preservation, self control, self assurance, self adequacy, self sufficiency and self
esteem.

2. Social emotions - are the strong feeling people have because they are
part of the society they move in. Sympathy is the most fundamental of them all.
Empathy is the desire to share with others the sensitivity an individual feels toward
others. Love for the family, patriotism, philanthropy, competition, rivalry, pride,
brotherhood, and the desire to lead others are some of the social emotions people
have as grown up individuals.

3. Intellectual emotions - are based on love for the truth. People possess
intellectual emotions when they develop guiding principles and philosophies,
systems of values and high moral standards. Novelty (originality) and loftiness
(arrogance) of ideals are good examples.
 4. The aesthetic emotions - are wholly influenced by the cultural
background. The finer taste as an outcome of one’s exposure to refinements and
one’s finesse depends on his lifetime experiences, education and training.

How Powerful is emotion?

Emotion can propel man into action. It is a strong power which drives man to carry
heavy objects in times of fire and in times of war, in times of calamities and in times of
emergencies.

Emotions provide inspiration to do and accomplish things which could hardly be

attained under normal situations. Most often man finds himself doing something not
through the dictates of his mind but through the impulse of his emotions. The body system
follows the emotions blindly and unconsciously when emotions overpower someone.

A person should know how to manage his emotions. He should know how to
properly direct and tailor his emotions toward his goals. Emotions may be compared to
water which given the right canals will not overflow and will not devastate humanity.

Control of emotions

Self control is the difference between men and had brute creation. Man is capable of
controlling emotions since he is endowed with the intellect and the will.

Self control - is the ability to regulate oneself in every situation. It is the ability to do
an act with a balanced mind.

There are certain practices that need to be followed in order to have poise and self
control.

1. Refrain from gambling and other vices.

2. Avoid unwholesome habits such as drinking liquor, smoking, overeating, etc.
3. Control your temper and language.
4. Take criticisms calmly and good naturedly.
5. Cultivate the habit of denying yourself some of the luxuries of life.
6. Shun all forms of vice, and endeavor to help in checking and eliminating them.

How to live with oneself

The whole drama of life springs out of our basic “I want”.

1. I want to live. “How long?” “Forever” - a person will normally preserve himself.
It is the most basic instinct and tendency. If it is a question or saving one out of two,
 between himself and a friend, between himself and a brother, himself and a mother,
still it is himself who will win.

2. I want a feeling of importance - The ego of the person is flattered when it

is being fed with importance, recognition, and a feeling of being useful and needed.
This is the most sensitive part of the individual. One will always go along way if his
ego is bolstered and elevated.

3. I want a mate - An old maid who claims that she is truly happy is telling a lie. A
woman is born to a man and a man to a woman. Persons of opposite sex always
attract each other. It is most fulfilling to have a mate when both minds meet and
when the man stands as the father, husband, playmate, and co worker at the
appropriate time.

4. I want a little variety/change - Life is boring without variety of change. A

monotonous life skills motivations, initiative, interests, goals and ambitions. It is
very difficult to drag the years through monotonous events. Challenges, problems,
innovations and rich provoking situations can provide variety and color in one’s life.

Major signs of Mental Health

1. Maintaining self confidence- is trusting oneself to cope with the difficulties

which cross one’s way.

2. Making adjustments - is making oneself able to fit in almost all situations

confronting him. Tension is always present at every beginning stage. Later when
one becomes conditioned to the new situation, tensions gradually disappear and
acceptance creeps in until one begins to feel comfortable in that situation.

3. Controlling emotions - emotional blocks have a detrimental effect on the

individual. A person is kept from using his logical thinking when he is enveloped
with emotions. He is likely to be caught off guard and, with all probability, he cannot
respond appropriately since he is shrouded with emotions.

4. Positive self concept - a high regard for oneself should be encouraged and
maintained. One can maintain a certain degree of respectability if he first respects
himself. In view of this positive self concept, one will be less tempted to do wrong,
lest his values be trampled.

Five steps to happiness

1. Laughter - “Give yourself an emotional and physical lift by including

laughter and play in your life on a regular basis.

2. Confidence - one way to happiness is to talk to yourself lovingly in

 front of a mirror, to act lovingly towards yourself in the presence of others, and to
be proud of yourself in public.

Low self esteem - is a barrier to the development of our prosperity because it

keeps us from developing our full potential.

3. Tasting risks - every successful person agrees that there is risk in the pursuit
of achievement. We get energy for taking risks when we face our fear and act in
spite of it. Fear of failure keeps us from risking but willingness to risk is a measure
of our consciousness or prosperity.

4. Creative boost - The following are seed of creativity.

a. Productivity - most productive people are creative. In the process of working

and being productive, one has the opportunity to become creative.
b. Analytical thinking - unconsciously, this breaks down concepts and ideas
into their component part s. To understand something thoroughly, one has to see
beyond its surface structure.
c. Independent thinking - be an independent thinker. Information is
collected, analyzed, and stored in order that one can render an independent
judgment.
d. Unconventionality - what make unconventional people different from others
are their ideas and not the clothes that they wear.

5. What can one do when he wants to change but doesn’t know how”;

a. Dare to love yourself in a world that gives no guarantee.

b. Pay attention to what you feel.
c. Nobody can really tell you the answer to life’s problems.
d. If what you are doing is not getting you what you want, try something different.
e. When you are considering a specific change, make a list of all possible things that
could happen.
f. Before you change, take a few moments to compliment yourself for some specific
attributes.
g. If you decide to have a change, do it. Insight and understanding change nothing—
action does it.
h. After you try a change, evaluate the results.

Ways to take yourself out of the blues and black moods

1. Learn about yourself. Chart your moods. What are the kinds of
irritations which provoke your temper? What are your idiosyncrasies(habit)? Each
of one has his own.
 2. Self pity is the worst enemy. This will show the pace of growth and progress
because one tends to be myopic when he indulges in self pity.

3. Exercise. This will help in the circulation of the blood. It strengthens the heart
and extremities and it prolongs life.

4. Be conscious if your morale is becoming low. Count your blessings as kind of

antidote(cure/answer). What re the causes of demoralization?

5. Be realistic about yourself. Balance your goals and ambitions with facts about you.
There should be a happy medium between the two so that realization is possible.

6. Do something you enjoy. There are many hobbies and recreational activities one
can resort to when feeling blue.

7. Don’t panic. Time is a great healer. It will allow situational problems to settle by
themselves. To panic will cause more harm than good.

8. Involve yourself with life. No matter who gets hurt, no matter how serious the
problem is, this world should continue to go around.

Frustration - is experienced by an individual when his action meets some form of

interference which prevents or delays its completion.

Factors of Frustration

1. Physical factors
a. Poor health
b. Physical defects such as obesity, shortness in height or excessive height,
being ugly, and speech defects.

2. Intellectual factors
a. Lack of ability to achieve a certain goal
b. Possession of abilities way beyond the requirements of a task.

3. Socio economic factors

a. “Keeping up with the Jonesses”
b. Financial constraint in attaining one’s ambition like taking up medicine.
c. Social discrimination due to financial difficulty in falling with a social
group.

4. Interruption and disturbances

a. Frustration due to minor disturbances like noise while reading
newspapers.
b. Changes in one’s usual way of life.
 5. Cultural origins.

The symptoms of failing adjustments

1. Physical symptoms
1. Lack of muscular control like shaking of hands, tremors(tremble).
2. General feelings of weakness, fatigue without apparent reasons, stammering,
speck block, frequent urination.
3. Hypochondriasis - playing sick to avoid disagreeable situations.

2. Emotional symptoms
1. Insomnia - can’t muster(meet) sleep, restlessness.
2. Depression- constant worry, blue moods, indifferent attitude.
3. Hyper activity – always doing something without finishing.
4. Sensitivity - can’t accept criticism
5. Sadism - likes to see others suffer; hostile, morose.
6. Self persecution - bitterness toward the world hates other people, and
gets frustrated about everything one does.
7. Fluctuation in moods, excessive fears, and obsessions.

3. Social symptoms
1. Distrusts people
2. Happy when alone
3. Feels he is always right
4. Does not speak to people unless they speak first

4. Behavioral symptoms
1. Unable to make decisions
2. Over eating
3. Unchanged dogmatic ideas

? Questions

1. Study the lyrics of Mariah Carey’s song “Emotions” then explain what the meaning
of the song is.
2. How should frustration be handled?
3. When can one say that he is happily adjusted to life?