PERSONAL

AND MENTAL
HEALTH
Mental Mental health is the psychological
well-being of a person. It is how a

Health person thinks, feels, and acts to

cope with life. Good mental health
makes you function comfortably in
the society. It denotes a sound state
of mind that allows you to face
and accept realities in life.
 Emotional health is a
Mental component of mental health. If
you are in control of your
Health thoughts, feelings, and
behavior, you are emotionally
healthy. It means that you can
deal positively with reality,
regardless whether the actual
situation is good or bad.
Mental How you feel
Health affects how you
think and act.
 What are the ● Direct independent of the surrounding
● Functions Independently where and
characteristics of a when appropriate
● Enjoys and contents oneself with simple
healthy mind? everyday pleasures
● Capable of experiencing the full range of
human emotion
● Deal with the world as it is rather than
A person who has a healthy mind is
the one wants it to be
capable of doing:
● Accepts self, others, and life’s
disappointments
● Shows no fear of the unknown and
always open to new ideas
What are the factors affecting mental
health?
No two individual have the same mental health
status. Even an identical twin has different
status. This is because there are different
factors affecting one's mental health. Your
mental health is a result of the interplay of
heredity, environment background and
personality, life experiences, and illnesses.
Understanding Stress
What is stress?
Stress is the response of your body and
mind to unpleasant or challenging events
in life. Being tensed, uncomfortable, or
worried about something can cause stress.
These are called stressors. Stressors are
situations, which make you feel worried or
anxious.
Eustress and Distress
Did you know that some stressful situations also
have positive effects? Stress is not always negative as
most people think but also positive. Positive stress,
also known as eustress, promotes growth and
accomplishments. It motivates you to continue
working However, when stress affects your mental and
physical health, it is a distress or negative stress.
 Stressor is anything that
causes stress. It can be
What are the internal (chemical or
biological agent) or external,
common areas of brought by outside or
stressors that environmental conditions or
events. Any source of stress
affect is considered stressor since it
causes the release of cortisol,
adolescents? the primary stress hormone.
Knowing these stressors will
help you cope with stress.
 Family
Most stressors are
major life changes,
especially changes that
affect family life. These
changes threaten one's
sense of security and self-
esteem. The following are
examples of life changes
that affect family life and
which may cause stress.
 going through parents
separation annulment
 having a parent remarry
 having a seriousness of a
member of the family
 having more arguments with
parents
 having a parent lose his or
her job
 death of a family member
 being pregnant
 School
 moving to a new school
 failing a grade
 fear of teachers
 too much work loads such as several examinations for a day
 homework and projects and participation in school activities
 being suspended from school
 Peers
 drinking alcohol, smoking or taking illegal drugs with peers
 breaking up from a relationship
 beginning to date
 being bullied
 wanting to belong to a group
 Community
 moving to a new community
 frequent noise from the neighborhood
 uncollected garbage
 crowded transportation
 Minor and simple everyday events may turn out to be
stressful as well. These minor but frequent everyday events that
cause stress are sometimes called "hassles”. Some examples of
stressors are losing something, concerns of how you look, what
to wear, or bad weather. Also, experiencing calamities like flash
floods, fires, earth quakes, and other disasters may be very
stressful.
 What are the common body
reactions during stressful
situations?
It is also important to understand
how your body reacts to situation so
that you will know if you are stressed.
You might be stressed when you see
or observe the following signs:
 Physical Signs
 muscle tension
 headache
 pounding heart
 shortness of breath
 increased sweating
 dry mouth
 skin rash
 grinding teeth, nail
biting
 Emotional Signs
 anger
 Irritability
 impatience
 nervousness
 forgetfulness
 inability to concentrate
 negative thinking
 Excessive worrying
 loss of interest
 self-criticism
 increased crying
 Behavioral Signs
 loss of appetite
 overeating
 drug abuse
 sleep problems
 restlessness
 hurrying and talking too
fast
 criticizing others
 reckless behavior
 fidgeting
w do you cope with stress?
Learning how to cope with stress • Exercise and eat healthy
is very important If you cannot manage • Think positive
or handle stressors, it will affect your • Keep your mind active and
mental and emotional health. First, you
learn new things
have to understand that stress is a
normal part of life. Our body was • Be sociable
designed to experience stress and be • Develop useful coping
able to react to it. It is something that abilities
can be managed. There are things that
• Set attainable and
you can do to cope with stress.
reasonable goals
• Take time out from
stressful conditions
 Exercise and eat
healthy.

If you are physically fit and healthy,

you can also think properly.
Think positive
You have to learn to see the positive
side of even a negative situation For
example, if you failed in an
examination, this can be a good
motivation for you to study harder in
order not to fail again. Those "I cannot
do this." thoughts can be inspired with
"There's no harm in trying or "I will do
better next time."
Keep your mind active
and learn new things

Train and prepare for conditions

causing stress. If speaking in crowd
makes you nervous, take speech
classes.
Be sociable
Have a group of encouraging
friends. They can help you cope
with stress positively. Learn to
express your feelings in
respectful, definite, and non-
aggressive approach like
"Shouting at me makes me angry,
please stop shouting.”
Develop useful coping
abilities
If you know that you will be stressed in
doing a task, think of ways to make it less
stressful An example is solving large tasks
by splitting it into smaller, more attainable
and manageable tasks.
Set attainable and reasonable
goals
Aim high within your resources and
capacity. Do not set goals that you know
you can't achieve to avoid stress. If you
do, you get pressured to attain those
goals, making you more stressed. Be
satisfied in having a competent or good
enough accomplishments instead of
trying to be always perfect.
Take time out from
stressful conditions
Do relaxing activities like
unwinding with friends and
family or listening to music.