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Drs John Coffin and David Acorn Keeping HealthyEmotional Health |
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Drs John Coffin and David Acorn Keeping HealthyEmotional Health |
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Mind and body are not as separate as we may think and when things go wrong with either, the other is also affected. Part of keeping healthy is looking after your emotional well being. However this can be a lot more difficult than looking after your physical health. On this page are a few suggestions. How can I look after my emotional health?There are some qualities in your life that can help your emotional health.
Goals can be both short term and long term. Don't make them too difficult so that you can't achieve them or you may develop a sense of failure. However goals need to be challenging enough to be rewarding. Don't feel guilty about being kind to yourself. You need to give yourself time to relax, and to engage in activities that you find rewarding. It is sensible, not self indulgent to look after your self in this way. Doing things you have to do all the time has a negative effect on your emotional health. Expressing our feelings openly helps us to recover from painful experiences and reduces tension and anxiety. It is often better if others know how we are feeling so that they can understand why we are unhappy. Obviously expressing some emotions can hurt other people. Losing your temper is an example of a destructive emotion. Learn to relax. We all have ways of relaxing, but some cause more good than harm in the long run. For instance heavy use of alcohol can disturb sleep and cause depression. Exercise, such as going for a walk or kicking a football around can help. Listening to music, spending time reading or enjoying a hobby, visiting friends or watching an escapist film may be your best way to relax. Some people find it more difficult to relax. This is a skill that can be learnt and like any new skill it gets better with practice. There are relaxation tapes available for loan at the surgery which can help you to learn how to do this. How can I tell if I'm under too much stress?We need some degree of stress in our life, a life that is too easy may well be boring. However too much stress can be harmful and signs of too much stress are
If this is happening it's time to start looking after your emotional health. How can I tell if I am becoming depressed?Everyone feels sad at times and this is often quite appropriate. Depression is deeper than this. Sufferers will notice some or all of these symptoms.
It is not a sign of weakness to suffer with depression. Depression is just as much an illness as heart disease or diabetes and is very common. In fact many health care workers have had depression and understand what it feels like. There are a number of ways of overcoming this illness including problem solving, counselling and other "talking therapies" and medication. Don't be ashamed if you have this illness and please come and see us before it becomes really serious. |
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