4.1 Mental and Emotional Health

Notes

Mental health is how you think, feel and act. Emotional health is how well you recognize and manage your feelings. Everyone has mental health, just as everyone has physical health.

• Mentally healthy people can cope with everyday stress, learn, form relationships and bounce back from setbacks. They still have hard days.
• Mental health can change over time with life events, sleep, activity, relationships and stress.
• Supports include friends, family, activities you enjoy, rest and talking to someone you trust.
• Mental health conditions are common and treatable. Needing help is not a weakness, and stigma (negative attitudes about mental health) can keep people from asking for it.
• Example: A student feels nervous before a test but studies, breathes slowly and goes in. That is a normal response, not a sign of a problem.