Good emotional health and wellbeing doesn’t mean life is always easy – but it means feeling positive about yourself, and being able to manage life’s ups and downs.
Here’s what it might look like:
Good relationships: Healthy relationships with friends and family are really important to have good mental wellbeing. You might not get on with everyone, but you have people who support you, who you can talk openly with, and who you enjoy spending time with.
Self-awareness: This is about being aware of your emotions and understanding how they affect your thoughts and actions. It doesn’t mean you never feel low or angry, but when you are, you can identify what you’re feeling and why, which helps you manage your reactions.
Coping skills: Life isn’t easy but having good emotional health involves having healthy ways to deal with stress and difficulties. This might include talking to someone you trust, practicing mindfulness, or moving your body.
Resilience: Resilience is the ability to keep going when something is tough. Even when things go wrong, you can find ways to move forward and stay positive.
Balanced lifestyle: There are lots of demands in life, but this is about feeling that you have the right balance of things in your week: school, hobbies, social life, and rest. To have good mental wellbeing, you need to get enough sleep, to eat well, and to do things you enjoy, as well as manage your responsibilities.
Positive outlook: While everyone has bad days, having a generally positive attitude towards life and being optimistic about the future is a sign of good emotional health.
Self-care: Taking time to care for yourself, both for your body and your mind, helps you feel well.
We don’t all have all of these sorted! Which of these can you see in your life? Which would you like to work on? You could perhaps spend some time reflecting on a couple of these you’d like to work on in a journal or on your phone, or with a friend or an adult you trust.